"I mine the past for family stories,

fading traditions and forgotten struggles."

Baltimore-born and -raised, I composed my first poem in first grade and dictated the verse to my mother. My father, a high school printing teacher, printed some of my early poems on index cards.

Since my literary debut with Juneteenth Jamboree in 1995, my books have received many literary honors. Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led her People to Freedom (2006), illustrated by Kadir Nelson, won a Caldecott Honor, the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration and an NAACP Image Award. Birmingham, 1963 won the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, the Jane Addams Children's Literature Honor and the Jefferson Cup from Virginia Library Association. The Sound that Jazz Makes (2000) won the Carter G. Woodson Award from National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and an NAACP Image Award nomination. Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins (2005) and Remember the Bridge: Poems of a People (2002) both won the North Carolina Juvenile Literature Award. Dear Mr. Rosenwald received a Golden Kite Honor from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. And, in 2007, I received the Ragan-Rubin Award from the North Carolina English Teachers Association.  More about my books.

I earned a Master of Arts in publications design from the University of Baltimore and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. I teach at Fayetteville State University and live in High Point, N.C. with my husband Ronald and our college-age son and daughter.

Kids Ask More Questions!

Why do you write poetry?

Poetry makes music with words. Writing poetry lets me sing.

Who encouraged you to write?

My parents, teachers, husband and children

When and where do you write?

I write almost everyday, usually when I’m home alone. I work on a computer in my family room.

Do you get writer’s block?

Sometimes, my fingers get tired from gripping a pen and my shoulders hurt from sitting at the computer, but I never get writer’s block. I have more ideas than I have time to write about.

How long does it take to write a poem?

I work on some poems off and on for a few days or weeks; others I spend months or years rewriting. I rewrite many times.  Although writing is challenging, it’s fun for me.

What’s your favorite book that you’ve written?

Remember the Bridge was my favorite because I spent so much time – 20 years off and on – researching and writing it. But now my favorite is Moses because that book was so successful.

What did you enjoy reading as a child?

Dr. Seuss books

Chanticleer and the Fox by Geoffrey Chaucer

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming

The poetry of Langston Hughes

Do your children like to write?

My teenage daughter and son are both good writers. But they are more interested in other things.

What do you like to do besides writing?

I like travel, museums, parks, cycling, swimming, sewing, jazz and gourmet food.

Do you have any pets?

I have a beagle named Hendrix that was adopted from an animal shelter. I love beagles! My children once owned a four-foot iguana named Spike. It gave me the creeps (May it rest in peace.).

Still want to know more?

An interview of Carole appears on childrenslit.com.

For bookings, contact:  Caresse Michele, 336-689-3014

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