Jacqueline Woodson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jacqueline Woodson
Woodson at the 2018 U.S. National Book Festival
Born	Jacqueline Amanda Woodson (1963-02-12) February 12, 1963 (age 63) Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation	Writer
Alma mater	Adelphi University The New School
Period	1990–present
Genre	Young adult fiction
Subject	African-American literature
Notable works	Miracle's Boys (2000) Show Way (2006) Feathers (2007) After Tupac and D Foster (2008) Brown Girl Dreaming (2014)
Notable awards	National Book Award 2014 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature 2018 MacArthur Fellowship 2020
Partner	Juliet Widloff
Children	2

Jacqueline Amanda Woodson (born February 12, 1963) is a famous American author. She writes many wonderful books for children and young adults. She is especially known for books like Miracle's Boys and her award-winning titles Brown Girl Dreaming, After Tupac and D Foster, Feathers, and Show Way.

Woodson was the Young People's Poet Laureate from 2015 to 2017. Later, the Library of Congress chose her as the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature for 2018 to 2019. Her novel Another Brooklyn was a finalist for a big award in 2016. She also received the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2018 and the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2020. In 2020, she became a MacArthur Fellow, which is a special honor.

Early Life and Dreams

Jacqueline Woodson was born in Columbus, Ohio. She lived in Nelsonville, Ohio, for a short time. Then her family moved to Greenville, South Carolina. When she was about seven, they moved to Brooklyn. She shares more about her childhood homes in her autobiography, Brown Girl Dreaming.

Even as a young girl, Jacqueline loved making up stories. She always knew she wanted to be a writer. Some of her favorite books were "The Little Match Girl" by Hans Christian Andersen. She also loved Roll of Thunder, Hear Cry by Mildred D. Taylor.

Writing Career

I wanted to write about places and people I knew. I wanted to share stories about diverse communities. I also wanted to write about girls and friendship. These were things I felt were missing from many books when I was growing up.

Starting Her Writing Journey

After college, Jacqueline worked for a company that published children's books. She helped create reading tests. There, a book agent named Liza Pulitzer-Voges noticed her talent. This helped Jacqueline get her first book idea noticed.

Later, she took a writing class at The New School. An editor from Delacorte heard her read from her story, Last Summer with Maizon. The company decided to publish her book. This is how her first book came to be shared with the world.

What Inspired Her Stories

Jacqueline spent her childhood living in both South Carolina and Brooklyn. She described the South as calm and focused on community. Brooklyn, however, was busy, exciting, and full of different cultures. Her neighborhood had people from many backgrounds. This mix of experiences shaped her view of the world.

She also found inspiration in other writers. James Baldwin and Virginia Hamilton were very important to her. She admired how Baldwin wrote about important topics like fairness and different kinds of people. He created characters that felt very real. Nikki Giovanni, Toni Morrison, and Rosa Guy also influenced her. Her high school English teacher, Mr. Miller, was another important guide.

Her Unique Writing Style

Jacqueline Woodson fills her books with rich details about places. She often shows characters facing different kinds of challenges. These can be challenges related to their community or their background. Her characters often find ways to overcome these difficulties. This creates powerful and emotional stories.

She is also known for writing with hope. She believes books should offer a sense of optimism. She once said that if you care about your characters, you can always find hope in their stories. She wants her readers to feel that hope too.

Woodson writes specifically for young people. She understands what it feels like to be a kid or a teenager. She captures the excitement and importance of those moments. Her stories feel real and urgent, just like life does when you are growing up.

Sharing Her Knowledge

Woodson has also inspired many other writers. She teaches young people at the National Book Foundation's summer writing camp. There, she helps edit a collection of their stories each year. She also visited the American Library in Paris in 2017 to share her knowledge.

Exploring Important Themes

Woodson along with writer Jason Reynolds and Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden in January 2020

Jacqueline Woodson's books explore many important ideas. She believes her stories ask questions that everyone can relate to. She writes about different kinds of families and friendships. She shows characters facing real-life situations. Woodson wants to explore many viewpoints in her writing. She does not want to tell readers what to think.

Her novels often feature themes like family, history, and identity. She also explores how people from different backgrounds connect. Woodson is known for looking at these topics in new and interesting ways. Many of her characters might feel overlooked by society. But her stories are about their journey to understand themselves.

Characters and Perspectives

Most of Woodson's books are told from the viewpoint of female characters. However, some, like The Notebooks of Melanin Sun and Miracle's Boys, have male narrators. In her story "Trev," she explores a character's journey of identity.

Stories of African-American History and Culture

Black women have been involved in so many important parts of history. They helped build things, led changes, wrote poetry, and fought for freedom. I want the people who came before me to be part of my stories. Without them, I wouldn't be able to tell these tales.

Woodson often includes rich African-American history in her books. In her novel Coming on Home Soon, she explores life during World War II. She shows how race and gender roles were important during that time.

The Other Side is a poetic story about two young girls. One is Black and one is White. They sit on opposite sides of a fence that divides their worlds. The book explores how they connect despite the separation.

In November 2014, an incident happened at the National Book Awards. A speaker made a joke that was hurtful and showed a lack of understanding of history. Woodson later wrote about this in New York Times. She explained the importance of knowing our country's history. She believes this helps prevent people from making painful jokes about others.

Her novel Red at the Bone (2019) tells the story of three generations of a Black family. It includes important historical events. These include the Tulsa Race Massacre and the September 11 attacks.

Economic Status

The Dear One is a book that looks at differences between people. It shows how people from different economic backgrounds live within the Black community.

Facing Challenges in Books

Some of the topics in Woodson's books have caused discussions. Some adults have felt uncomfortable with certain subjects. Woodson has said that she uses very few strong words in her books. She believes that the issues adults have often reflect their own discomfort. She suggests that people should compare her book topics to what teens see in the world every day.

Personal Life

Jacqueline Woodson lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn. She lives with her partner and their two children, a daughter and a son.

Awards and Honors

Complete Works

Adult Novels

Middle Grade Titles

Young Adult Titles

Illustrated Works

Adaptations

Film

Filmmaker Spike Lee and others turned Miracle's Boys into a miniseries. It aired in 2005.

Audio Recordings

• I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This, Recorded Books, 1999
• Lena, Recorded Books, 1999
• Miracle's Boys, Listening Library, 2001
• Locomotion, Recorded Books, 2003
• Show Way, Weston Woods, 2012
• Brown Girl Dreaming, Penguin Audio, 2014
• If You Come Softly, Listening Library, 2018
• Harbor Me, Listening Library, 2018
• The Day You Begin, Listening Library, 2018
• Visiting Day, Listening Library, 2018
• Before Her, part of "The One" series, Brilliance Publishing, 2019
• Red at the Bone, Penguin Audio, 2019

See Also

• List of winners of the National Book Award