Cool Brains! Inprint Reading Series: Jacqueline Woodson

In her latest title, After Tupac and D Foster, children’s author Jacqueline Woodson writes: “We’d just gone from being eleven to being thirteen. Three girls. Three the Hard Way.” The book follows a trio of friends, fans of rapper Tupac Shakur, through a couple of rough years filled with tough revelations. The girls see their own lives and losses mirrored by those of Shakur, including his eventual murder.

Teens love Woodson’s books so much because she writes about the real world, about issues like living without a dad at home, visiting family in jail, and even homosexuality. And through it all, Woodson has an uncanny ability to see the world through the eyes of a young person. Today, kids and parents, who have been reading her compelling stories, can meet the lovely author in person at the Ensemble Theatre, where Woodson will speak and read as part of the Cool Brains! Inprint Reading Series. 3535 Main. For information, call 713-521-2026 or visit www.inprinthouston.org. Free.

Sun., March 1, 3 p.m., 2009