Writing Worlds with Hope: A Conversation with Jacqueline Woodson
The Digital Learning team sat down for an inspiring conversation with Kennedy Center Education Artist-in-Residence Jacqueline Woodson about her inspirations, being a writer, and her goals for her residency.
To take your learning further, check out the collection of resources our conversation prompted us to curate related to Jacqueline's illuminating stories.
In this interview, New York Times best-selling author Kwame Alexander shares his life-long exposure to books and reading, and how it influenced his journey to becoming a writer. Kwame discusses the people who influenced him and the life experiences that have inspired some of his most beloved books. Kwame also shares the process of bringing two of his beloved children’s books—Acoustic Rooster and Indigo Blume—to the stage in a world premiere Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences commission.
In this program, moderator Maria Salvadore talks with Ms. Park about her Newbery-winning books A Single Shard, When my Name was Keoko, Seesaw Girl, The Kite Fighters, and Project Mulberry.
In this program, Ms. Grimes reads from and discusses two of her well-known books, What is Goodbye? and Talkin' About Bessie.
Christopher Paul Curtis will talk about his work in a discussion moderated by Maria Salvadore, a professor of children’s literature.
Author Walter Dean Myers talks and reads from some of his books, including Harlem, a picture book of his poem about a neighborhood in New York City and the people who have lived there.
Patricia C. McKissack, Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King award-winning author, storyteller, and writer of Color Me Dark, a title from Scholastic's popular Dear America series, talks about this inspiring story
Award-winning author Laurence Yep talks about his personal experiences growing up as a Chinese-American and explores how the history of a country and different cultures intertwine with one's own history.
Lois Lowry, two-time Newbery Medalist (Number the Stars and The Giver), shares her inspiration for writing, the universal themes in her stories that deal with human connections—and how she translates her ideas to the page.
Christopher Myers discusses his books as well as his unique style of artwork that combines painting, photography, and collages.
Carole Boston Weatherford shares her unique talent of making music with the language of poetry and talks about developing her own voice as both a poet and author through the celebration of family stories, fading traditions, and forgotten struggles.
Katherine Paterson shares her experiences growing up the daughter of missionaries in China, her love of books and authors like C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein and also reads several selections from her time-honored books.
Illustrator Bryan Collier shares his interest in books as a young reader, how he integrates his original style of painting into children’s books and his collaborations with authors such as Nikki Giovanni (Rosa) and Nikki Grimes (Barack Obama: Child of Promise).
Jon Scieszka discusses his humorous approach to rethinking academic subjects as well as his "updating" of classic myths and fairy tales for modern young readers
