Recently, Javaka sat down with the Brooklyn Expedition Explainer Corps and talked with them about his work.
This book won the Coretta Scott King Award for best illustrator. That award is given to authors and illustrators who are African-American. The book is a collection of poems about fathers. Javaka wrote one of the poems about his father -- you can read it in there!

Javaka Steptoe is an illustrator of children's books. His first book, In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall, won the Coretta Scott King Award for best illustrator. Javaka has a new book coming out September 30, 2000 called Do You Know What I'll Do?  

Q. What inspired you to draw?

A. [I'm] not sure. I have been drawing ever since I was very, very young. It's something I like doing. I like observing things. I like observing people, and I would say that I'm a very visual person and I find normal things interesting. Maybe something is a particular color. Let me give you an example. One day I was on a bus and I had a purple jacket on and khaki pants. A woman sat next to me, and she had a khaki jacket and purple pants. And she just sat next to me and I don't think she noticed. I don't think anyone else on the bus noticed. I just had to tap her on the shoulder, and she just laughed. So that's me.  



This is a new version of an older book. It was first published in 1958! It's about a big sister telling her little brother how much she loves him. Javaka did all new illustrations for it.
Q. How did you get started?

A. I got started, I guess the long answer is I've always been interested in art, I've always drawn, and my father was an illustrator. A friend of the family said "Show your book to these people at Lee and Low books," and I showed them my book, and they liked what they saw. That wasn't the first illustration job I've ever done, but I would say it was the most important.