Listen to Reynolds talk about the importance of children’s literature, why he loves reading and how it can unlock worlds inside and outside of you. It’s important for every child to be able to pick up a book, see themselves and feel understood in the books they read, a mission that organizations like We Need Diverse Books have advocated for within the publishing industry.

Although there’s been progress in recent years, still only 9% of children’s books in 2021 were published by Black authors. While he’s said that he writes books for all children, he writes specifically to Black children. Representing all children in children’s literature In the nearly 10 years since then, the awards have been rolling in: New York Times bestsellers, winner of the 2016 Kirkus Prize, 2017 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Youth/Teen, 2017 Schneider Family Book Award, best young adult work by the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Awards, Newbery Honor book, Printz Honor book and more. After years of publishing poetry, he wrote his first novel, When I Was the Greatest, in 2014.

At 17, he read his first novel cover to cover. While his books are about the Black experience, he hopes his writing inspires his readers to find their own story.Īt 9 years old, Reynolds began writing poetry, finding inspiration to write from rap music. Former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and author Jason Reynolds has been crafting stories for young people for the last decade, and with over 7 million books sold, he’s doing a pretty good job reaching them. He stands 6 foot 3 inches, but hearing him speak to a gymnasium of students, he couldn’t be more down to Earth.

Stuntboy in between time