Don Tate
Children's Author
Austin, TX
Website:
123-456-7890
Follow on Social Media:
Facebook: @DonTateAuthor
BlueSky: @dontate.bsky.social
Email: dontate2@gmail.com
About Don
Don Tate is the award-winning creator of numerous picture book biographies, including Jerry Changed the Game! How Engineer Jerry Lawson Revolutionized Video Games Forever; Pigskins to Paintbrushes: The Story of Football-Playing Artist Ernie Barnes; William Still and His Freedom Stories: The Father of the Underground Railroad; and Swish!: The Slam-Dunking, Alley-Ooping, High-Flying Harlem Globetrotters, among others. Don’s accolades include an Ezra Jack Keats Book Award and Honor, Carter G. Woodson Book Awards, Christopher Awards, and SCBWI Crystal and Golden Kite Awards.
General Author Visit Information
Grade Levels Visited: PreK-12​
Visit Formats: In-Person, Virtual​
Travel Radius for In-Person Visits: United States
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Visit Fee Range: Contact Carmen Oliver at the Booking Biz for pricing
Travel Fee: Contact Carmen Oliver at the Booking Biz for pricing
Best way to book Don for a visit: Through email, this link on Don's website, or through Carmen Oliver
on The Booking Biz website.
Featured Books by Don Tate
Before Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo Switch, there was a tinkerer named Jerry Lawson. As a boy, Jerry loved playing with springs, sprockets, and gadget-y things. When he grew up, Jerry became an engineer—a professional tinkerer—and in the 1970s, he turned his technical know-how to video games. Back then, if players wanted a new video game, they had to buy an entire new console, making gaming very expensive. Jerry was determined to fix this problem, and despite roadblocks along the way and having to repeat a level or two, it was never game over for his mission. Eventually, he leveled up and built a brand-new kind of video game console: one that allowed players to switch out cartridges! He also founded Video Soft, Inc., the first African American–owned video game company in the country.​​
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You know the Super Soaker. It's one of the top twenty toys of all time. And it was an accidental discovery that brought it into being. Trying to create a new cooling system for refrigerators and air conditioners, inventor Lonnie Johnson instead created the mechanics for the iconic toy. A love for rockets, robots, inventions, and a mind for creativity were present in Lonnie Johnson's early life. Growing up in a house full of brothers and sisters, Lonnie demonstrated persistence and a passion for problem solving that became the cornerstone of his career as an engineer and his work with NASA. But it is Lonnie's invention of the Super Soaker water gun that has made the most memorable splash in popular culture.
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The inspiring true story of Ernie Barnes, who defined himself on his own terms and pushed the boundaries of “possible,” from the football field to the painting canvas. Young Ernie Barnes was bullied for being shy, overweight, and uninterested in sports. He instead took refuge in his sketchbook, in vibrant colors, bold brushstrokes, and flowing lines. But growing up in a poor, Black neighborhood during the 1930s, opportunities to learn about art were rare, and art museums were off-limits because of segregation laws. Discouraged and tired of being teased, Ernie joined the school football team. Although reluctant at first, he soon become a star.​
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