Scholar and author Zetta Elliott knows the long-term damage of not having representative, relatable stories to read while growing up. Growing up Black in suburban Canada in the ’80s meant rarely seeing herself in the books she read. It wasn't until she was a young adult that she realized that erasure's impact on her own voice as a writer.

While she is best known for her Dragons in a Bag series, Zetta has had a prolific writing career and spent a great deal of time advocating for fairness and representation in children's literature. She tells us about how she found and reclaimed her voice and her struggles with publishing as a Black author.

Contents
Chapter 1 - Getting to Know Zetta Elliott (2:02)

Chapter 2 - Being Left Out of Literature (5:50)

Chapter 3 - Zetta Finds Her Voice (10:46)

Chapter 4 - Won't You Celebrate With Me? (14:49)

Chapter 5 - Self-Publishing (18:03)

Chapter 6 - The Future Depends on Now (23:15)

Chapter 7 - Beanstack Featured Librarian (27:10)

Today, Beanstack's featured librarian is Kelly McDaniel, assistant director for the Piedmont Regional Library System in northeast Georgia. We had her spill her secrets on how she gets kids excited about reading.