Publishing Powerhouse and Visionary, Munson Steed, has been vital to the elevation of Black culture for many years. He’s helped narrow the gaps in terms of representation by empowering journalists to write their own stories from their truth through his successful Rolling Out magazine imprint Now young people can also be empowered and feel connected to who they are with Steed’s new project, a children’s book series entitled Little Professor Skye. Inspiring and beautifully illustrated by Kareem Kenyada, Little Professor Skye is the perfect holiday gift and a book that every child deserves to have. Through this book all children will be able to discover the infinite possibilities that exist in life and through Skye's adventures they will see that no dream is ever to big to achieve. We had a chance to speak with Mr. Steed about the inspiration behind the book and why representation matters.
Tell us about Little Professor Skye?
Little Professor Skye is one of the most phenomenal examples of a young girl living a phenomenal life with a father who creates artificial intelligence in a computer to allow her to share her day with a robot called Cutie Pie. It highlights the attributes and affirmations we want all children to experience in relation to their favorite things. So, in the pursuit of sharing her day, she showcases her pursuit in math, science, black girl magic, writing a letter to the president Obama, and understanding and reaffirming things like, she can live her dreams because her daddy said so and shows her how. She’s exposed to all the favorite things we want our children to understand and affirm as a favorite thing; for example, going to the library to study, practicing piano, being a president of the science club--creating in her lab and seeing a beaker in the hand of a very beautiful African-American child, leadership skills, confidence. The book exudes examples of the affirmation of how smart brilliant, young habits are formed through children appreciating and liking the activities they experience.So, even the example of the magic closet isn’t just a design, but she affirms that what you put on allows you to live your dreams and you should dress properly. There’s an emotional language woven through the entire program so that we can speak in emotional languages as we share with our children.
What inspired you to write this book?
The book is named after my goddaughter and just watching her and supporting her in what she does, whether it’s dance, homework, piano practice at Spelman, singing at church, enjoying her science or math that she learns at the museum—it just gave so many examples of things that I want children to be their favorite things. Intelligent things. That they also see someone present in their lives who is pushing them to be someone they can be. That they should seek and learn knowledge. That science/math is a part of our greatness and heritage and it’s in their hands. We wanted to illustrate examples of that as well. So, the person who may not understand AI or having a robot, this person will learn from distance learning. They might not meet their teacher because their teacher may be teaching them through a computer. This is a young woman who’s leading—the science club and the discussion of finding a cure, and her own band, Skye and the Highlights.
I
It’s knowing that at any moment there’s someone in their life there to support, help, and lift them up. So, you see a child on the shoulders of her father, you see a father standing up as his daughter, little Professor Skye, is performing on stage. Those are the moments that are to encourage our community to be present in not just “I’m here” but what we choose to expose our children to. Greatness is our expectation. Intelligence is our conversation. And it’s our affirmation.
How important was representation?
It was a key factor for me to start the book off with her walking into the lab where she’s getting the gift of knowledge and intelligence. The robot isn’t created at the back of the book; it’s created at the front of the book. So a child’s learning setting and expectations of life are set by what they’re exposed to. The reason we chose the name is because if you’re a professor you teach and share with a desire to learn. This capacity, the young professor, can be in any discipline that she chooses to. Skye is the example of the sisterhood from Little Professor Skye in you, in anyone else who has a skill-set to learn and teach.
Life is a teachable moment every time you receive the lesson. And for us being in that example, I wanted to make sure that, even in the father character, was a presenter of excellence and that the learning and developing and creating—for greatness from a strategic and technological point of view—was key. In it, you see that there’s encouragement and confidence in a child because from the beginning she’s walking to the lab of a father. So she’s not walking into an empty room; she’s walking into a place where she can choose.