Kwame Alexander presents the Golden Kite for Nonfiction for Younger Readers to Carole Boston Weatherford

Kwame Alexander starts us off with an exciting personal anecdote from his childhood about visiting the Schomberg every year the day after Thanksgiving to help his father sell books, not realizing then, fully, the amazingness of Schomberg until he read Carole Boston Weatherford's sparkling prose in SCHOMBURG: THE MAN WHO BUILT A LIBRARY.

Carole Boston Weatherford is a New York Times best-selling author and poet. Her numerous books for children include the Coretta Scott King Author Award Honor Book BECOMING BILLIE HOLIDAY, illustrated by Floyd Cooper, and the Caldecott Honor Books MOSES: WHEN HARRIET TUBMAN LEAD HER PEOPLE TO FREEDOM, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, and VOICE OF FREEDOM: FANNIE LOU HAMER, illustrated by Ekua Holmes. Carole Boston Weatherford lives in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

From her CBC Diversity interview Carole says:

My mission as an author is to mine the past for family stories, fading traditions and forgotten struggles. Add to that unsung heroes. When my friend and frequent collaborator Eric Velasquez pitched the idea of a Schomburg biography to me, I was intrigued. Like Schomburg, Eric has roots in Africa and Puerto Rico. I detected Eric’s passion for the project and I could not refuse. I believe this is the book that Eric was born to create. Even though the book had a ten year gestation, I am honored that Eric asked me to collaborate.