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Andrea Davis Pinkney Born:
September  25, 1963


Andrea Davis Pinkney

Biography

Her mother is a teacher and her father is a great storyteller, so growing up surrounded by books and stories is what inspired Andrea Davis Pinkney to choose a career as an author. The first official story she remembers writing was in second grade — it was about her family. Pinkney was born on September 25, 1963, in Washington, D.C., and raised in Connecticut. She went to Syracuse University, where she majored in journalism. After college, she followed her dream and worked as an editor for Essence magazine, but after watching her husband, Caldecott Award-winning artist Brian Pinkney, illustrate children's books, she decided to switch jobs and became involved in book publishing.

Pinkney is widely known for her biographies about extraordinary African Americans. Her first published book, Alvin Ailey, outlines the life of the dancer and choreographer who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, an internationally renowned dance troupe. Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra, winner of the Caldecott and Coretta Scott King Awards, is about the life of the famous jazz musician. In Dear Benjamin Banneker, Pinkney describes the accomplishments of Banneker, a self-taught African-American scientist and mathematician. Pinkney is very detailed when she is researching her subject matter. Many trips to the library, museums, and interviews with the person (if he or she is still alive), close family members, or friends help her paint the most realistic picture of a person's life. For the book Alvin Ailey, she interviewed Alvin Ailey's mother and many of his childhood friends. She traveled to West Africa to research her book Seven Candles for Kwanzaa. And during a trip to the Benjamin Banneker Museum in Oella, Maryland, she ran into a descendent of Banneker and was able to interview her for the book Dear Benjamin Banneker.

Some of her other books for middle-school readers include Abraham Lincoln: Letters From a Slave Girl; Silent Thunder: A Civil War Story; and Solo Girl. She's also written books for young adults, Hold Fast to Dreams and Raven in a Dove House - which are both based on her own personal experiences. She is also the author of a series of board books for toddlers (I Smell Honey; Pretty Brown Face; Watch Me Dance; and Shake Shake Shake). Many of her books, including Bill Picket: Rodeo Ridin' Cowboy; Dear Benjamin Banneker; Seven Candles for Kwanzaa; Alvin Ailey; and Duke Ellington, were illustrated by her husband Brian.

Most recently Pinkney won the Carter G. Woodson Award for her book Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters. This award was established by the National Council for the Social Studies and is given to the most distinguished social science books appropriate for young readers that depict ethnicity in the United States. Her many awards attest to Pinkney's dedication to her profession. It is obvious that she adores being an author and confirmed her devotion during a recent interview when she said: “It's so much fun! I can't believe people call it work. . . . I write every single day because I love it so much.”

Pinkney currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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