When Dessa Carroll became a mother in 2024, she started attending storytimes and “mommy and me” workshops around Flatbush. But as she made her way through Brooklyn’s family-friendly spaces, she couldn’t help but notice a troubling pattern: a lack of diversity.

“The only focus on Black or BIPOC stories was on special holidays,” Carroll told Brooklyn Paper.

Determined to change that, she launched Brown Babies n’ Books in March — a grassroots literacy and wellness initiative that centers Black and Brown families through storytime events, community gatherings and cultural connection. At the heart of the project is a simple but powerful goal: to create a space where children can see themselves in the stories they read.

Her newest initiative, the Little Library Box, takes that mission a step

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