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Moving News, Virtual Rap Workshops & Audiobook Hopes

I am so moved (excuse the pun) that WHEN I MOVE was chosen for the Horn Book summer reading list and that WHIRLIGIGS: THE WONDROUS WINDMILLS OF VOLLIS SIMPSON’S IMAGINATION has been nominated for the 2026 North Carolina Children’s Book Award..

Jeffery and I are both stoked that RAP IT UP!–our first authorial collaboration–received a starred review in Booklist. The reviewer notes, “This cheery picture book is a knockout. . . . . First, it celebrates the joy of creating, . . . glorifies the wonders of language. . . features vivid, graffiti-filled collages. . . [and] offers endless encouragement. The ultimate message—put in the work, because ‘The words you write are worth it'[.]’ ‘”

We presented yesterday at the Texas Christian University Children’s Literature Conference. I don’t mind telling you that Jeffery’s performance of RAP IT UP! was a big hit. If I had a dollar for everyone who’s asked whether the lyrics have been recorded, I’d have enough for Beyonce concert tickets. We’re still hoping for an audiobook narrated by Jeffery.

RAP IT UP! grew out of the rap workshops (then called Hip Hop Tech) that Jeffery began leading a decade ago. Since then, he has presented to Boys & Girls Clubs, Upward Bound, 21st Century Learning Centers, schools, libraries and museums. Available as a workshop or multi-day residency, the program includes lessons on hip hop’s history, creative writing and the technology behind the beats. This summer, Jeffery is offering only virtual workshops. Book now!

He’s making an exception on June 21 for a Juneteenth Celebration at the Academy Art Museum in Easton, Maryland. That workshop coincides with his solo exhibition of art from KIN: ROOTED IN HOPE through June at the museum. We are both thrilled that the adjacent gallery showcases works on related themes by Faith Ringgold, Jacob Lawrence and Elizabeth Catlett.

As for me, I’ll be dropping by Toronto bookstores; headlining a Juneteenth festival at Kennard African American Cultural Heritage Center in Centreville, Maryland; accepting the Children’s Literature Legacy Award at the American Library Association conference in Philadelphia; and serving as Writer-in-Residence at the Hollins University Francelia Butler Conference. Can somebody say “vacation”? I’m gonna need one!

We are now booking for the 2025-2026 school year. We can offer incentives for schools in the U.S. that book fall visits. We have availability all year, but February and March are already filling up.

Have a safe and wonderful summer!

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COVER REVEAL: Get Ready to Wiggle, Jiggle and Giggle

WHEN I MOVE, my upcoming book for the youngest readers. releases April 29, 2025. Illustrated by Alea Marley, this picture book will get kids moving and imagining! Bouncy rhymes will inspire little ones to jump, run, and explore. Pre-order here.

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My First STEAM Book–Whirligigs: The Wondrous Windmills of Vollis Simpson’s Imagination–Lands on 2 Best Book of the Year Lists!

I am pleased to announce that my first STEAM book, WHIRLIGIGS: THE WONDROUS WINDMILLS OF VOLLIS SIMPSON’S IMAGINATION, was selected by the National Science Teachers Association as a best book of the year and by the Children’s Literature Assembly as a 2025 Notable Book in the Language Arts. Profiling North Carolina folk artist Vollis Simpson, whose towering whirligigs are truly amazing, the book is about creativity and invention. Constructed of salvaged parts that others might discard, Simpson’s whirligigs spin, whirl and make sounds. Astra Books for Young Readers now has a study guide for WHIRLIGIGS. Find it here: https://astrapublishinghouse.com/resources/whirligigs-discussion-guide/.

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DMV Folks: RAP IT UP! Book Launch March 18

RAP IT UP! is our first co-authored title. Illustrated by mural artist Ernel Martinez, the how-to book covers literary devices, poetic elements and performance tips to build kids’ writing skills and enhance their confidence as public speakers. The book drops on March 18, and we can hardly wait. Please join us that evening at Oxon Hill Public Library, 6200 Oxon Hill Road, in PG County. Jeffery will be rapping, of course! We hope to see you there.

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Big News about KIN: ROOTED IN HOPE

Jeffery and I are so grateful that our ancestors reclaimed narratives will be amplified through KIN’s selection as the 2025 One Maryland One Book. We can almost feel our ancestors smiling down on us. Stay tuned for details of related activities. Thank you, Maryland Humanities.

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Summer @ Your Library: Juneteenth, Genealogy, Scratchboard Art & Rap It Up! Residency

When my first children’s book, Juneteenth Jamboree, debuted in 1995, it was the first picture book about Juneteenth. The first African-American holiday, Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the date in U.S. history when the last enslaved people were freed. For decades, the observance was regional to Texas and parts of Louisiana, Oklahoma and Kansas. Eventually, other areas joined the celebration. And, in 2021 Juneteenth became a federal holiday. Since 2020, Jeffery and I have kicked off summer with virtual and in-person Juneteenth celebrations–minus the barbecue.

Feast on these exciting programming options to engage young people all summer long.

  • Juneteenth Jamboree
  • RAP IT UP!
  • KIN Genealogy Camp
  • Scratchboard Art Workshop – Color your world with rainbow scratchboard

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A Love Letter to THE Most Banned Author

I believe that one of the most beautiful passages I have ever written appears in A Crown of Stories: The Life and Language of Beloved Writer Toni Morrison. The passage incorporates her book titles and character names. See and hear the spreads above.

Illustrated by Khalif Tahir Thomspon, A Crown of Stories is a praise song written in second person. I chose that point of view not to put young readers in her shoes but to pen a love letter to Ms. Morrison herself. I completed the manuscript before Ms. Morrison became an ancestor. I had hoped, of course, that she might read the book and be pleased by my exultation.

Besides being a Nobel Laureate, Toni Morrison is the most frequently banned author. Her books have been on the list of the 100 most banned titles in each of the previous three decades, reaching the top 10 between 2010 and 2019.

As one whose work has also been banned or challenged, I agree with Ms. Morrison’s assertion:

The best art is political and you ought to be able to make it unquestionably political and irrevocably beautiful at the same time.

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By the Numbers: 2024 in Review

  • 8 new books, including 2 inspired by Black hair stories (Who would have thought it?)
  • 2 Coretta Scott King Honors (for Kin: Rooted in Hope and How Do You Spell Unfair? Macnolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee)
  • 9 starred reviews
  • 4 awards for KIN: Rooted in Hope, including the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award
  • 3 awards for How Do You Spell Unfair?–including the NCSS Carter G. Woodson Honor and the Norman Sugarman Award for Biographies Honor
  • 1 Jane Addams Children’s Book Award (for A Song for the Unsung: Bayard Rustin, the Man Behind the March on Washington)
  • 1 NAACP Image Award nomination (for How Do You Spell Unfair?)
  • 1 book on the NSTA STEM list (first time ever)–Whirligigs: The Wondrous Windmills of Vollis Simpson’s Imagination

Thanks to all who reviewed these titles, served on award committees and shared the books with young people.

Look for a bevy of new releases in 2025, including RAP IT UP!–the first book co-authored with my son, rapper and award-winning illustrator, Jeffery Boston Weatherford. Pre-order here.

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A DEDICATION: Nikki Giovanni, BLACK POETRY & the Black Arts Movement

The recent passing of Nikki Giovanni reminded me of the first poetry book that I ever bought. Edited by Dudley Randall and published by his Detroit-based Broadside Press, the slim volume BLACK POETRY was released in 1969, the year I turned 13 and began wearing an Afro. The anthology collects works by Harlem Renaissance poets such as jean Toomer, Claude McKay and Langston Hughes and voices from Black Arts Movement, including Giovanni, Etheridge Knight, Sonia Sanchez, Clarence Major, Amira Baraka (then known as LeRoi Jones) and Haki Madhubuti (then known as Don Lee).

I bought the book during a lunch break from my part-time job at one of Baltimore’s downtown department stores. After a hamburger or kosher hot dog at the Earl of Sandwich, I’d usually head to either the Enoch Pratt Central Library or Sherman’s Bookstore and Newstand. There, I bought Black Panther newspapers, a haiku anthology, Pablo Neruda’s The Captain’s Verses and BLACK POETRY.

While in college and soon after, I attended poetry readings by Giovanni, Sanchez and Madhubuti. And, I was awed by the Ntozake Shange’s innovative play, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide (When the Rainbow is Enough). Shange’s so-called choreopoem showed me that poetry belongs not only on the page but also onstage. Poets of the Black Arts Movement showed me that poetry could be political and validated my own emerging voice.

As a budding author, I sometimes encountered Nikki Giovanni at literary events where attendees mistook me for her. I could not have been more flattered. With pride and gratitude, I dedicate my term as the Poetry Foundation’s Young People’s Poet Laureate to the poets of the Black Arts Movement who inspired a younger me.

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The Family Business: Kid Lit Duos

School Library Journal featured four award-winning family duos who collaborate on children’s books: the Roccos, the Pinkneys, the Pumphreys and us, the Weatherfords. We talk about the dynamics (and ground rules) of their creative partnerships. We are honored to be in such eloquent and illustrious company. Read the article here.

Jeffery and I not only create books together, but also take our “show” on the road to schools, libraries and cultural institutions. We’d love to visit your campus or community. We have books and programs that connect to the curriculum and commemorate the following observances:

  • King Holiday
  • Black History Month
  • Women’s History Month
  • Music Education Month
  • National Poetry Month
  • School Library Week
  • Photography Month

Find out about our school visits here.