Tell us about yourself, Keila.
Thank you so much for allowing me to be a guest on your blog, Lana!
I am a former educator turned children’s author. I’m originally from New Orleans, but I’ve lived in different states across the U.S. and abroad in the Philippines, Japan, and Egypt. Learning about other cultures and world history has always interested me. I enjoy international travel and genealogical research which also takes me all over the world.
What got you started in writing children’s books?
My journey in writing started when a friend asked about my bucket list and I said I’d always wanted to write a book for kids. I had been a teacher of young children, a picture book collector and then a parent of children, so I’d read a lot of picture books. Writing one is something I had thought about over the years, but I had told no one that before! I believe sharing that dream brought it closer to a reality.
But I didn’t have a story idea, and I knew nothing about writing a book for kids, however saying it out loud made me think of the possibility. And so I questioned why I hadn't tried.
What was your inspiration for The King Cake Baby and Opening the Road?
For Opening the Road, I listened to a BBC radio program about the postal worker who wrote guides for Black Americans used to travel safely during legal segregation and wanted to know more. The research for this book had me learning many things I didn’t learn in school. And it shows the importance of having quality children’s nonfiction trade books available for young readers.
How did you happen to get together with your co-authors/editors on your No World Too Big and No Voice Too Small books?
We focused NO WORLD TOO BIG on climate change because kids
are anxious about their futures. And there are kids all around the world giving
them hope because they are taking action and searching for solutions to ease
the effects of global warming.
Any new projects in the works?
Yes! In 2024, YUMBO GUMBO will be released with Charlesbridge as part of their Storytelling Math Series. It's an intergenerational story with a side of sibling rivalry about making gumbo and how the main character uses mathematical reasoning to solve the problem. I am excited to share another story about my Louisiana culture. YUMBO!
Do you do your best work in the morning, afternoon, or evening?
Night!
Keila V. Dawson worked as a community organizer, educator, and advocate for children with disabilities before becoming a children’s book author. She writes fiction and nonfiction picture books. She is coeditor of No World Too Big, Young People Fighting Global Climate Change, and No Voice Too Small: Fourteen Young Americans Making History. Dawson is the author of Opening the Road: Victor Hugo Green and His Green Book, The King Cake Baby and the forthcoming Yumbo Gumbo.
Awards
and honors for her books include an International Reading Association
Children’s Book Award, a NCSS and NCTE Notable, Kirkus Best Book, Chicago
Public Library Best Book, New York Public Library Best Book, Bank Street Best
Book, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum's Noteworthy Book, a
two-time Ohioana finalist, Jane Addams finalist, a 2023 Charlotte Award and
2023-24 Louisiana Readers' Choice Award nominee.
A New Orleans native, Dawson has also lived
and worked in different states across the U.S., and abroad in the Philippines,
Japan, and Egypt. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio. When she isn’t reading,
writing, and visiting schools, she’s traveling, playing tennis, or digging in
genealogical archives. Find her on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or her website.