Carole Boston Weatherford & Jeffery Weatherford, author-illustrator, mother-son duo behind children's and young adult books: diverse, anti-racist nonfiction, biographies, poetry, historical fiction on African American heritage, culture, social justice. STEAM programs for K-12 and all ages.
These books may not bear any resemblance, but they are twins. Both titles release in January. And both unfold through poetic narratives that center seminal events in the civil rights struggle. Jeffery and I are now booking school visits for the King Holiday, Black History Month and beyond featuring these titles and others on social justice issues.
Before He Was Thurgood: The Gutsy Kid Who Would Transform the Supreme Court chronicles the life and career of Thurgood Marshall, who was the lead attorney in the landmark school desegregation case, Brown v. Board of Education. When Marshall misbehaved in class, his teacher sent him to the school basement with a copy of the Constitution. Young Marshall memorized it and carried a copy in his pocket throughout his life. He became a civil rights attorney and the first African American appointed to the U. S. Supreme Court. This is my first collaboration with Caldecott Honor winner Gordon James. Pre-order here.
Strength in Numbers: The Montgomery Bus Boycott notes the collective action that mobilized and sustained the 1955 protests to desegregate municipal buses in Montgomery, Alabama. Illustrated by Caldecott Honor winner Noa Denmon, the book tells the story by the numbers, spotlighting famous figures such as Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as ordinary citizens who printed flyers, drove in carpools, raised funds, and soled shoes. The first picture book to offer a comprehensive look at the boycott, this is the kind of picture book appropriate for secondary schools as well, particularly in social studies courses. Pre-order here.
When I became Young People’s Poet Laureate in 2024, book bans were proliferating in red states, often targeting BIPOC and LGBTQ+ subject matter. In response to the wave of censorship, I conducted readings in states where efforts to ban books and to erase African American history are on the rise.
Now, as my tenure as Young People’s Poet Laureate nears its end, I have asked poets who write for young people to report titles that have been targeted by bans, challenges or so-called “soft bans.” I did further research myself and consulted data collected by Evalena Lakin, librarian assistant for the Poetry Foundation.
The resulting list, BANNED POETS SOCIETY, cites works by leading poets for young people, including several of my fellow Young People’s Poets Laureate: Margarita Engle, Elizabeth Acevedo, Jacqueline Woodson, Naomi Shahib Nye, Nikki Grimes–my successor–and myself. Through my research, I found that ten of my own books have been targeted.
This list below shines a light poets whose work is bold and brave and on books that young people deserve the freedom to read. These diverse books enlighten, enrich, empower, and, most importantly, cultivate empathy among a most important audience.
If you identify other banned or challenged books of poetry for children and young adults, please contact me, so that I can update the list.
POETS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
BANNED OR CHALLENGED CHILDREN’S AND YOUNG ADULT BOOKS
Elizabeth Acevedo
The Poet X
Maria Dolores Aguila
A Sea of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez
Kwame Alexander
The Undefeated
Laurie Halse Anderson
Shout: A Poetry Memoir
Andrea Beatriz Arango
Iveliz Explains It All
Dean Atta
The Black Flamingo
Mahogany L. Browne, Elizabeth Acevedo, and Olivia Gatwood, editors
Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice
Lesa Cline-Ransome
Before She Was Harriet
Matt de la Pena
Last Stop on Market Street
Safia Elhillo
Home Is Not a Country
Zetta Elliott
A Place Inside of Me Say Her Name
Margarita Engle
Drum Dream Girl A Dog Named Haiku
Reem Faruqi
Lailah’s Lunchbox
Betsy Franco
You Hear Me? Poems and Writings by Teenage Boys
Kate Fussner
The Song of Us
Amanda Gorman
Change Sings Girls on the Rise
Robin Gow
Dear Mothman A Million Quiet Revolutions
Meg Grehan
The Deepest Breath
Nikki Grimes
Ordinary Hazards
Joanna Ho
Eyes that Kiss in the Corners
Ellen Hopkins
Tilt Crank
Cheryl Hudson and Wade Hudson, editors
We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices
Candice Iloh
Every Body Looking
Bee Johnson
What Can a Mess Make
Supriya Kelkar
Brown Is Beautiful: A Poem of Self-Love
Meg Eden Kuyatt
Good Different
Thanhha Lai
Inside Out and Back Again
Rajani LaRocca
Red, White, and Whole
Irene Latham and Charles Waters
Can I Touch Your Hair: Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship
Grace Lin
A Big Mooncake for Little Star
Carole Lindstrom
We Are the Water Protectors
Jessica Love
Julian Is a Mermaid Julian at the Wedding
Amber McBride
We Are All So Good at Smiling
Alice McGinty
Bathe the Cat
Jasminne Mendez
The Story of My Anger
Eve Merriam
Halloween ABC Inner City Mother Goose
Lindsay Metcalf, editor
No Voice Too Small
Yuyi Morales
Dreamers
Marilyn Nelson
A Wreath for Emmett Till
Lesléa Newman
October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard
Naomi Shahib Nye, editor
The Flag of Childhood: Poems from the Middle East
Gayle Pitman
This Day in June My Maddy
Jason Reynolds
Long Way Down
Christian Robinson
You Matter
Shifa Saltagi Safadi
Kareem Between
Yusuf Salam and Ibi Zoboi
Punching the Air
Aida Salazar
The Moon Within Land of the Cranes
Erika Sanchez
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
Hannah V. Sawyerr
All the Fighting Parts
John Schu
Louder than Hunger
Dr. Seuss
The Lorax Hop on Pop
Shel Silverstein
A Light in the Attic
Nikkolas Smith
The Artivist
Traci Sorell
At the Mountain’s Base
Jamila Thompkins-Bigelow
Your Name Is a Song
Padma Venkatraman
Safe Harbor A Time to Dance
Jasmine Warga
Other Words for Home
Renée Watson
Black Girl You are Atlas The 1619 Project: Born on the Water Maya’s Song
Carole Boston Weatherford
Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane Freedom in Congo Square Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-ins Gordon Parks: How the Photographer Captured Black and White America How Do You Spell Unfair: Macnolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom Remember the Bridge: Poems of a People Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre
With more than 80 books of nonfiction and poetry for young people, we sticking with what we know. This school year, our presentations for grades K-12 will focus on how we research subject matter and how we use poetry to document, history, science and processes. Program themes include family, community, achievement, creativity and activism. See program options and related books below.
You can save money by booking us during an already scheduled swing through your city. We’ll be touring New York (October 13-15), Chicago (October 20-23), Philadelphia (November 19-22), eastern North Carolina (November 11-12) and the DMV (Baltimore-Washington-Northern Virginia) in late February. Email us for booking info.
Last year, our verse novel and family history, KIN: ROOTED IN HOPE was chosen as the One Maryland One Book. In communities across the state, reading groups gathered around the theme, “What We Collect, What We Tell,” to discuss KIN. On tour, we were heartened by readers’ questions and conversations.
While KIN was the first poetry book chosen as the One Maryland One Book, it was not the first time that one of our books was selected for a common read. Here are some titles that schools and communities have read together and some that we think would make great picks:
A variation on One School, One Book is a One Author (author study) program. Nashville Public Schools took it a step further, starting with a professional development on integrating my books into music classrooms and culminating with a district-wide recital. Talk about ambitious! Learn more in this video.
Common reads foster community, connection, learning and growth. If you’d like to organize a common read but want to keep things simple, try a One Poem program. Here are some poems that will get your scholars reading and talking.
Behold the cover of my upcoming collab with Caldecott Honor winner Noa Denmon. Set for January 12, 2027 release, the book focuses on the grassroots movement behind the 1955 bus boycott to desegregate buses in Montgomery, Alabama. Written in verse, of course, the narrative unfolds by the numbers.
When I was a college freshman, my parents gave me Roget’s Thesaurus as a Christmas gift. The inscription is priceless, perhaps even prophetic. Years later, my father saw my first book published and saw me win a writer’s fellowship. My mother survived him by 27 years and joined me in celebrating each new book and honor.
When my parents became grandparents, they continued the book-giving tradition. Though intended for my children, three such gifts–Afro-Bets ABC Book, Afro-Bets 123 Book and Bright Eyes, Brown Skin; all from Just Us Books)–introduced me to a new, more diverse crop of children’s literature and inspired me to try my hand at writing for young people.
In this season of giving, consider books for the heart, mind, body and soul. My curated collection includes titles for almost anyone on your list.
Whether you’re superstitious or mathematically inclined, seven is often deemed a lucky number. As book reviewers issue their rundowns of the year’s best books, I am thanking my lucky stars for seven new releases in 2025. Yes, 7!
RAP IT UP!, co-authored with my son, Jeffery Boston Weatherford (best-known as an award-winning illustrator), was his brainchild and passion project. Our fourth collaboration, RAP IT UP!, illustrated by Ernel Martinez, is inspired by the hip hop workshops that Jeffery conducts for youth in schools and communities.
Notable Poetry Book of the Year–National Council of Teachers of English
[A] knockout. . . . [I]t celebrates the joy of creating. . . . glorifies the wonders of language. . . lays out steps for success [and] offers endless encouragement. The ultimate message—put in the work, because “The words you write are worth it”—comes through.—Booklist, starred review
FAMILY FEASTis my sixth collaboration with illustrator Frank Morrison. The text, set during a family gathering, gives shout-outs to my late mother and her five siblings. My beagle Gigi, a relentless beggar and stealth food thief, co-stars. Listen to me and Frank on NPR Weekend Edition.
“The joy lingers long after dessert across this soulful tribute to legacy, love, and familial gatherings.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“This celebration of food and family is a perfect addition to picture book collections.”—The Bulletin, starred review
“A triumphant and utterly inviting gustatory celebration.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
ANDRE’: ANDRE’ LEON TALLEY, A FABULOUSLY FASHIONABLE FAIRY TALEis my second collaboration with Rob Sanders. Inspired by my childhood dream of becoming a fashion designer, the picture book biography features art by debut children’s book illustrator–and veteran fashion illustrator–Lamont O’Neal. Like Andre’ himself, the book slays.
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books
“Fashion king Talley is brought to tender, glorious life by the award-winning team of Weatherford and Sanders (A Song for the Unsung, 2022), who take readers into the late Vogue editor’s young life and journey to fame. Another stellar profile. . . that belongs in any picture-book biography section.” —Booklist, starred review
“Fashion icon André Leon Talley grew up in the Jim Crow South, where discrimination was ‘as clear-cut as the sharp pleats on a pair of men’s trousers.’ [T]his telling of his story manages to capture his exuberant joy without glossing over the serious and often painful challenges he faced.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Book, starred review
WHEN I MOVE is a bouncy bundle of joy for the littles. Illustrated by Alea Marley, the rhyming text is sure to keep them leaping, running, and dancing. A board book version is also in the works.
“This is a picture book tailor-made for storytime: Weatherford’s succinct first-person text makes great use of repetition, as well as end rhymes that beg for children’s voices to complete… Celebratory and, yes, moving.”–The Horn Book
GRIND: AN ODE TO SKATEBOARDING is illustrated by Argentinian street artist Anguirria. Inspired by my days as a skateboard mom, the book captures the daring moves of one of the first extreme sports.
Junior Library Guild Gold Selection
“An exhilarating ride.”—Booklist
A HUG LIKE MICHELLE’S, A VOICE LIKE BEYONCE’S, a companion to HAIR LIKE OBAMA’S, HAND LIKE LEBRON’S, is a rhythmic rundown of Black women role models and the traits that they embody. The book is illustrated by Savanna Durr.
IF KAMALA CAN. . . YOU CAN TOO, illustrated by Adriana Pacino, highlights moments from the trailblazer’s life and career in what I term a picture book “un-biography.”
The most anticipated arrival of the year was not a book, but my granddaughter Beah. Born to my son Jeffery and his wife Bre’Anna on July 15, Beah is so precious. Our family is thankful. God is indeed good!
Jeffery spits a few bars from RAP IT UP!, our first co-authored title.
DJ Kool Herc gave birth to the breakbeat at a 1973 back-to-school party in the Bronx. In 1980, I wrote the poem, “I’m Made of Jazz,” which would be my first professional publication credit. Influenced by poetry of the Black Arts Movement, the poem–which came to me out of the blue and fully formed–might have been rap. But I didn’t realize it then. So instead of leaning into hip hop, I set my sights on becoming an author.
Today, hip hop is the language of global youth culture. As an HBCU professor, I created the course, Hip Hop: Poetry, Politics and Pop Culture, which would become the English department’s most popular offering.
Meanwhile, my son Jeffery, not yet a published illustrator, was freestyling and performing every chance he got. Together, we created Hip Hop Tech, a youth residency on writing, producing and performing rap. Jeffery continues to lead these transformative workshops and to spread the gospel of hip hop.
All the while, I was working on my own bars–a picture book manuscript about hip hop history. Published in 2019 and illustrated by Frank Morrison, The Roots of Rap: 16 Bars on the 4 Pillars of Hip Hop, recounts hip hop’s early history and gives props to old school rappers. Download a free teacher’s guide for The Roots of Rap here.
This year saw the release of Rap It Up!, co-authored by me and Jeffery and illustrated by Ernel Martinez. Jeffery’s brainchild, the how-to-book inspires young readers to express themselves creatively and confidently. Chock full of literary terms, the book is an ELA and music teacher’s dream-come-true.
During school visits, we pair these titles in a presentation on the evolution of hip hop. Jeffery never fails to wow the students with his performance of Rap It Up! This program is great for Black History Month, National Poetry Month or even Black Music Month. Contact Carole about bookings.
We honor veterans today with Jeffery’s rap tribute inspired by our verse novel, You Can Fly: The Tuskegee Airmen; his illustration of a member of the U.S. Colored Troops; and a poem about our forebear, Isaac Copper, U.S.C.T., from our family history, KIN: Rooted in Hope. To all veterans: Thank you for your service!
We’ve got a few more appearances before the holiday season: Arlington, Virginia; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Washington, DC for the African American Civil War Museum Descendants Conference; and Denver, Colorado for National Council of Teachers of English conference. NCTE meets the week before Thanksgiving, so I’m planning ahead for my family feast. I’m prepping not only for the big meal but also to keep bellies full all weekend. These recipes are among my faves. What’s cooking at your house? Share in the comments section below.
How fitting that our One Maryland One Book (OMOB) tour for Kin: Rooted in Hope coincided with Family History Month and Banned Books Week. Kin traces our family’s lineage to 1770 on the largest enslavement plantation in Maryland and to two all-Black Reconstruction era villages that they co-founded. Jeffery and I collaborated on the book in a quest that culminated with this epiphany.
Knowing your history is generational wealth.
The OMOB tour began at Riversdale House Museum in Riversdale, Maryland with a pop-up exhibition of Jeffery’s art from the book juxtaposed with furniture and artifacts throughout the one-time plantation. Together, we discussed the book and shared favorite poems.
The next stop was Chesapeake College in Wye Mills, Maryland on the Eastern Shore where the book is set. My dear friend, Harriette Lowery, a co-founder of the Frederick Douglass Honor Society, moderated the discussion which was livestreamed. A record crowd greeted us. We appreciate all the love.
Our busiest day–on Maryland’s Western Shore–included stops at the College of Southern Maryland in La Plata and St. Mary’s College of Maryland in St. Mary’s City. The reception at the College of Southern Maryland featured such local delicacies as quick-pickled watermelon rind. Delish! Here’s a recipe.
We ended the week at Morgan State University in my hometown–Baltimore. Thanks to the Department of English and Foreign Languages and new chair Dr. DeMaris Hill for hosting our appearance.
Although our official tour wrapped up, discussions of Kin continue across the state. Jeffery and I attended the Berlin Book Festival (Maryland, not Germany!). Berlin was the birthplace of the subject of By and By: Charles Albert Tindley, the Father of Gospel Music, my first collaboration with Bryan Collier. I dropped in on a book club meeting at Edenwald senior living community in Towson, and we both spoke at the Maryland Lynching Memorial Conference at the Reginald F. Lewis Maryland Museum of African American History and Culture.
We’re eager to discuss Kin in secondary schools and with book clubs. Download the Kin reading guide here.
Carole Boston Weatherford & Jeffery Weatherford, author-illustrator, mother-son duo behind children's and young adult books: diverse, anti-racist nonfiction, biographies, poetry, historical fiction on African American heritage, culture, social justice. STEAM programs for K-12 and all ages.
