{"id":37,"date":"2021-02-06T01:04:25","date_gmt":"2021-02-06T01:04:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/?page_id=37"},"modified":"2021-02-17T00:59:26","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T00:59:26","slug":"q-a-with-david-miller","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/?page_id=37","title":{"rendered":"Q &#038; A with David Miller"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns has-background is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\" style=\"background-color:#effaff\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What books inspired you growing up?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When I was growing up, I loved to read National Geographic Magazines. National Geographics allowed me to travel to other countries and experience new foods, traditions, and cultures without leaving my home in West Baltimore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During my middle school years, reading about Paul Robeson, Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, and James Baldwin helped me appreciate Black activism and writers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a high school student, reading the <em>Autobiography of Malcolm X<\/em> was a game-changer in my life. The honesty and transparency of Brother Malcolm was exhilarating.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong>HOW DO YOU DEVELOP THE CHARACTERS IN YOUR BOOKS? WHY DO MOST OF THE CHARACTERS HAVE NAMES OF FAMOUS AFRICAN AMERICANS?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>I want children to dream, so I spend a great deal of time on character development. I develop a list of personal characteristics for each character and physical characteristics (height, body type, hair color, eyes, etc.). Many times, this process takes me a few days.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I like to integrate the names of famous African American figures to expose children to our rich history.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>WHY DO MANY OF YOUR BOOKS FOCUS ON BLACK AND BROWN BOYS?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When I was a classroom teacher, it was challenging to get our boys excited about reading. Representation matters; boys love seeing themselves on the pages of books.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In my books, I create unique and fun storylines that allow boys to dream!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"765\" src=\"https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/book-fair-Jackson-MI.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/book-fair-Jackson-MI.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/book-fair-Jackson-MI-200x149.jpg 200w, https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/book-fair-Jackson-MI-400x299.jpg 400w, https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/book-fair-Jackson-MI-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/book-fair-Jackson-MI-768x574.jpg 768w, https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/book-fair-Jackson-MI-360x270.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong>WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR PARENTS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF GETTING THEIR CHILDREN EXCITED ABOUT READING?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Reading 15-20 minutes each day:<br>&#8211; Improves reading skills<br>&#8211; Boosts vocabulary and literacy skills<br>&#8211; Improves writing skills<br>&#8211; Builds confidence and reading fluency<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-coblocks-gallery-carousel\"><div class=\"is-cropped coblocks-gallery has-no-alignment has-caption-style-dark has-horizontal-gutter\"><div class=\"has-carousel has-carousel-lrg\" style=\"height:400px\" data-flickity=\"{&quot;autoPlay&quot;:false,&quot;draggable&quot;:true,&quot;pageDots&quot;:false,&quot;prevNextButtons&quot;:true,&quot;wrapAround&quot;:true,&quot;cellAlign&quot;:&quot;center&quot;,&quot;pauseAutoPlayOnHover&quot;:false,&quot;freeScroll&quot;:false,&quot;arrowShape&quot;:{&quot;x0&quot;:10,&quot;x1&quot;:60,&quot;y1&quot;:50,&quot;x2&quot;:65,&quot;y2&quot;:45,&quot;x3&quot;:20},&quot;thumbnails&quot;:false,&quot;responsiveHeight&quot;:false}\"><div class=\"coblocks-gallery--item\"><figure class=\"coblocks-gallery--figure has-margin-left-5 has-margin-left-mobile-5 has-margin-right-5 has-margin-right-mobile-5\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo-book-signing.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"238\" data-link=\"https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/q-a-with-david-miller\/photo-book-signing\/\" class=\"wp-image-238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo-book-signing.jpg 960w, https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo-book-signing-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo-book-signing-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo-book-signing-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo-book-signing-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo-book-signing-440x330.jpg 440w, https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo-book-signing-730x547.jpg 730w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"coblocks-gallery--item\"><figure class=\"coblocks-gallery--figure has-margin-left-5 has-margin-left-mobile-5 has-margin-right-5 has-margin-right-mobile-5\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"960\" src=\"https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo-book-signing-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"236\" data-link=\"https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/q-a-with-david-miller\/photo-book-signing-2\/\" class=\"wp-image-236\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo-book-signing-2.jpg 720w, https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo-book-signing-2-200x267.jpg 200w, https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo-book-signing-2-400x533.jpg 400w, https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Photo-book-signing-2-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"coblocks-gallery--item\"><figure class=\"coblocks-gallery--figure has-margin-left-5 has-margin-left-mobile-5 has-margin-right-5 has-margin-right-mobile-5\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Dad-child-with-Gabe-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"11\" data-link=\"https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/dad-child-with-gabe\/\" class=\"wp-image-11\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Dad-child-with-Gabe-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Dad-child-with-Gabe-rotated-200x267.jpg 200w, https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Dad-child-with-Gabe-rotated-400x533.jpg 400w, https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Dad-child-with-Gabe-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Dad-child-with-Gabe-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Dad-child-with-Gabe-rotated.jpg 1512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What books inspired you growing up? When I was growing up, I loved to read National Geographic Magazines. National Geographics allowed me to travel to other countries and experience new foods, traditions, and cultures without leaving my home in West Baltimore. During my middle school years, reading about Paul Robeson, Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, and James Baldwin helped me appreciate &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/?page_id=37\" class=\"more-link\"><span class=\"more-button\">Continue Reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Q &#038; A with David Miller<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"HeeboOswald,Playfair Display,Roboto,Tajawal,Yrsa,Ubuntu,,Asap,Barlow,Cormorant Garamond,Faustina,Fira Sans,Merriweather,Montserrat","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"{\"coblocks-shape-divider-16174324188\":{\"shapeHeight\":{\"height\":169}}}","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-37","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/37","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/37\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":242,"href":"https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/37\/revisions\/242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iamdavidmiller.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}