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Jacqueline Woodson

Picture Books

Pecan Pie Baby book cover

Pecan Pie Baby

Illustrated by Sophie Blackall

A heartwarming story for kids adjusting to the idea of a new family member.

Gia is tired of hearing about the new baby. It hasn’t even been born yet, but everyone, even her friends, seem fixated on it. Gia thinks things are fine just the way they are! And she’s worried: if the baby’s such a big deal now, what’s going to happen to Gia’s nice, cozy life with Mama once it’s born?

Beloved author Jacqueline Woodson and Sophie Blackall have created a heartwarming story for kids adjusting to the idea of a new family member. Young readers will be reassured by Gia’s eventual understanding that the baby won’t ruin the special bond she has with her mom, and might even be a sweet addition to the family.

Where it takes place:

I imagined it taking place anywhere there was a new baby coming. :)

Where I wrote it:

Mostly in Brooklyn but for some of the rewrite, I was traveling. I remember editing it while I was on the beach somewhere. I only remember that because I didn’t want to be writing, I wanted to be just hanging at the beach!

Why I wrote it:

Jackson-Leroi – our son – was on the way and Toshi – our daughter – had decided, once she knew it was a boy, that she didn’t want a baby in the house after all. By then, of course, it was way, way, way too late. She’s since come to like him but she does complain about him breaking her toys! And yes, both of them love pecan pie. But I actually don’t like it very much.

Awards
  • ALA Notable
  • Booklist Best Book
  • Ebony Magazine’s favorite children’s books of 2010
  • New York Public Library’s 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
  • Bank Street Best Book
  • CCBC Choices
State Lists
  • Georgia nominee
Jacqueline Woodson

Jacqueline Woodson

Jacqueline Woodson is an American writer of books for adults, children, and adolescents. She is best known for her National Book Award-Winning memoir Brown Girl Dreaming, and her Newbery Honor-winning titles After Tupac and D Foster, Feathers, and Show Way. Her picture books The Day You Begin and The Year We Learned to Fly were NY Times Bestsellers. After serving as the Young People’s Poet Laureate from 2015 to 2017, she was named the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by the Library of Congress for 2018–19. She was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 2020. Later that same year, she was named a MacArthur Fellow.