Jewell Parker Rhodes is the author of books for middle-grade readers, including the The New York Times bestseller Ghost Boys (2018) and the 2011 Coretta Scott King Honor Book Ninth Ward (the first book in the Louisiana Girls Trilogy)
In this interview, Jewell talks about writing stories that explore tough topics like racism and violence, finding an authentic voice for her characters, how her books invite in reluctant readers, why she loves writing for kids, and much more.
Jigsaw is a cooperative learning strategy that asks groups of students to become “experts” on different aspects of a topic and then share what they learn with their classmates.