Katina Rankin’s new children’s book aimed at dispelling rumors about Mississippi

Katina Rankin’s new children’s book aimed at dispelling rumors about Mississippi

While reading to her young nephew on a peaceful day in 2008, Alcorn State University alumna and award winning journalist Katina Rankin noticed the effect the book had on the young lad. His enthusiasm for reading is what spawned her idea of becoming the author of her own children’s publication.

Rankin recently put her ideas to action and released her first children’s book, “Up North, Down South.” The book focuses on changing the views of Mississippi and southern culture. The two main characters, who traveled to Mississippi from New York with their parents for their summer vacation, experience the difference between their false notion of the south and what really goes on.

“People hear rumors about the south all the time,” said Rankin. “It’s so many stereotypes that people sadly still have of the deep South. This story aims to dispel the misnomers in a comical way.”

Rankin stresses that the only difference between northerners and southerners is their place on the globe.

“We all have the same sweet spirits at our core. We all have hopes. We all have dreams. We’re just located in different geographical areas.”

With her new project, Rankin hopes to show young students that no matter what, they are all special and should be proud of their culture.

“The goal is to instill pride in all children regardless of their geographical region. Our dialects and sense of style may be different, but in the end, we’re more alike than we are different.”

“Up North, Down South” is available online at www.amazon.com.