Woke Babies is delighted to kickstart their brand new blog series, celebrating a black creative every month and we are thrilled to have kick started this series with the award-winning author, Trish Cooke!
Our brand new blog corner will honour a black author or illustrator featured in our subscription box of that month, taking a look back at their accomplishments and all the exciting things to come and we couldn’t think of a better person to start this off with than with the iconic Trish Cooke.
A pillar for the black community and diverse children’s literature, Trish’s work stems over 30 years with a mighty list of accomplishments as an author, scriptwriter, playwright and actress. In 1988, Trish became a prominent figure on children’s television, writing and presenting the CBBC show, Playdays, which ran until 1996. But Trish’s talents didn’t stop at scriptwriting, an actress who found herself frustrated at the lack of roles for black women, Trish sought to create the stories and roles she wanted to see on the stage. Working on over 15 plays and receiving an Olivier nomination for her 2007 production of Cinderella.
In 1994 she published her children’s book So Much by Walker Books, this book going on to become a staple in many Black British households, still holding a personal resonance for those who remember it as the only book to make them feel seen at a time when it was so hard to find black children’s books.
In early 2021 we had the exciting development of Woke Babies becoming a publishing house, publishing our first three titles, a book series called Hairytales which saw the reimagination of classic fairy tales to celebrate afro hair and Woke Babies knew immediately who would be the perfect author to launch these books and us as a publishing house. Trish’s life-long dedication to providing representation to black children makes her an absolute inspiration to the black community.
Trish’s picture book Look Back! features in our January 2022 box for our junior subscribers. The picture book, published by Papillote Press tells a magical Caribbean folktale shared between grandmother and grandson and the grandmother’s encounters with Ti Bolom a spirit who haunts the locals. Trish’s culturally rich storytelling makes for wonderful children’s books that allow black children to see the magic of their heritage and encourage them to embrace it.
Trish will be working with Woke Babies later this year as a judge for the first ever Woke Babies Book Awards 2022!
