Daria Peoples-Riley’s first job was at nine years old in the children’s section of her hometown library. Much later, she became a teacher, and now she is a full-time author and illustrator. THIS IS IT is her first picture book inspired by her daughter, her rich cultural background, and their first visit to New York City. She lives with her family in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In this Porchlight conversation, Bethany and Daria discuss Daria’s inspired path to becoming an author/illustrator and how both her childhood and her own daughter were stepping stones along the way. They talk about the unique challenge of being both an author and an illustrator and Daria’s desire to reach children who rarely, if ever, see themselves in books. Daria discusses her experiences with the We Need Diverse Books campaign and the impact it’s had on both her personaland professional life as a woman of color who can “check lots of boxes” when she’s asked about her heritage. Daria also explains how she came to realize her stories are worthy and important and how she hopes they will help children navigate through the rough places in their lives.
For more information on We Need Diverse Books, go to https://diversebooks.org/ and #weneeddiversebooks
You can find out more about Daria at www.dariapeoples.com/pre-order-this-is-it
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