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WEKU
WEKU
Thomas Bwire

From snow to Dr. Seuss: What Newbery Medalist authors discussed with Kenyan kids

Kwame Alexander (left) and Jerry Craft have each won a Newbery Medal for their children's books. Alexander invited Craft on a trip to Kenya this summer to speak to schoolkids about reading. The kids were impressed. So were the authors. (Brian Otieno for NPR)

Author and illustrator Jerry Craft, who won a Newbery Medal for his graphic novel The New Kid, had never been to Africa. The New York City native had also never visited a school outside of the United States. So he had no clue what to expect from students when he arrived at Nyaani Primary School in the rural Kenyan village of Wamunyu in July.

"They were singing and dancing. And then we all stood up one by one and they gave us Swahili names," says Craft, who was dubbed "Nyeusi," which means "Black."

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