Christopher Stewart is known by his students as the Peace and Love Librarian. His mission is to serve up heaping helpings of both as a high school librarian, teacher, preacher, and debut children’s author in Washington, D.C. His Becoming Ari series, illustrated by Lala Stellune (Lerner), includes the first four titles: Shelter Pet Block Party, Kicks for a Cause, Feeding Friends, and The Page Turner Project, which hit shelves in August. PW spoke with Stewart about why social justice is at the heart of everything he does, and how he hopes to help his students and readers create a kinder, more understanding, and empathetic world for all.
How did you get the name “Peace and Love Librarian”?
There is so much in the world that is not so kind and loving, but it doesn’t take much to exude peace or to give love to people. My students gave me that name, and I try to live up to it every day. I wake up in the morning with the goal to spread kindness, love, and peace. And I go to sleep at night with the same goal for the next day. But it’s not simply about speaking it; it’s about acting on it. Even if you’re not being treated as kind, there’s always a way to combat that with the opposite of what you’re receiving. I call it “peacefully fighting”; it’s simply serving individuals in the way that they feel whole, and loved. My hope is to embody this, to empower my students to give peace and love, and to receive that, too. And, when this happens, it’s a chain reaction!
What was it that turned you on to reading? And, how did you find your way to becoming a school librarian?
I did not like reading as a kid, but then I began to love it as a teen. I fell in love with Walter Dean Myers and R.L. Stine books, and titles in my mom’s collection, including books by J. California Cooper and Alice Walker, among others. When I read these books, something happened as I turned the pages. The more I read them, the more my comprehension improved, the more I loved reading—and the better my writing became. Reading married it altogether, and I was hooked.
In college, I was studying biochemistry because I wanted to be an OB/GYN. I took a work study job at the library’s reference desk, and I really liked it. I ended up leaving school for a bit, and got a job at a public library in circulation. While I was working, I went back and finished my MLIS degree. It was the combination of working in circulation and programming that did it for me. I was able to help draw people into the library who were not necessarily interested in checking out books, but would find the programming that they wanted and the informational resources that they needed. This expanded my view of what the library could offer the community! While I was in that post, I started the Father/Son Book Club to ensure that young boys had a chance to engage with other men in the community, read books, and talk about topics that interested them. Being able to serve students and becoming a dad myself, I decided that working as a school librarian with my summers off to spend time with my growing family would be the best for my wife, kids, and me.
Can you talk about your current work as a librarian, teacher, and preacher? What’s the best part of it all?
Today, I’m the senior school librarian, grades 9–12, in the District of Columbia’s public schools at the Columbia Heights Education Campus. In addition, I am a part-time professor at St. John’s University and Syracuse University, where I teach information technology for their graduate school library science programs.
One of the best parts is working with my high school students. I consider it a luxury to be able to serve them every day, because they come with so much. And I’m able to help them navigate their world and build empathy for others. Helping create empathetic leaders is a big thing for me. It’s one of the reasons why I created the Peace, Love, and Meditation room in our library. And, as part of my librarian work and my preacher role, my students and I give free food and books to our neighbors who are unhoused. When my students are engaged in that service, it builds empathy. They come back to me and ask, “When is the next event, Mr. Stewart?” They want to help! They’re learning that this doesn’t cost or take anything from you.
Empathy is an important theme in your writing, too. How did you begin creating your Becoming Ari series, and why?
I’ve always loved writing. I remember my mom would encourage me to share my thoughts and feelings. I’d often write these down as a note—especially when I was upset—and slip it under her bedroom door. As I got older, I went through a poetry phase, and then I started writing short stories and longer pieces, too. Writing became therapeutic for me. When I started working in a public library and seeing a lack of material that represented our population, I thought it would be pretty dope to write a book that reflected my diverse community. Then, when I started working as a school librarian, I got an idea for a YA novel about a kid named Ari who wanted to develop a secret society with his friends and do amazing things in the community. I chose to make him Black and Indian because I am a Black man and my wife is Indian, and there aren’t a lot of books centered around Black and Indian children like our own. I thought it would be fun to have diverse characters involved in a secret kindness society, and that maybe readers would like to form their own.
What are your hopes for the Becoming Ari series?
With each book, I include a backstory of a kid in real life who is serving their community with peace and love like the characters in the series. My hope for the series is that it will add to stories that are already out there spreading messages of peace and kindness in every corner that we turn.
How do you think your writing, teaching, and library work inform and influence each other?
With my work in the library and the classroom, the biggest thing that I do is build relationships. I’m building relationships with my students and teachers, and helping them build relationships with each other and with books. With my writing, my goal is to build relationships with my characters; and my readers build relationships with the characters and my books. And through these relationships, we can care about each other and set a kind agenda. We can make sure that everyone is respected, and that everyone is compassionate, empathetic, and stands up for each other.
Your obvious care for others includes your daily acts of social justice as well as plans to open a book and food store with a pay-as-you-will policy and build affordable housing in your boyhood town in North Carolina. Why does this matter so deeply to you, and why should it matter to us all?
It goes back to my relationship with God, my faith in God, and my faith in humanity. I know that humanity is incredible, and that we all have the capability of being loving, kind, and generous. Sure, we all can be selfish at times. But, if we choose to see ourselves in all of humanity, we see that we are truly connected. It becomes a deeper bond where when I see you suffering, I am suffering, too. It’s an empathic experience. It hurts me to see you hurting. It’s about asking yourself who you are, what your actions are, and doing what’s right.
