Website:  Jacqueline Woodson  First created in 2002

·         Copyright date: 2002-2011

·         All links are functional and the website is current. 

Author:  Jacqueline Woodson.  This is the award winning author’s website that is up-to-date with first-person musings for the children and young adults that already love her books, or who may be discovering her for the first time.  

Website Design: Ms. Woodson’s interactive webpage is bordered by images/links to her books (that her audience is most assuredly already familiar); she uses language that is hip and in-tune with her audience and throughout the site Woodson includes graphics/photos that are personal, friendly, fun, and inviting.  In the bio section she tells the story of how she became a writer…

”I wrote on everything and everywhere. I remember my uncle catching me writing my name in graffiti on the side of a building. (It was not pretty for me when my mother found out.)”  

• Woodson wants to inspire those who may be hesitant about putting their own stories to the page by answering questions about her process and providing autobiographical examples of what has motivated her to write.  Included are short videos too.

• The sidebar navigation is descriptive and user friendly for her youthful audience.  Main page titles are:  Books I’ve Written; All About Me; Frequently Asked Questions; Some Awards I’ve Won, How to Contact Me, and Where I’ll Be.

• Each brightly colored page contains three bullets with links for readers, teachers, and caregivers to whom she offers this advice:

·         To her readers Woodson says, “Keep reading and writing.”

·         To the teachers she says, “Encourage young people to ask lots of   questions.”

·         To the caregivers: “Teach them the value of reading early on.”

• Children and young adult readers will love this website for its interactive, colorful, informative, and personal qualities.  Teachers will find guides for suggestions in the classroom, and caregivers will be inspired by the fact Woodson understands that not every child is being raised in a home with a mother and father. Woodson gets her readers and those with whom they live and are taught.  Follow on Twitter @JackieWoodson.  I wish I was attending the NCTE Conference in Chicago this year so I could meet her.