Tag: picture-books

Posted on in books

Counting Blessings: 7 New Releases in 2025

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 FEAST is 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 TALE is 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!

Posted on in Uncategorized

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!

Posted on in Awards, Newsletter, Visits

Drumroll, Please: Exciting News, New Books & School & Summer Programs

The is year is off to a great start with an NAACP Image Award finalist, CROWNING GLORY: A CELEBRATION OF BLACK HAIR, a new book, IF KAMALA CAN: . . . YOU CAN TOO! (illustrated by Ariana Pacino) and a one-in-three chance that our family history, KIN: ROOTED IN HOPE, will be the One Maryland One Book selection for 2025. If chosen, this would be a first for me and Jeffery. Fingers crossed!

IF KAMALA CAN is not a biography but instead an inspirational book meant to affirm young readers’s aspirations by following former Vice President Kamala Harris’s example. If you’ve read BE A KING: DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.’s DREAM AND YOU, you’ll know what I mean.

In Nashville, Tennessee, a professional development on my books inspired music teachers to create an original composition celebrating BROS. More than 200 students played, sang and danced to the piece in the district’s first Elementary Music Festival at Tennessee Performing Arts Center–a first for the district. I also visited three schools where students performed music and dances based on BROS and JAZZ BABY. Student art on the themes in BROS was displayed on folded cafeteria tables, The production, which was beyond my imagination, was the brainchild of Franklin Willis, Metro Nashville Public Schools Director of Music, and Dr. Tiffeni Fontno, Director of Peabody Library at Vanderbilt University. Way to extend the literature!!!

Jeffery kicked off the new year by conducting his popular RAP IT UP! workshop for BAAM (Building African American Minds), a youth agency in Easton, Maryland. The all-male group produced a rap that is absolute fire!!! This transformative workshop is a mainstay of our summer offerings. Formerly known as Hip Hop Tech for its S.T.E.A.M. connections, it has been renamed after our upcoming how-to book and first co-authored collaboration, RAP IT UP!, illustrated by Ernel Martinez. Pre-order now.

Our next stop is Singapore American School–our first international visit since the pandemic. Wherever you are, we would love to visit your school, library or community with books and programs that spark curiosity, creativity, consciousness and confidence. Our K-12 presentations and workshops connect to the ELA, social studies, STEAM and SEL curricula. Themes include biographies, primary sources, social justice, and jazz. We also headline family literacy/parent involvement events. Here are a few options to whet your appetite:

  • RAP IT UP! presentation, workshop or residency
  • Genealogy Camp for ages 12-up
  • Jazz, Justice, Joy & JUNETEENTH JAMBOREE (Focus on enslavement, segregation/civil rights or Black music)
  • Lifting the Ceiling off of Dreams (YOU CAN FLY: THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN and other achievers)

View our Visits Guide

TEACHERS GUIDES FOR BOOKS CITED

Posted on in Awards, Newsletter

Voting, Visits, Lesson Plans, New Books, Recent Honors & a Giveaway

If you don’t vote, you don’t count.–Fannie Lou Hamer

Now that I’m retired (after 22 years as an English professor), Jeffery and I will be presenting more often. Our programs connect to the ELA, social studies, STEAM and SEL curricula. Themes include biographies, primary sources, social justice, and jazz. We offer writing/poetry workshops inspired by oral traditions and family history, as well as professional development workshops and family literacy programs. A daylong visit includes three assemblies or workshops plus Q&A, an informal small group session and book signings. Jeffery’s popular RAP IT UP! writing workshops and residencies continue to transform young writers. View our Visits Guide.

Save on travel by booking us when we’re touring your area. On November 15, I’ll be in Cleveland, unpacking BOX: HENRY BROWN MAILS HIMSELF TO FREEDOM at Ohio State University’s Newbery Award Symposium. Other stops include: Chicago (October 24), Boston (October 26 and November 21-24) and Cincinnati (November 1). If we’re in your city, drop by to check out these new fall books.

With the election, Family History Month (October) and Hip Hop History Month (November) approaching, we stress the importance of knowing your history (KIN: ROOTED IN HOPE); of using your voice (RAP IT UP!); and of voting (THE FAITH OF ELIJAH CUMMINGS: THE NORTH STAR OF EQUAL JUSTICE; MADAM SPEAKER: NANCY PELOSI CALLS THE HOUSE TO ORDER; and VOICE OF FREEDOM: FANNIE LOU HAMER, SPIRIT OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT).

If you’re a Weatherford Report subscriber with a U.S. mailing address. enter to win VOICE OF FREEDOM. In the comments below or via email by September 30, tell us when you first heard of unsung voting rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer (even if it’s today o’clock!).

In award news, Jeffery and I look forward to accepting the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for Poetry for our verse novel/family history, KIN: ROOTED IN HOPE. And, HOW DO YOU SPELL UNFAIR? MACNOLIA COX AND THE NATIONAL SPELLING BEE received Cleveland Public Library’s Norman A. Sugarman Children’s Biography Award Honor. Book love never gets old.

TEACHERS GUIDES FOR BOOKS CITED

Posted on in Awards, Newsletter

Celebrating Honors, New Books & a New Chapter

What better way to kick off my retirement from academia than at the American Library Association conference in San Diego? My illustrator son, Jeffery Boston Weatherford, was there too, celebrating—and signing—our verse novel, KIN: ROOTED IN HOPE, which won a Coretta Scott King Author Honor, as did my picture book biography HOW DO YOU SPELL UNFAIR? MACNOLIA COX AND THE NATIONAL SPELLING BEE. Of six signings, four panels, two speeches and one performance, the highlight was Jeffery’s surprise introduction at the CSK Award breakfast. “She’s not just a mother to me,” he said. “She’s a mother to Black children’s books.” I was almost speechless! The only thing sweeter was taking the award home to my 98-year-old mother.

Neither of us was at a loss for words at the CSK 55th Anniversary Gala where we were on a panel moderated by three brilliant students and featuring CSK Award winner Dare Coulter and Caldecott Medal winner Vashti Harrison. Afterwards, we performed ”Black Means: Roll Call & Rap,” a call-and-response, found poem celebrating CSK award and honor books. The crowd really got into it.

The week before the conference, we heard that KIN won the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for poetry and that HOW DO YOU SPELL UNFAIR? won the Carter G. Woodson Honor from National Council for the Social Studies. We appreciate all the book love.

On the road to ALAAC24, Jeffery conducted his RAP IT UP residency in East Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The popular workshop takes its name from our first co-authored book, illustrated by Philadelphia muralist Ernel Martinez. Conceived by Jeffery to foster creative expression and to build reading, writing and public speaking skills, RAP IT UP drops in Spring 2025.

We made some new friends at ALA, including Miss Black America Gabrielle Wilson, whose platform is extending protections of the Crown Act to K-12 students. I was happy to share with her an F&G of CROWNING GLORY: A CELEBRATION OF BLACK HAIR, my second collaboration with Ekua Holmes.

I am always thrilled to see my new books on publishers’ banners. I’m even more excited to hold new books in my hands for the first time and to sign readers’ copies–both of which I did at ALAAC24.

The new picture book biography, BRIDGES INSTEAD OF WALLS: THE STORY OF MAVIS STAPLES, illustrated by Steffi Walthall, hit stores July 9. And Fall will bring four new picture book releases: the aforementioned CROWNING GLORY; HAIR LIKE OBAMA’S, HANDS LIKE LEBRON’S, illustrated by Savanna Durr; the STEAM-powered folk art biography, WHIRLIGIGS: THE WONDROUS WINDMILLS OF VOLLIS SIMPSON’S IMAGINATION, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham, and THE DOLL TEST: CHOOSING EQUALITY, illustrated by David Cooper. We are also pleased to announce that the paperback edition of KIN is coming this fall. Pre-order any of these upcoming titles now! Get a 25% discount with the code PREORDER25! through July 17 if you are a Barnes & Noble Rewards or Premium member.

This summer, Jeffery and I hope to dive into an ambitious work-in-progress. When fall arrives, we look forward to visiting schools and libraries to mark Family History Month (KIN: ROOTED IN HOPE), Veterans Day (YOU CAN FLY: THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN), the Vote (VOICE OF FREEDOM: FANNIE LOU HAMER, SPIRIT OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT), and the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education (THE DOLL TEST: CHOOSING EQUALITY).