February 13 is the birthday of North Carolina author Carole Boston Weatherford. Many of her award-winning books deal with African-American history. “I mine the past for family stories, fading traditions, and forgotten struggles.”

The wife and daughter of ministers, Weatherford explores Harriet Tubman’s faith journey and “proclaims her story’s Biblical proportions,” in the award-winning book, Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom. Moses won a Caldecott Honor Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration, as well as the NAACP Image Award for outstanding literary work for children.

In 2006, Weatherford’s book Dear Mr. Rosenwald was named a SCBWI Golden Kite Honor Recipient for picture book text. It is one of several of her books which is written in poetry. When asked about the message of Dear Mr. Rosenwald, she wrote, “Never underestimate the power of generosity, community and hard work. Education is well-worth our energy and investment.”

Carole Boston Weatherford does more than pay lip service to the ideal of the importance of literacy and education. In addition to writing, she conducts programs in literacy, language arts, social studies, parent education, and teacher in-service. She lives and writes in North Carolina.