375: Bringing Omitted BIPOC History to Light through Middle Grade Picture Books - Interview with Traci Sorell and Carole Boston Weatherford

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Traci Sorell and Carole Boston Weatherford.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Traci is the author of the critically acclaimed book We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga. She is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation and lives in northeastern Oklahoma, where her tribe is located. Today we’re talking about her picture book Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer (Illustrated by Natasha Donovan).</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Carole is the author of numerous award-winning books including the Newbery Honor book Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom (illustrated by Michele Wood), and R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (illustrated by Frank Morrison). Today we’re discussing her picture book Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre (Illustrated by Floyd Cooper).</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When she's not traveling or visiting museums, Carole is mining the past for family stories, fading traditions, and forgotten struggles. She lives in North Carolina.</span></p> <p> </p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this episode Traci, Carole and I discuss:</span></h3> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Why they each decided to tell these forgotten stories as middle grade picture books.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">The deliberate and unique choices they made in structuring their narratives.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">How they created a distinct sense of time and place to ground their books.</span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Plus, their #1 tip for writers.</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For more info and show notes: <a href= "https://diymfa.com/podcast/episode-375-traci-sorell-carole-boston-weatherford" target="_blank" rel="noopener">diym