Atlanta, GA -- (SBWire) -- 01/28/2014 --Goldest Karat Publishing, LLC, a black-owned boutique publisher of educational non-fiction titles, coloring books, and entertaining children’s books that fill a critical niche in the African-American literary market, today announced the release and availability of a new, but unique set of children’s books aimed at African-Americans and people of African descent.

The titles of the books are Big Hair, Don’t Care, The Colorful Adventures of Zoe & Star, The Colorful Adventures of Cody & Jay, Color My Fro, and Supermommy. All are now available at both http://www.goldestkarat.com and Amazon.

Aimed at an audience made up of African-American parents and educators, the books are ideal gifts for Black History month, a time of heightened cultural awareness for African-Americans, according to Crystal Swain-Bates, author and owner of Goldest Karat Publishing, LLC.

“During Black History Month, we have always found that African-American readers are more apt to search out new and interesting black books for their children,” says Swain-Bates, who adds the books were published between August 2013 and January 2014.

Offering an overview of each new book, Swain-Bates, presents the following:

Big Hair, Don’t Care: Designed to boost self-esteem and build confidence in kids of all races, this beautifully illustrated picture book featuring a little black girl who loves her big hair is aimed at boys and girls who may need a reminder that it's ok to be different.

The Colorful Adventures of Zoe & Star: This book follows the afro-sporting Zoe & the braid-wearing Star as they imagine themselves as scientists, veterinarians, fairies, princesses, and more! Follow them throughout over 45 fun-filled coloring and activity pages that inspire creativity, promote self-confidence, and celebrate diversity.

The Colorful Adventures of Cody & Jay: This book follows Cody & Jay as they imagine themselves as scientists, race car drivers, superheroes, artists, and more! Follow them throughout over 40 fun-filled coloring and activity pages that inspire creativity, promote self-confidence, and celebrate diversity.

Color My Fro: In celebration of the beauty of black women with natural hair, 31 big-haired fairies, mermaids, warriors, models, cheerleaders, and fierce divas grace the pages of this coloring book. Fun for any occasion, "Color My Fro" is perfect for natural hair lovers of any age.

Supermommy: Perfect for children in single-parent homes, this picture book celebrates a single mother's seemingly supernatural ability to care for her children, at least in her daughter Miadora’s eyes as she attempts to showcase her Supermommy at her school’s show and tell.

According to Swain-Bates, who is the author of the above books, there is a major lack of diversity in traditional publishing. As a result, she says, “there are not enough books on the market that showcase positive images of little black girls and boys, essentially making them invisible in children’s literature.”

Arguing that kids begin to develop their sense of self-esteem at a very young age, Swain-Bates believes that rarely seeing characters that look like them in books can be detrimental to their confidence and growth.

“Imagine never being able to see images of characters that look like you when you open a book?” questions Swain-Bates, who believes that is the “lived experience” of millions of black children all over the world.

According to a 2012 Cooperative Children's Book Center study, only 3.3 percent of the over 3,500 children’s books examined were about Africans or African-Americans.

Growing tired of the lack of diversity in children’s picture and activity books, according to Swain-Bates, was the deciding factor in her doing something about it.

About Crystal Swain-Bates
A native of Atlanta, GA, Crystal Swain-Bates is an author and the owner of Goldest Karat Publishing, LLC. Crystal holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Florida State University and is an avid world traveler. For more about Goldest Karat Publishing, visit the website at goldestkarat.com, follow the company on Instagram @goldestkarat, or like Crystal’s Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/cswainbates.

For further information, please contact: Crystal Swain-Bates, Publisher, 404.465.4120, crystal@goldestkarat.com.

FROM: Goldest Karat Publishing, LLC, PO Box 724621, Atlanta, GA 31139, USA (www.goldestkarat.com)