West Seattle author/illustrator Danitra Hunter wants more kids to meet, and be inspired by, a character she created who’s known as Purrdie Burrdie.
She created Purrdie Burrdie while working at the West Seattle/Fauntleroy YMCA (WSB sponsor) as a teacher in recent years – a job she says she can’t do right now because the pandemic has closed her classroom. But she is working on another way to reach kids – a children’s book starring Purrdie Burrdie.
Danitra explains, “She represents self-love, and many children in our community love and adore her. Purrdie Burrdie started out as a coloring page and over the years I’ve been working on her world and I currently have a live Kickstarter campaign to publish my first children’s book “Purrdie Burrdie: I Love Myself, Can You See?” This book was inspired by little Black girls at West Seattle Elementary being ashamed of being Black and Brown girls. A friend of mine who worked for an afterschool program told me this information and it truly broke my heart.” But Purrdie Burrdie is for everyone: “I want people of all ages and backgrounds to love themselves – that’s why I am in your world!”
Her Kickstarter campaign – already more than halfway to its goal – will enable her to self-publish the Purrdie Burrdie book, ideally in February 2021, in honor of Black History Month. (Even if you’re not interested in backing her project, you can see preview pages on her Kickstarter site.)
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