1964:Born February 12, 1964, in
Columbus, OH; daughter of Jack
and Marry Ann Woodson.
Favorite color is green
Favorite food is Pizza
Favorite books: The Selfish
Giant by Oscar Wilde, The
Little Match Girl by Hans
Christian Anderson, and
Stevie by Jon Steptoe
Older Brother named Hope,
and older sister, Odella, and a
younger brother, Roman
spent my early life in
Greenville, South Carolina.
We moved to Brooklyn
when I was about seven.
Daughter named Toshi and a
son named Jackson-Leroi
Languages spoken:Mostly English,
Spanish and a bit of American Sign
Language
1985:Adelphi University, B.A.
(English) studied creative
writing at New School for
Social Research
2001: The Other Side was written because
she wanted to write about how powerful
kids can be. Clover and Annie fight against
segregation by becoming friends. this book
was written in Upstate in Olive, New York
and at the Writer's Room in Manhattan
Anotações:
AWARDS
ALA Notable
Riverbank Review Children’s Book of Distinction
Texas Blue Bonnet List
School Library Journal Best Book
Booklist Editor’s Choice
New York Public Library’s 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
2001 Time of Wonder Award
IRA Teacher’s Choices 2002 (featured on covers of The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, Booklist and The Baltimore Sun)
2004 Louisiana Young Reader’s Choice Award (Honor)
2003-2004 Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Master List California Young Reader Medal Nominee
2003-2004 South Carolina Book Award Nominee
2002: Hush was written from an article about the
Witness Protection Program. the book was written in
Brooklyn and in Bennington, Vermont
Anotações:
National Book Award Finalist
2003 ALA Best Book for Young Adults
School Library Journal Best Book
2002 Booklist Editor’s Choice
2003 New York Public Libraries Books for the Teen AgeBank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year (“Today” category / 12 & up)
2003 Riverbank Review Children’s Books of Distinction Short list
2003-2004 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award Master List2003-2004 Maine Student Book Award Master List
2002 Pennsylvania School Librarians Association Young Adult Top 40 Nominees
2004-2005 Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award Nominee (Grades 6-8) (children’s choice award for Minnesota)
2005 Garden State Teen Book Award Nominee (NJ)
2002: Our Gracie Aunt was written because there are so
many kids in foster care or living with relatives who are
not their moms or dads. she wanted to write about what
makes a family isn't about who you live with but how
much they love you. Written in her house in Brooklyn and
on Whidbey Island off the coast of Seattle, Washington
2007: Sweet, Sweet Memory- was written in
memory of her grandfather, Ganaar, who was a
gardener. this book was written in Brooklyn at her
home
2005: Show Way- written after her grandmother died and her
daughter was born, she wanted to figure out a way to hold on to all
the amazing history in her family. The story began in her
grandmother's living room in the Bushwick section of Broolyn then
in Park Slpe, Brooklyn.
2004: Coming on Home Soon- written because she was
reading about Rosie the Riveter and couldn't find any with
African American women in them. the book was written at
her home in Brooklyn and at her house in Olive, New York
2004:Locomotion- written in Park Slope,
Brooklyn. She wrote it because Lonnie the
character was in her mind, and the poems just
started coming.
Anotações:
National Book Award Finalist
Coretta Scott King Honor
2003 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award (Fiction Honor)Horn Book Fanfare List
School Library Journal Best Book
IRA-CBC Children’s Choice for 2004
2004 Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts (sponsored by the Children’s Literature Assembly of the National Council of Teachers of English)
2005 New Mexico Battle of the Books (Middle School/Grades 7-9)
2004-2005 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Master List (children’s choice award for Vermont)
2005 Kentucky Bluegrass Master List (Grades 3-5)
2006 Louisiana Young Readers Choice Award Nominee (Grades 3-5)
2004-2005 Maine Student Book Award Nominee (Grades 4-8)
2004-2005 William Allen White Children’s Book Award Nominee (Kansas children’s choice award)
2013: Pecan Pie Baby- was written becasue her son
Jackson-Leroi was on the way and Toshi- her daughter-
had decided, once she knew it was a boy, that she didn't
want a baby in the house after all. the book was written
mostly in Brooklyn.
2012:Each Kindness was written in Park Slope, Brooklyn. she
wrote it because she wanted to understand more about
kindness
Anotações:
Coretta Scott King Honor Book
2013 Jane Addams Peace Award
2013 Charlotte Zolotow AwardBest Book of 2012 – School Library Journal
2012:beneath a meth moon-written in Park Slope,
Brooklyn and at the Macdowell Colony in Peterborough,
New Hampshire. This book was written because she
wanted to understand why someone would get involved
in a drug that could ruined their life. And to understand
the devastation of Katrina.
2013:This Is the Rope • When: 2013 • Where: in Brooklyn
and in Virginia. • Why: to tell the story of how some Black
People came to New Your City. She began writing it in her
mother’s living room. She didn’t live to see the final book.
She came to Brooklyn a long time ago.
2014:Brown Girl Dreaming-written in Columbus, Ohio, Greenville,
South Carolina, and Brooklyn, New York. It was written because
she wanted to understand who her mom was before she was her
mother and exactly how i became a writer.
Anotações:
National
Book Award
Newberry
Honor
Coretta
Scott King
NAACP Image
Award for Outstanding Literature
2009: Feathers- written in Brooklyn and over the
year while she was on the road. This Book was
written because she wanted write about the many
ways people find Hope in the world
Anotações:
Newbery Honor Medal
2009: Peace, Locomotion- written in Brooklyn and parts
were written on planes as i traveled. This book is written
because she wanted Lonnie and Lili to find peace- within
themselves and in the bigger world
Anotações:
Sunshine State Young Reader’s Award Master List for 2011-2012, Awarded by Florida State
Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award
Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Awards
Keystone to Reading Book Award
North Carolina Children’s Book Award
Kansas State Reading Circle
Capitol Choices, Virginia
Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award
1991:The Dear One was the second
novel she wrote. The reason why she
wrote it was because she was working
with runaway and homeless young
people- many of whom were pregnant.
Awards
The Poetry
Foundation's Young
People's Poetry
Laureate
Margaret A.
Edwards Award
For Lifetime
Achievement