shadrieka I am elated to share that the expert editors over at Junior Library Guild has selected HERE COMES THE BAND as a Gold Standard Selection prior to publication. This is fantastic news as it shines a light on the book for librarians to add it to shelves! It also means that favorable reviews are to … Read more
Everyone has their favorite part of a football game, but at a historically Black college or university, halftime is game time when the band takes the field in this glorious celebration of the tradition and pageantry of an HBCU band. Illustrated by fine artist, and Howard University alumnus, John Holyfield, this book will be an instant … Read more
2025 has been a doozy! Last month, I won the 2025 Etsy Design Award in the Art Category! It was a complete surprise, and I’m so thrilled that Etsy invited me to submit my work! The shop has seen a nice boost in sales this month, and I am sure that I would have been … Read more
“Rejoice” by John Holyfield My mom was a high school English teacher and also served as the sponsor of the high school cheerleading squad. I was their mascot – not a “giant anthropomorphic animal costume wearing” type of mascot, but a smaller “that’s Ms. Strickland’s daughter” cheerleader skirt and pom-poms mascot, even though I was … Read more
For the past three years, I have been contributing artwork to one of my favorite television shows, YOU. One of Joe’s love interests, Marienne (played by Tati Gabrielle), was a children’s book illustrator and artist. I don’t know how they found me, but the producers called me up several years ago to ask if I would … Read more
On January 31, my first author/illustrated book Jump In! will have been in the world for an entire year and what a year it has been! If you follow me on social media you will see all of the places that I got to travel to this year to celebrate the book. Jump In! also … Read more
I co-curated a show this year with The Brandywine Museum of Art
I bit the bullet this year and hired a professional designer to update my website. For many years, I designed and maintained it on my own, but now that my life has expanded in many other directions, I just don’t have the time or bandwidth to learn new software and rebuild. In comes Mira. T. … Read more
My solo debut, Jump In! will be released on January 31st. The first review came in from Kirkus two weeks ago and it was a star! They called it “A moving, grooving snapshot of urban life where kids create the fun and beckon everybody in.” Wow! Just wow! Kirkus has always been very kind to … Read more
October 8 What does it mean to “leave room for the illustrator?” What tools can writers use to think visually while writing? Likewise, how can illustrators pull words from their images? Author/Illustrator and Agent* Shadra Strickland shares how to get at the heart of your story by making sure both the text and the illustrations … Read more