Mark Twain’s words resonate with me not because I am a poet and a history buff but because today’s headlines sometimes feel ripped from the past. My poetic books on historical subjects help young readers connect the dots between past and present. Thus, the poems below from Jesse Owens: Fast Man Alive and Outspoken: Paul […]| children's books by the weatherfords
They’re not twins, but they do share a book birthdate. And they are both bundles of joy! Family Feast, another collaboration with illustrator Frank Morrison, celebrates the customs, conversation, chaos and culinary delights that make family gatherings unforgettably fun. Like my dog, Gigi, the beagle in Family Feast is ever hopeful for treats from the […]| children's books by the weatherfords
Are you old enough to remember blackboards, chalk and dusty erasers? The teacher would enlist a student to wipe the blackboard so the next day began with a clean slate. Well, history doesn’t …| children's books by the weatherfords
On September 15, 2963, the Ku Klux Klan bombing of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church killed four girls: Denise McNair, Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley. Birmingham, 1963 is an elegy to the girls whose lives were cut short. In this work of historical fiction, an unnamed narrator is marking her tenth birthday. Sadly, […]| children's books by the weatherfords
Art by Ernel Martinez from RAP IT UP! has been selected for the prestigious Society of Illustrators The Original Art exhibition, which showcases illustrations from the year’s best children…| children's books by the weatherfords
What a summer! Jeffery’s performance of Rap It Up! at the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) Freedom Schools National Training in Knoxville, wowed the crowd and led a CDF staffer to proclaim…| children's books by the weatherfords
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…| children's books by the weatherfords
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 […]| children's books by the weatherfords
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, […]| children's books by the weatherfords
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 …| children's books by the weatherfords
