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by JR Valrey, The Minister of Information
Cherie Crusto is the newly published author of “You Bring Me Joy”, a Black children’s book dedicated to normalizing young Black boys receiving love and giving love. In the Information Age, it is important for Black children to see themselves represented in all genres of media and not just as criminals, rappers and athletes. It’s important for young Black boys to know the importance of joy and love and to want that for themselves and their families.
A majority of children’s books in the U.S. have been Euro-centric since printing in this country began, because it is psychologically beneficial in the short and long run for the system to have Black children identifying as white children and identifying with their interest, although it may be to the Black child’s and Black community’s detriment.
Learning about empowerment, self love and having a knowledge of self are important tools for children to learn early in life, if we are to improve family stability in the Black community, as well as mental health. Cherie Crusto is a trailblazer in the field of authoring children’s books, and we are encouraging our readers that are capable, to go out and purchase a copy.
JR Valrey: What is the name of the book that you authored?
Cherie Crusto: My book is titled, “You Bring Me Joy!” It’s my first children’s book and the first book of my new book series, Love Out Loud. My mission in writing this book series is to reveal to young boys some of the ways they can experience or express love.
JR Valrey: What inspired you to write a children’s book rather than an adult book?
Cherie Crusto: I was inspired to write a children’s book when I discovered how difficult it was to find children’s books when my oldest son Demani, who is now 29, was a little boy. It was challenging to find children books to read to him or buy that featured African American boys or where African Americans boys were the focus of the story such as the hero or the love interest.
Unless the book was about one of his favorite athletes the fairytale stories did not feature people of color. I also realized how easy it was to find children’s books where girls are the focus, such as the princess. It’s important that boys of all cultural backgrounds can be narrated in literature that they can love, are loved, can be heroes, be rescued and cared for and not seen as weak or soft.
Sometime in the future I plan on writing a self-care book for young adults.
JR Valrey: What was your writing process like? Did you already know what you were going to write about before you started?
Cherie Crusto: I have been writing short stories for many years but never taking it to the next steps of publishing. I personally do not know anyone who could mentor me on the writing or publishing process. This has been a huge learning experience for me where some days I asked myself, What will my sons think? Is anyone going to want to read my book? Is it relatable?
There were many nights where I could not sleep because this book means so much to me, the stress of its success worried me. Although I questioned myself and with all of the stress I still found the drive to keep writing my book and going through the process.
During the pandemic on social media I came across a woman offering a free webinar on how to publish a journal. It was during winter break and I had some time on my hands so I took the free webinar and learned how to publish my journal, Day by Day, which is considered a no content book, which is also available on Amazon.
This knowledge helped me with the self-publishing process on Amazon KDP for my children’s book.
I knew I wanted my first book to be based around an experience with my two sons but I was not sure what exactly I wanted to write about. Part of my goal in writing this book was to leave my mark in this world on how much I love my sons. I also want all the generations after me to know that they have an author in the family and that they too can become an author.
On one of my daily walks, where I do all my planning and thinking, I prayed and asked God to guide me on my book and the title, “You Bring Me Joy” came to me. Once I locked in the title and what that meant to me the writing process for the story began.
JR Valrey: What three of your favorite children’s book authors and why?
Cherie Crusto: For me growing up I really enjoyed reading Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary books. They made me feel like I was a part of a girls club reading their stories about kids my age and some of their life experiences.
For my boys I have always enjoyed reading Dr. Seuss books to them, the rhyming helped them learn to read early. Now I can add myself to the list of favorite children’s book authors because my books are to inspire and make African American boys the focus of the story.
JR Valrey: How did you publish your book? Did you self publish? Print on demand?
Cherie Crusto: I self-published my book through Amazon KDP. This was the most cost effective route for me to go and I recommend it for someone interested in self-publishing. I learned the process simply by watching YouTube videos and following certain vloggers who shared several tips for self-publishing on Amazon KDP.
JR Valrey: How do you want children to feel after reading your book?
Cherie Crusto: I want children to smile and feel the love expressed between this African American family while reading “You Bring Me Joy.” After reading my book I want young African American boys to be inspired to express love and open to experiencing love. I want parents to let this story be a reminder why it is important to make sure their kids know how much they love them and why.
Also, I want families to pull from the story to cherish the small things, the small moments with their kids because before you know it their children will have moved out and started their careers and families of their own and those intimate moments with their children will become very far from and between.
JR Valrey: What has the response from the community been to your book?
Cherie Crusto: Of course I wanted my sons, Demani and Ahmad, to be the first to read “You Bring Me Joy.” I was extremely nervous and excited to know their thoughts on the story, characters and illustrations. Their responses were priceless.
Before my oldest Demani opened the book he wanted to know which character represented him, which is Noah. After reading the book, with a huge smile on his face, he told me he loved the story and was very proud of me. He suggested we do a voice recording of the story, which I think is a great idea.
Ahmad also loved the story and told me how he could see who each character represented, however he did suggest a different hair style for Noah but that he was also very proud of me. They both stated the story brought back memories we shared together from when they were younger.
JR Valrey: How could people purchase it and get more information online?
Cherie Crusto: “You Bring Me Joy,” is now available to purchase on Amazon. This picture book would be a great addition to your book collection or a gift for someone special. Be sure to leave a five star rating along with your review on Amazon and while on Amazon check out my author bio to learn more about me and other publishings I have.
JR Valrey, journalist, author, filmmaker and founder of Black New World Media. He is also the editor in chief of the San Francisco Bay View Newspaper. He teaches the Community Journalism class twice a week at the San Francisco Bay View Newspaper office.
