Carole Boston Weatherford facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Carole Boston Weatherford
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| Born | Carole Boston February 13, 1956 Baltimore, Maryland, USA |
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Carole Boston Weatherford (born in 1956) is an American author. She has written over 50 books for kids, mostly non-fiction and poetry. She loves how poetry sounds, and this has inspired her writing.
Carole Boston Weatherford has won many awards for her books. One big award was the 2022 Coretta Scott King Award. She won it for her book Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre.
Contents
About Carole Boston Weatherford
Her Early Life and Education
Carole Boston was born on February 13, 1956, in Baltimore, Maryland. She started writing poems when she was very young. Her mom would write down the poems she made up in first grade.
Her dad taught printing and even helped publish her first writings. As a kid, she loved reading books by Dr. Seuss and Langston Hughes. She kept writing as a hobby all through high school and college.
Carole went to college and earned several degrees. She got a Bachelor of Arts from American University in 1977. Later, she earned a Master of Arts from the University of Baltimore in 1982. She also got a Master of Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Her Writing Career
Carole Boston Weatherford published her first picture book in 1995. It was called Juneteenth Jamboree. This book was about a summer celebration that remembers when slavery ended in Texas. After that, she wrote many books for young children.
She also wrote a poetry collection and two non-fiction books for older kids. In 2001, she published The Sound That Jazz Makes. This book is a poem that tells the story of African-American music. It won an award and was a finalist for another.
Carole has continued to write many books. She writes poetry, historical fiction, and non-fiction stories about real people for children. One of her most important books is Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom. She said this book helped her career reach a new level. Moses won an award for its pictures and became a New York Times bestseller.
In 2008, she wrote her first novel in poetry for young adults. It was called Becoming Billie Holiday. This book was about the famous singer Billie Holiday.
Her book Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre won two big awards in 2022. It won both the Coretta Scott King Award for author and illustrator. This book was also a finalist for other important awards.
Carole Boston Weatherford feels it's her job to find old family stories and forgotten struggles. Her books explore African-American history from a child's point of view. She wants to connect the past to new generations. Many of her stories are based on real events from places she has lived. In her books, she often includes notes about the history that inspired her stories. She hopes her books about the Jim Crow era and the Civil Rights era will encourage kids today to work for fairness.
Carole also became a writer-in-residence at Fayetteville State University. She taught writing and children's literature there.
Her Views on Characters in Pop Culture
Carole Boston Weatherford has written articles about how some characters in popular culture might show old stereotypes. She focused on characters from East Asian cartoons.
Pokémon Characters
In 2000, Carole wrote an article about a Pokémon character named Jynx. She felt that Jynx, Pokémon #124, looked like a negative stereotype of African Americans. Jynx had black skin, big pink lips, and a certain body shape.
Because of this discussion, the creators changed Jynx's look. In later games, Jynx's skin color was changed from black to purple. This change also appeared in the cartoon series a few years later.
Dragon Ball Characters
In another article in 2000, Carole also talked about Mr. Popo. This character is from the Dragon Ball series. She described Mr. Popo as a round, black-skinned genie with big red lips.
Later, when the Dragon Ball comics were released, Mr. Popo's lips were drawn smaller. Also, newer Dragon Ball Super shows have more black characters who are not stereotypes.
Awards and Honors
Many of Carole Boston Weatherford's books have been chosen as "Junior Library Guild" selections. This means they are highly recommended books for young readers.
Awards She Has Won
Carole Boston Weatherford has won many awards for her books. Here are some of them:
- 2001: The Sound that Jazz Makes won the Carter G. Woodson Book Award.
- 2002: Remember the Bridge won the North Carolina AAUW Award for Juvenile Literature.
- 2005: Freedom on the Menu won the North Carolina AAUW Award for Juvenile Literature.
- 2007: Moses won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Children. It was also an Honor book for the Caldecott Medal.
- 2008: Birmingham, 1963 won the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award and the Jefferson Cup Award.
- 2016: Gordon Parks won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Children. Voice of Freedom was an Honor book for the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, Caldecott Medal, and Sibert Medal.
- 2017: Freedom in Congo Square won the Charlotte Zolotow Award. It was also an Honor book for the Caldecott Medal.
- 2018: Schomburg won the AAUW NC Award for Young People's Literature, the Golden Kite Award for Non-Fiction, and the Walter Dean Myers Award for Young Readers.
- 2021: BOX was an Honor book for the Newbery Medal.
- 2022: Unspeakable won the Coretta Scott King Award for Author and Illustrator. It also won the Carter G. Woodson Book Award, Kids' Book Choice Award, and the Sibert Medal. It was an Honor book for the Caldecott Medal.
- 2023: Me and the Family Tree won the Margaret Wise Brown Board Book Award. Standing in the Need of Prayer was an Honor book for the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award.
- 2024: Kin: Rooted in Hope won the Claudia Lewis Award for Poetry.
Books on "Best Of" Lists
Many of Carole Boston Weatherford's books have been named among the best books of the year by different groups:
- Box (2020) was on Kirkus Reviews' Best Picture Books of the Year list.
- Freedom in Congo Square (2016) was on lists like Booklist Editors' Choice and The New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children's Books.
- How Do You Spell Unfair? (2023) was on Booklist Editors' Choice and Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Books of the Year.
- The Roots of Rap (2019) was on Booklist' Top 10 Arts Books for Youth and New York Public Library's Best Books for Kids.
- Schomburg (2017) was on Shelf Awareness Best Picture Books of the Year and Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Books of the Year.
- Unspeakable (2021) was on many "best of" lists, including Booklist Editors' Choice, The New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children's Books, and NPR's Books We Love.
- Voice of Freedom (2015) was on Booklist Editors' Choice and The Horn Book Magazine Fanfare for Nonfiction.
Her Family Life
Carole Boston married Ronald Jeffrey Weatherford in 1985. They have two children.
