Snow, scorpions, Dr. Seuss: What Kenyan kids talked about with top U.S. kids' authors

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 hide caption

toggle caption Brian Otieno for NPR

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 , 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."

It was quite the introduction for Craft and the rest of the literacy team assembled by his buddy Kwame Alexander, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 39 books, including Newbery Medal-winner . "Part of my job is speaking about books all around the world," says Alexander, whose enthusiasm for his mission has taken him to five continents. That includes 11 visits to Ghana, where he founded a literacy organization and created a library. So of course he said yes when Kenya Connect, a nonprofit that aims to empower students and teachers in rural Kenya, invited him to Wamunyu last year.

Award-winning children's book author and illustrator Jerry Craft chats with students at Nyaani Primary School in Machakos County, Kenya, on July 4. "They taught us how to nurture our talents," says Christine Kabunde, a 13-year-old in grade 7. "I have learned that with just writing I can also earn some money. Hope to achieve this one day in my life." Brian Otieno for NPR hide caption

toggle caption Brian Otieno for NPR

Award-winning children's book author and illustrator Jerry Craft chats with students at Nyaani Primary School in Machakos County, Kenya, on July 4. "They taught us how to nurture our talents," says Christine Kabunde, a 13-year-old in grade 7. "I have learned that with just writing I can also earn some money. Hope to achieve this one day in my life."

Brian Otieno for NPR

His crew of 22 was a mix of experts and advocates who were prepared to cover a wide array of topics. "He has a way of curating humans. Everybody was so distinct in their work," says Kassandra Minor, who runs a New York City-based organization with her husband dedicated to building school communities. They came with the mindset that they were also recipients, notes novelist Stacy Hawkins Adams, who was thrilled to participate in conversations with Kenyans about what books excited them. And their group stood out as predominantly African-American, notes Craft. "One thing we were told in quite a few settings is they think of white Americans but not African-Americans," he says – American volunteers frequently come but usually they're white.

Craft had an endless list of questions for the kids he encountered. "I'd heard so many things, but I didn't know what to believe," he says. "Are lions just walking down the street?" The answer to that was no, but most of the students he met told him they had been bitten by scorpions or snakes. He also learned that the kids not only spoke English and Swahili but often other indigenous languages too. When Craft challenged a trilingual 12-year-old to a read-off of the Dr. Seuss classic , he was blown away by her performance. "That's one long tongue twister," he says. "I'm glad she didn't say, 'Now read this book in Swahili.'"