BCLF and The Center for Fiction Present That You Are Here Is No Small Thing

Sunday, 3:00 pm EDT September 13, 2026

The Center for Fiction
& Livestreamed

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Join the Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival and The Center for Fiction for the launch of That You Are Here Is No Small Thing, a new picture book from award-winning author Traci N. Todd (Hello, Beautiful) featuring illustrations by Caldecott-medalist author and illustrator Vashti Harrison (Big).

Through the eyes of three Black children, That You Are Here Is No Small Thing traces Black American histories of struggle and resilience. With care and artistry, the book weaves through space and time in a sweeping exploration of culture and community, showcasing what it means for young Black children to be able to fight, survive, and dream today.

Todd and Harrison will be joined by children’s book author Breanna J. McDaniel (Auntie’s Baby) for a fun and engaging conversation about creative collaboration, cultural memory, community, and more. All ages welcome.

We offer two in-person ticket options: the free Standard Ticket and the $40+ Supporter Ticket. Both provide the same access, but if you’re able, we kindly suggest registering for the Supporter Ticket to help sustain our programs. Please note that tickets do not include books; we encourage you to order in advance online or purchase copies at the event.

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Featuring

  • Traci N. Todd c. Traci N. Todd Large

    Traci N. Todd

    Traci N. Todd

    Traci N. Todd is a Sibert Honor–winning writer and book editor whose work focuses on Black culture and social justice. Her books Nina: A Story of Nina Simone, illustrated by Christian Robinson, and Holding Her Own: The Exceptional Life of Jackie Ormes, illustrated by Shannon Wright, both won the Coretta Scott King Honor Award. Please visit her at TraciTodd.com.

  • Vashti Harrison (c) Caroline Tompkins Large

    Vashti Harrison

    Vashti Harrison

    Vashti Harrison won the Caldecott Medal and the Coretta Scott King Honor Award and was a National Book Award Finalist for Big, which she authored and illustrated. She is also a two-time recipient of the NAACP Image Award for Literary Work for Children and has created many New York Times bestselling books. She lives in New York City.


    Photo Credit: Caroline Tompkins

  • Breanna J. McDaniel

    Breanna J. McDaniel

    Breanna J. McDaniel

    Breanna J. McDaniel is the author of BCLA 2021 First Novelist Honor Book Hands Up!, Impossible Moon, Cute Toot, and the Ezra Jack Keats Writer Award winning book Go Forth and Tell: The Life of Augusta Baker, Librarian and Master Storyteller. Her latest book is from Macmillan and is entitled Auntie’s Baby. An alumna of Emory University and Simmons University, she holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge where she focused her research on surveillance and respectability politics in representations of Black children in contemporary picture books. She lives in Atlanta where she owns Impossible Moon Bookshop with her dog Hazelnut Nutella.

Featured Book

  1. . 
    Cover_That You Are Here Is No Small Thing Large

    That You Are Here Is No Small Thing

    By Traci N. Todd, Vashti Harrison

    Published by Penguin Young Readers Group

    PURCHASE

    The world is forever changed because you are here.

    At once honest and empowering, That You Are Here Is No Small Thing is a story about resilience. In these stunning pages, young descendants of enslaved Africans are guided through the history that led them to exist and thrive today. Through their eyes, we see how Black Americans have relied on one another to fight against oppression and the ways in which the strength of their ancestors is always with them.

    Sibert Honor winner Traci N. Todd and Caldecott Medalist Vashti Harrison have created an unforgettable exploration of culture and history that records the important survival story Black children carry and celebrates their hope for a radiant future.

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