Jaqueline Woodson on creating mirrors and windows with literature

Congratulations to Jaqueline Woodson, winner of the 2014 National Book Award for Young People's Literature for her latest book, Brown Girl Dreaming. In her essay in The Times, Woodson explained that her mission is "to write stories that have been historically absent in this country's body of literature, to create mirrors for the people who so rarely see themselves inside contemporary fiction, and windows for those who think we are no more than the stereotypes they're so afraid of."

Woodson's mission echoes the program philosophy and methodology of EMC's Mirrors &Windows: Connecting with Literature program. We applaud Woodson and share her passion to offer rich, diverse literature to students that can help them see themselves in the stories and see beyond themselves to empathize with people from other places, times, or cultures.