GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Linsey Davis is making history as the first black woman in 18 years to anchor a primetime news show on ABC. Last month she became the World News Tonight Sunday evening anchor and she just released her third children's book titled "Stay this Way Forever."
13 ON YOUR SIDE's Meredith TerHaar got to chat with Linsey about why she became a children's author and why she is so passionate that our bookshelves be diverse.
Many of us know Linsey Davis as an award-winning journalist and ABC News Anchor. Becoming a mom prompted another notable title, bestselling children's book author.
"So my son who is almost 7, when he was an infant we were always reading to him and initially I just thought, I could do this, and over time I thought I need to do this because over time it became an issue of we were looking for books where he would find his own image reflected in the pages, little black boys or brown boys were difficult to find when we were looking for books that were representative. So while the industries are vastly different between children's books and TV news, I really consider myself to be a storyteller," explained Linsey.
She calls "Stay this Way Forever" a love letter from parents to their children.
"It's about those moments when you just want to hit the pause button to capture these moments and say "stay this way forever."
Linsey also has some wonderful parenting advice.
"I think that quite often we tell our kids "I love you" but I think its really nice to get specific about it, and talk about "I love your laugh and I love your smile."
The words of the book are powerful, and so are the images. Linsey feels strongly that everyone's bookshelf be diverse.
"I think that especially coming off the summer of the so-called racial reckoning, so many parents were saying what can I do? What kind of conversations should we be having? And I think that you can start so easily if you don't live in a diverse area, you can start with books and toys just to expose your children to those who don't look like them," said Linsey.
"I think the key to fighting racism in a very simple state is just to have experience with someone who is different from you and to realize that we have a lot more in common than we thought. The more diverse your bookshelves are the more open-minded your child is going to be."
You can purchase "Stay this Way Forever" as well as Linsey's other two books "One Big Heart" and "The World is Awake" wherever books are sold including Baker Book House on E Paris Ave in Grand Rapids. All three of Linsey's books were published by local publisher Zonderkidz.
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