Jacqueline Woodson H810-g Eveleen Hsu Hilary Lustick

Biography  Born in Columbus, Ohio, on February 12, 1963  Grew up in both Greenville, South Carolina and Brooklyn, NY  BA in English  Was a drama therapist for homeless children in NYC  Currently lives in Brooklyn and writes full time  Has a daughter named Toshi and a son named Jackson-Leroi

Liar to Writer  As a child, Woodson loved to write all the time and tell stories. Especially lies.  Breakthrough as a writer came in 5 th grade, when she realized her lies would be valued if she wrote them down as stories.  She grew up as an African American Jehovah’s Witness. She says, “I grew up feeling a sense of watching the world instead of being part of it.”  Wants to be known as a writer first.

Books! “I want to create characters that are non-white so kids of color can see themselves. What happens with that is that other kids see themselves too.”

Young Adult Titles After Tupac and D Foster The Dear One The House You Pass On The Way Lena* I Hadn’t Meant To Tell You This* From the Notebooks of Melanin* Sun Miracle’s Boys* If You Come Softly* Behind You* Hush* Picture Books Coming on Home Soon* The Other Side* Sweet, Sweet Memory Our Gracie Aunt Visiting Day Show Way* We Had A Picnic This Sunday Past Middle Grade Titles Feathers* Locomotion* Last Summer With Maizon Maizon At Blue Hill Between Madison And Palmetto * = Book has won an award

“I write realistic fiction. If I was writing realistic fiction and I wasn’t dealing with real stuff, I would be lying.”  Sexuality  Race  Relationships  Teen Pregnancy  Alcohol Abuse

Woodson on Censorship  Did not realize some of her books were banned from schools until Judy Blume compiled a list of censored authors in her anthology Places I Never Thought I’d Be  Example: One time when she was in Tennessee, she was told one of her books wasn’t being circulated because of an interracial relationship between a black guy and a white girl  A lot of negative mail from the Pacific Northwest, specifically Washington state from “right wing thinkers”  She views censorship as intolerance and simply ignores those who ban her books instead of directly addressing the issue

Awards  Margaret A. Edwards Award  2 Newbury Honors  Coretta Scott King Award  2 Time National Book Award Finalist  LA Times Book Prize  Parents’ Choice Award  Detroit Public Schools Students’ Favorite Author  American Library Association Prize

Resources Websites:  Her website (which contains resources for “readers,” “teachers,” and “caregivers”):     ype=author ype=author ype=author  html NPR Segments:  ml 