In 1995, my first book, Juneteenth Jamboree, was released by Lee and Low Books. At the time, it was the first and only children’s book on the first African-American holiday. I did not imagine then that I would still be publishing books 30 years later. But, 70-some books later, I am still here and I am filled with gratitude. I appreciate all the parents, caregivers and teachers who have shared my books with children in homes and classrooms across the U.S. I am grateful that children are provoked to ask tough questions after reading my nonfiction books such as Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-ins, Birmingham, 1963 and How Do You Spell Unfair? Macnolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee. I am grateful for all the schools and libraries that have sponsored my author visits. I am tickled that babies sleep with, and toddlers beg their parents to read, my board books or rhyming texts like Jazz Baby and the newly released When I Move. And I am grateful to all the award juries that chose to honor my books.

I am eternally grateful that my mother had the foresight to stop the car to jot down the original rhyme that I recited on the ride home from first grade. I am grateful that my father used my poems as typesetting exercises for the students in his printing class at Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore. I am grateful that my son, illustrator and rapper Jeffery Boston Weatherford, has collaborated with me on four books, especially KIN: Rooted in Hope, a family history that received more love than I ever dreamed.

I am grateful that motherhood led me to my local library for storytimes that introduced me to a new crop of diverse children’s books which inspired me to try my hand at writing for young people. Last but not least, I am grateful for my ancestors who endured so that I could not only have a life but also build a legacy. THANK YOU!