'I Wanted To Honor His Intellect & Curiosity': Author Jen Bryant On Book 'Feed Your Mind: A Story Of August Wilson'

(CBS Local)-- Pittsburgh native August Wilson was talked about around the country as one of the best playwrights ever.

Wilson, who passed away in 2005, won two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama and a Tony Award. The playwright is known for bringing "Fences" to Broadway in 1987 and "The Pittsburgh Cycle."

Author Jen Bryant brought Wilson's story back to life in her new graphic novel for kids called "Feed Your Mind: A Story Of August Wilson." Bryant wanted to share Wilson's incredible road to greatness with a whole new generation.

"I've done many picture book biographies and each one is a different journey," said Bryant in an interview with CBS Local's DJ Sixsmith. "I try to find an aspect of a person's life that is really accessible to kids. I knew a little bit about August Wilson and I learned that he dropped out of high school and self educated himself at the Carnegie Public Library. I wanted to honor his intellect and curiosity and a lot of that was because of his mother.

Wilson's presence is still felt in Pittsburgh today with the August Wilson African American Cultural Center. His childhood house is also a historical landmark on Bedford Avenue. While Bryant has written about a lot of great wordsmiths, there was something different in the way Wilson weaved his plays together.

"He always had this fascination with language and he learned to listen to how people speak," said Bryant. "He would take things that he would hear in the diner or on the street and transform that into dialogue in his plays. In a picture book biography, I'm keeping the focus tightly on the subject themselves. The part of the story I really focused on was how did Freddie Kittle become August Wilson and how did he discover his writing process."

"Feed Your Mind: A Story Of August Wilson" is available wherever books are sold.