I was born and raised in The Bronx, NY and I was super proud to see two Bronx born names mentioned in today’s Youth Media Awards announcements:
- Sonia Sotomayor, author of Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You.
- Rudy Gutierrez, illustrator of Double Bass Blues.
The Bronx is a gritty borough of NYC that’s filled with so much art and good, but the positives are most times overshadowed by the negatives.
The only bookstore in the entire borough opened in the spring of 2019, so when I visited home last summer I had to check it out. I can’t seem to find any of the pictures I took of the inside, but the outside of the store was just as beautiful.
Although there’s access to public libraries (thankfully), it does still make me sad to know that there is only one bookstore in an area with a population of over 1.4 million people.
Seeing two Bronx born names in today’s announcements was special for me and it reminded me of how I felt walking into this indie bookstore.