Since 2005, more than 20,000 Sacramento-area school children have benefited from Words Take Wing: Honoring Diversity in Children’s Literature. This annual celebration, held each February, gives students the opportunity to hear about the personal journeys and creative processes of acclaimed authors and illustrators of diverse children’s literature whose stories about Native American heritage, Asian culture, African American culture, and Latino identity, among many others, allow them to explore a wide range of perspectives and world views.

On Tuesday, February 24, 2026, Words Take Wing hosted Newbury award-winning children’s author Renée Watson in a matinee presentation at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts and a public evening presentation at the Sacramento Public Library’s Tsakopoulos Library Galleria.

Watson is a #1 New York Times bestselling author with over one million copies sold. She received the 2026 Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature for her novel All the Blues in the Sky. Her acclaimed novel Piecing Me Together earned both a Coretta Scott King Award and a Newbery Honor.

Drawing from her upbringing as a Black girl in the Pacific Northwest, Watson’s work explores home, identity, and the intersections of race, class, and gender. Her writing serves as a tool for healing and social dialogue, particularly through her work with youth. A passionate arts educator, Watson has led writing workshops nationwide and founded the, I Too Arts Collective in Langston Hughes’s former Harlem home. Her influence continues through initiatives like the Renée Watson Cottage at the Highlights Foundation, a creative haven for children’s writers and illustrators.

Words Take Wing is made possible by the support of our title sponsors: