Traci N. Todd

Traci N. Todd headshot
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When Chicago native Traci N. Todd was born, her parents decided her initials should stand for dynamite, just like her father's. He raised her on Ray Charles and Nina Simone, and her mother read her every good book. Traci is the author of Nina: A Story of Nina Simone, illustrated by Christian Robinson, and is also a children's book editor. Her newest picture book Holding Her Own: The Exceptional Life of Jackie Ormes, illustrated by Shannon Wright, shares the prolific life of Jackie Ormes whose groundbreaking cartoons became some of the first empowering depictions of Black women in America. Traci lives in Queens, New York, with her partner.