Sharon Bell Mathis (born 1937) is an American librarian and author who has written books mainly for children and young adults.
[1] She started writing at an early age, and her love of reading was fostered by her parents.
[1] Mathis has written many books for children and young adults, and has received many accolades in her career.
[1][3][5] English Journal placed Mathis alongside writers such as Toni Cade Bambara and Nikki Giovanni, characterizing them as "describing a black consciousness of self- celebration rather like that which flowered during the Harlem Renaissance and was somehow lost, at least in literature, in the intervening years of social upheaval.
[3] It was described, also in English Journal, as "a celebration of black family life, not of the stereotypical enduring parents, but of the children who find their strength in giving to each other.