Jacqueline Woodson Books In Order

Ghostwriter Books In Publication Order

  1. The Book Chase (1994)

If You Come Softly Books In Publication Order

  1. If You Come Softly (1998)
  2. Behind You (2004)

I Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This Books In Publication Order

  1. I Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This (1994)
  2. Lena (1999)

Locomotion Books In Publication Order

  1. Locomotion (2003)
  2. Peace, Locomotion (2009)

Maizon Books In Publication Order

  1. Last Summer with Maizon (1990)
  2. Maizon at Blue Hill (1992)
  3. Between Madison and Palmetto (1993)

The One Books In Publication Order

  1. Before Her (2019)
  2. Parable (By:Jess Walter) (2019)
  3. Lila (By:Naima Coster) (2019)

Standalone Novels In Publication Order

  1. The Dear One (1991)
  2. From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun (1995)
  3. Autobiography of a Family Photo (1995)
  4. The House You Pass on the Way (1997)
  5. Hush (2000)
  6. Miracle’s Boys (2000)
  7. Feathers (2007)
  8. After Tupac and D Foster (2008)
  9. Beneath a Meth Moon (2012)
  10. Brown Girl Dreaming (2014)
  11. Another Brooklyn (2016)
  12. Harbor Me (2018)
  13. Red at the Bone (2019)
  14. Before the Ever After (2020)

Short Story Collections In Publication Order

  1. No Such Thing as the Real World (2008)

Picture Books In Publication Order

  1. Martin Luther King, Jr. and His Birthday (1990)
  2. We Had a Picnic This Sunday Past (1997)
  3. Sweet, Sweet Memory (2000)
  4. Visiting Day (2001)
  5. The Other Side (2001)
  6. Our Gracie Aunt (2002)
  7. Coming On Home Soon (2004)
  8. Miss Grace’s House (2005)
  9. Show Way (2005)
  10. Pecan Pie Baby (2010)
  11. Each Kindness (2012)
  12. This Is the Rope (2013)
  13. The Day You Begin (2018)
  14. The Year We Learned to Fly (2022)

Ghostwriter Non-Fiction Books In Publication Order

  1. WRITE NOW! (1994)

Anthologies In Publication Order

  1. A Way Out of No Way (1996)
  2. Places I Never Meant To Be (1999)

Ghostwriter Book Covers

If You Come Softly Book Covers

I Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This Book Covers

Locomotion Book Covers

Maizon Book Covers

The One Book Covers

Standalone Novels Book Covers

Short Story Collections Book Covers

Picture Book Covers

Ghostwriter Non-Fiction Book Covers

Anthologies Book Covers

Jacqueline Woodson Books Overview

The Book Chase

The young detective team from the public television program, Ghostwriter, is on the case when a prized family heirloom and a rare copy of Frederick Douglass’s autobiography disappear at a family reunion.

If You Come Softly

Jeremiah feels good inside his own skin. That is, when he’s in his own Brooklyn neighborhood. But now he’s going to be attending a fancy prep school in Manhattan, and black teenage boys don’t exactly fit in there. So it’s a surprise when he meets Ellie the first week of school. In one frozen moment their eyes lock and after that they know they fit together even though she’s Jewish and he’s black. Their worlds are so different, but to them that’s not what matters. Too bad the rest of the world has to get in their way. Reviewers have called Coretta Scott King Award winning author Jacqueline Woodson’s work ‘exceptional’ Publishers Weekly and ‘wrenchingly honest’ School Library Journal, and have said ‘it offers a perspective on racism and elitism rarely found in fiction for this age group’ Publishers Weekly. In If You Come Softly, she delivers a powerful story of interracial love that leaves readers wondering ‘why’ and ‘if only…
.’

Behind You

You are so light you move with the wind and the snow…
. And it lifts you up over a world of sadness and anger and fear. Over a world of first kisses and hands touching and someone you’re falling in love with. She’s there now. Right there…
.

Miah and Ellie were in love. Even though Miah was black and Ellie was white, they made sense together. Then Miah was killed. This was the ending.

And it was the beginning of grief for the many people who loved Miah. Now his mother has stopped trying, his friends are lost and Ellie doesn’t know how to move on. And there is Miah, watching all of this&150unable to let go.

How do we go on after losing someone we love? This is the question the living and the dead are asking.

With the help of each other, the living will come together. Miah will sit beside them. They will feel Miah in the wind, see him in the light, hear him in their music. And Miah will watch over them, until he is sure each of those he loved is all right.

This beautiful sequel to Jacqueline Woodson’s If You Come Softly explores the experiences of those left behind after tragedy. It is a novel in which through hope, understanding and love, healing begins.

I Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This

Marie, a popular black girl, isn t looking for a friend when Lena, a white girl, moves to town. In their community, people are expected to know their place: the black, prosperous side of town or the poor white side. Yet Marie and Lena feel drawn to each other, because they ve both lost their mothers. They also both have secrets, and Lena’s is terrifying. When she finally tells Marie the truth about her father, Marie must decide what would help Lena more to keep her secret, or to tell it.

Jacqueline Woodson explores questions of race, love, power, and loss, and shows us the healing strength of friendship in this intriguing novel.

Lena

At the end of I Hadn t Meant to Tell You This, Lena and her younger sister, Dion, set off on their own, desperate to escape their abusive father. Disguised as boys, they hitchhike along, traveling in search of their mother’s relatives. They don t know what they will find, or who they can trust along the way, but they do know that they can t afford to make even one single mistake. Dramatic and moving, this is a heart wrenching story of two young girls in search of a place to call home.

Locomotion

When Lonnie was seven years old, his parents died in a fire. Now he’s eleven, and he still misses them terribly. And he misses his little sister, Lili, who was put into a different foster home because ‘not a lot of people want boys not foster boys that ain’t babies.’ But Lonnie hasn’t given up. His foster mother, Miss Edna, is growing on him. She’s already raised two sons and she seems to know what makes them tick. And his teacher, Ms. Marcus, is showing him ways to put his jumbled feelings on paper. Told entirely through Lonnie’s poetry, we see his heartbreak over his lost family, his thoughtful perspective on the world around him, and most of all his love for Lili and his determination to one day put at least half of their family back together. Jacqueline Woodson’s poignant story of love, loss, and hope is lyrically written and enormously accessible.

Peace, Locomotion

Grade 4 6; Age 9 11 Twelve year old Lonnie is finally starting to feel at home with his foster family. But he still lives apart from his little sister, Lili, so he decides it’s his job to be the rememberer and write down everything that happens while they re growing up. Lonnie s reflections in his letters to Lili are bittersweet. He s happy that they both have good foster families, but while his new family brings him joy, it also brings new worries: With a foster brother in the army, concepts like Peace have new meaning for Lonnie. Told solely through letters from Lonnie to Lili, this thought provoking companion to Jacqueline Woodson s National Book Award Finalist Locomotion tackles important issues in captivating, lyrical language. Lonnie s reflections on family, loss, love and peace will strike a note with readers of all ages.

Last Summer with Maizon

Margaret dangled her legs over the edge of the fire escape and flipped to a clean page in her diary. ‘Maizon took a test in May. If she pas*ses, she’s going to go to this big private school in Connecticut. Every night I pray she doesn’t get accepted.’ Margaret and Maizon may not be family, but their bond feels a lot stronger than just friendship. They aren’t exactly two peas in a pod Maizon can be pretty flashy, while Margaret is more subdued but they’ve done everything together since they can remember on their block in Brooklyn. After this summer, though, everything might change. Not only has Margaret’s father been in the hospital a lot lately, but for the first time she and Maizon will be split up. Maizon is afraid to go to a school with hardly any black students, and Margaret is afraid of feeling all alone, even though she’s the one staying home.

Maizon at Blue Hill

Maizon has been best friends with Margaret for as long as she can remember. But when Maizon leaves Brooklyn for Blue Hill, a boarding school in Connecticut, she’s nervous about the changes that come with it. Will Margaret forget her or find a new best friend? Will Maizon fit in being one of only five black girls on campus? As Maizon struggles to discover her niche at Blue Hill, she finds herself out of her element for the first time in her life, confronted with issues like racism and prejudice. Jacqueline Woodson continues Maizon and Margaret’s story, relating the ups and downs of their friendship with honesty and humor and tackling important issues in a straightforward manner as Maizon experiences what life outside Madison Street holds.

Between Madison and Palmetto

Marie, a popular black girl, isn t looking for a friend when Lena, a white girl, moves to town. In their community, people are expected to know their place: the black, prosperous side of town or the poor white side. Yet Marie and Lena feel drawn to each other, because they ve both lost their mothers. They also both have secrets, and Lena’s is terrifying. When she finally tells Marie the truth about her father, Marie must decide what would help Lena more to keep her secret, or to tell it.

Jacqueline Woodson explores questions of race, love, power, and loss, and shows us the healing strength of friendship in this intriguing novel.

Before Her

The young detective team from the public television program, Ghostwriter, is on the case when a prized family heirloom and a rare copy of Frederick Douglass’s autobiography disappear at a family reunion.

The Dear One

Feni has had her mother to herself for a long time. So when her mother takes in Rebecca, the pregnant fifteen year old daughter of an old friend, Feni is furious. Rebecca’s just as unhappy; she feels like a charity case. But as much as they resist it, Feni and Rebecca might just become friends. After all, Rebecca needs someone to confide in, and Feni might discover she has room in her life for one more person or even two. This is a touching story about families of all sorts, even the unrelated kinds, and the love that holds them together.

From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun

Melanin Sun has a lot to say. But sometimes it’s hard to speak his mind, so he fills up notebooks with his thoughts instead. He writes about his mom a lot they re about as close as they can be, because they have no other family. So when she suddenly tells him she s gay, his world is turned upside down. And if that weren t hard enough for him to accept, her girlfriend is white. Melanin Sun is angry and scared. How can his mom do this to him is this the end of their closeness? What will his friends think? And can he let her girlfriend be part of their family?

The House You Pass on the Way

For Lafayette and his brothers, the challenges of growing up in New York City are compounded by the facts that they’ve lost their parents and it’s up to eldest brother Ty’ree to support the boys, and middle brother Charlie has just returned home from a correctional facility. Lafayette loves his brothers and would do anything if they could face the world as a team. But even though Ty’ree cares, he’s just so busy with work and responsibility. And Charlie’s changed so much that his former affection for his little brother has turned to open hostility. Now, as Lafayette approaches 13, he needs the guidance and answers only his brothers can give him. The events of one dramatic weekend force the boys to make the choice to be there for each other to really see each other or to give in to the pain and problems of every day.’This fine author once again shows her gift for penning a novel that will ring true with young adults.’ School Library Journal

Hush

Evie Thomas is not who she used to be. Once she had a best friend, a happy home and a loving grandmother living nearby. Once her name was Toswiah. Now, everything is different. Her family has been forced to move to a new place and change their identities. But that’s not all that has changed. Her once lively father has become depressed and quiet. Her mother leaves teaching behind and clings to a new found religion. Her only sister is making secret plans to leave. And Evie, struggling to find her way in a new city where kids aren’t friendly and the terrain is as unfamiliar as her name, wonders who she is. Jaqueline Woodson weaves a fascinating portrait of a thoughtful young girl’s coming of age in a world turned upside down

Miracle’s Boys

Laurel Daneau has moved on to a new life, in a new town, but inside she’s still reeling from the loss of her beloved mother and grandmother after Hurricane Katrina washed away their home. Laurel’s new life is going well, with a new best friend, a place on the cheerleading squad and T Boom, co captain of the basketball team, for a boyfriend. Yet Laurel is haunted by voices and memories from her past. When T Boom introduces Laurel to meth, she immediately falls under its spell, loving the way it erases, even if only briefly, her past. But as she becomes alienated from her friends and family, she becomes a shell of her former self, and longs to be whole again. With help from an artist named Moses and her friend Kaylee, she’s able to begin to rewrite her story and start to move on from her addiction. Incorporating Laurel’s bittersweet memories of life before and during the hurricane, this is a stunning novel by one of our finest writers. Jacqueline Woodson’s haunting but ultimately hopeful story is beautifully told and one readers will not want to miss.

Feathers

View our feature on Jacqueline Woodson’s Feathers. Hope is the thing with Feathers starts the poem Frannie is reading in school. Frannie hasn t thought much about hope. There are so many other things to think about. Each day, her friend Samantha seems a bit more holy. There is a new boy in class everyone is calling the Jesus Boy. And although the new boy looks like a white kid, he says he’s not white. Who is he? During a winter full of surprises, good and bad, Frannie starts seeing a lot of things in a new light her brother Sean s deafness, her mother s fear, the class bully s anger, her best friend s faith and her own desire for the thing with Feathers. Jacqueline Woodson once again takes readers on a journey into a young girl s heart and reveals the pain and the joy of learning to look beneath the surface.

After Tupac and D Foster

Grade 7 9; Age 12 14 When D Foster walks into Neeka and her best friend’s lives, their world opens up. D doesn t have a real mom constantly telling her what to do, and the girls envy her independence. But D wants nothing more than to feel connected, and the three girls form a tight bond and a passion for the music of Tupac Shakur. D s the one who understands Tupac s songs best, and through her, his lyrics become more personal for all of them. After Tupac is shot the first time, the girls are awed by how he comes back stronger than ever. And seeing how Tupac keeps on keeping on helps when Neeka s brother is wrongly sent to jail and D s absent mom keeps disappointing. But by the time Tupac is shot again, the girls have turned thirteen and everything s changed, except their belief in finding their Big Purpose. Newbery Honor winner Jacqueline Woodson s compelling and inspiring story shows us how music touches our lives, how much life can be lived in a short time, and how all too brief connections can touch us to the core and remain a part of us forever.

Beneath a Meth Moon

Laurel Daneau has moved on to a new life, in a new town, but inside she’s still reeling from the loss of her beloved mother and grandmother after Hurricane Katrina washed away their home. Laurel’s new life is going well, with a new best friend, a place on the cheerleading squad and T Boom, co captain of the basketball team, for a boyfriend. Yet Laurel is haunted by voices and memories from her past. When T Boom introduces Laurel to meth, she immediately falls under its spell, loving the way it erases, even if only briefly, her past. But as she becomes alienated from her friends and family, she becomes a shell of her former self, and longs to be whole again. With help from an artist named Moses and her friend Kaylee, she’s able to begin to rewrite her story and start to move on from her addiction. Incorporating Laurel’s bittersweet memories of life before and during the hurricane, this is a stunning novel by one of our finest writers. Jacqueline Woodson’s haunting but ultimately hopeful story is beautifully told and one readers will not want to miss.

No Such Thing as the Real World

Graduation from high school?

A senior thesis?

A betrayal by someone you love?

A loss of innocence?

The death of a parent?

Losing the family you always wished you had?

Facing a harsh reality?

What’s the line that separates childhood from the ‘real world’? And what happens when it’s nothing you imagined it would be?

Do you want to be a published author?

The editors at HarperCollins invite you to submit a short story about a character who has to face the ‘real world’ for the first time. The story must involve a single, life changing event. First prize is the opportunity to be published alongside your favorite authors in the paperback edition of the No Such Thing as the Real World collection. All stories must be between 5,000 and 10,000 words long, and all contributing authors must be between fourteen and nineteen years old.

We Had a Picnic This Sunday Past

Teeka’s family had a picnic this Sunday past. Everyone was there, from mean old cousin Terrance who put fake flies on the sweet corn, to Bible toting Reverend Luke to Auntie Kim Teeka s all time favorite. And they were all dreading the arrival of Cousin Martha and her pie, which was always a bit on the dry side but you had to eat every bit so you didn t hurt her feelings. But this year, where was Cousin Martha? And where was that dried out apple pie?Jacqueline Woodson s warm, lyrical prose and Diane Greenseid s exuberant artwork bring to life the humor, love, and of course, the wonderful food of the quintessential family picnic.

Sweet, Sweet Memory

Now that Grandpa’s gone, Sarah tries to remember what he used to say about the garden. Like us, he would tell her, a part of it never dies. Everything and everyone goes on and on. But Sarah feels very sad, even though Grandma and all the relatives are with her, sharing stories and hugs. How can life go on without Grandpa?

As summer slips into fall, Grandma and Sarah share a rich garden harvest and their sweet, sweet memories of Grandpa. The stories and memories of loved ones, Sarah learns, are what keep everything and everyone going on and on.

This spare and beautiful picture book balances sadness and mourning with the comforting notion of the continuity of all life.

Visiting Day

Coretta Scott King Award winning author Jacqueline Woodson has written a poignant picture book about a little girl who waits hopefully for her father’s release from prison. Only on Visiting Day is there chicken frying in the kitchen at 6 a.m. And Grandma in her Sunday dress, humming soft and low,…
As the little girl and her grandmother get ready for Visiting Day, her father, who adores her, is getting ready, too. The community of families who take the long bus ride upstate to visit loved ones share hope and give comfort to each other. Love knows no boundaries. Here is a story of strong families who understand the meaning of unconditional love.

The Other Side

Clover’s mom says it isn’t safe to cross the fence that segregates their African American side of town from the white side where Anna lives. But the two girls strike up a friendship, and get around the grown ups’ rules by sitting on top of the fence together. With the addition of a brand new author’s note, this special edition celebrates the tenth anniversary of this classic book. As always, Woodson moves readers with her lyrical narrative, and E. B. Lewis’s amazing talent shines in his gorgeous watercolor illustrations.

Our Gracie Aunt

Johnson and his sister Beebee seem to be all alone in the world. Their mama has gone away many times before, but something tells them she won t be coming back this time. Then a social worker comes and takes them to stay with their aunt Gracie, whom they ve never met. Johnson and Beebee are skeptical who is this Gracie and why does she want to take care of them? But most of all they worry about their mama. What will happen to her? Will she come back for them? Warily, though, the children come to trust Aunt Gracie, and in the process they learn what family is all about. This child’s eye view of a brother and sister entering foster care is a heart wrenching exploration of trust, forgiveness, and the true meaning of family.

Coming On Home Soon

Ada Ruth’s mama must go away to Chicago to work, leaving Ada Ruth and Grandma behind. It’s war time, and women are needed to fill the men’s jobs. As winter sets in, Ada Ruth and her grandma keep up their daily routine, missing Mama all the time. They find strength in each other, and a stray kitten even arrives one day to keep them company, but nothing can fill the hole Mama left. Every day they wait, watching for the letter that says Mama will be Coming On Home Soon. Set during World War II, Coming On Home Soon has a timeless quality that will appeal to all who wait and hope.

Miss Grace’s House

Hark, hark the dogs do bark, The babies are heading for home, Some with hats, and some with cats, And one with a brush and a comb. From beloved author Kate McMullan and illustrator Pascal Lema tre comes the perfect collection of nursery rhymes for the bouncing baby in any family. Kate has selected rhymes with the most baby appeal, and then replaced the traditional hero or hero*ine with a baby. The result is utterly irresistible. Divided into sections and illustrated with Pascal’s boisterous little ones, this makes a wonderful first introduction to Mother Goose and is a perfect gift for the mom to be, newborn, or young child.

Show Way

Soonie’s great grandma was just seven years old when she was sold to a big plantation without her ma and pa, and with only some fabric and needles to call her own. She pieced together bright patches with names like North Star and Crossroads, patches with secret meanings made into quilts called Show Ways maps for slaves to follow to freedom. When she grew up and had a little girl, she passed on this knowledge. And generations later, Soonie who was born free taught her own daughter how to sew beautiful quilts to be sold at market and how to read. From slavery to freedom, through segregation, freedom marches and the fight for literacy, the tradition they called Show Way has been passed down by the women in Jacqueline Woodson’s family as a way to remember the past and celebrate the possibilities of the future. Beautifully rendered in Hudson Talbott’s luminous art, this moving, lyrical account pays tribute to women whose strength and knowledge illuminate their daughters’ lives.

Pecan Pie Baby

Gia is tired of hearing about the new baby. It hasn’t even been born yet, but everyone, even her friends, seem fixated on it. Gia thinks things are fine just the way they are! And she’s worried: if the baby’s such a big deal now, what’s going to happen to Gia’s nice, cozy life with Mama once it’s born? Beloved author Jacqueline Woodson and Sophie Blackall have created a heartwarming story for kids adjusting to the idea of a new family member. Young readers will be reassured by Gia’s eventual understanding that the baby won’t ruin the special bond she has with her mom, and might even be a sweet addition to the family.

A Way Out of No Way

From the passion and violence of Sapphire’s poem ‘Wild Thing’ to the new levels of friendship in a chapter from Jamaica Kincaid’s Annie John, this highly personal anthology provides an evocative portrait of the lives, dreams, and struggles of African Americans.

Places I Never Meant To Be

Judy Blume asked prominent authors whose writing has been censored or challenged to contribute an original story to a collection that will benefit the National Coalition Against Censorship. The response was overwhelming and the results are simply extraordinary. The main characters of these stories find themselves in places they never meant to be: trapped in a baseme*nt with a vengeful cheerleader; transfixed by a fire that may have been lit by a teenager; terrified on the baseball field by a sad*istic coach. Featuring stories by David Mass, the late Norma Klein, Julius Lester, Chris Lynch, Harry Mazer, Norma Fox Mazer, Walter Dean Myers, Katherine Paterson, Susan Beth Pfeffer, Rachel Vail, Jacqueline Woodson, and Paul Zindel, Places I Never Meant To Be is a stunning literary achievement as well as a battle cry against censorship. All royalties generated from the sale of this book are being donated to the National Coalition Against Censorship, an alliance of over forty national nonprofit organizations united by a conviction that freedom of thought, inquiry, and expression must be defended.

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