The Coretta Scott King Award Winners, 1970- Present
Established in 1969, the Coretta Scott King Award is a book award presented annually to an African American author and an African American illustrator for outstanding contributions published during the previous year. The award is designed to commemorate the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and to honor Mrs. Coretta Scott King who both had a passion for peace and brotherhood. To learn more about the award, visit: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/emiert/cskbookawards/recipients.cfm
A listing of the Coretta Scott King Award winners housed in the Curriculum Materials/Media Center is below. These books are organized according to the Library of Congress system of classification.
| Award Date | Title/ Author and Illustrator | Call Number |
|---|---|---|
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2016 |
Author: Gone crazy in Alabama / Williams-Garcia, Rita. Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern are off to Alabama to visit their grandmother, Big Ma, and her mother, Ma Charles. Across the way lives Ma Charles's half sister, Miss Trotter. The two half sisters haven't spoken in years. As Delphine hears about her family history, she uncovers the surprising truth that's been keeping the sisters apart. But when tragedy strikes, Delphine discovers that the bonds of family run deeper than she ever knew possible. |
PZ7 .W6713 GON 2015 |
|
Illustrator: Trombone Shorty / Andrews, Troy ; illustrated by Bryan Collier. Hailing from the Tremâe neighborhood in New Orleans, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews got his nickname by wielding a trombone twice as long as he was high. A prodigy, he was leading his own band by age six, and today this Grammy-nominated artist headlines the legendary New Orleans Jazz Fest. |
ML3930 .A53 A3 2015 |
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|
2015 |
Author: Brown girl dreaming / Woodson, Jacqueline. The author shares her childhood memories and reveals the first sparks that ignited her writing career in free-verse poems about growing up in the North and South. |
PS3573.O64524 Z46 2014 |
|
Illustrator: Firebird / Copeland, Misty ; illustrated by Christopher Myers. American Ballet Theater soloist Misty Copeland encourages a young ballet student, with brown skin like her own, by telling her that she, too, had to learn basic steps and how to be graceful when she was starting out, and that some day, with practice and dedication, the little girl will become a firebird, too. Includes author's note about dancers who led her to find her voice. |
PZ7 .C7887 FIR 2014 |
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2014 |
Author: P.S. Be eleven / Williams-Garcia, Rita. The Gaither sisters are back in Brooklyn, where changes large and small come to their household as they grow up during the turbulent 1960s. |
PZ7 .W6713 PAAM 2013 |
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Illustrator: Knock knock : my dad's dream for me / Beaty, Daniel. A boy wakes up one morning to find his father gone. At first, he feels lost. But his father has left him a letter filled with advice to guide him through the times he cannot be there. |
PZ7 .B3805475 KN 2013 |
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|
2013 |
Author: Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America by Andrea Davis Pinkney Presents the stories of ten African-American men from different eras in American history, organized chronologically to provide a scope from slavery to the modern day. |
E185.86 .P56 2012 |
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Illustrator: I Too, Am America illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Langston Hughes Presents the popular poem by one of the central figures in the Harlem Renaissance, highlighting the courage and dignity of the African American Pullman porters in the early twentieth century. |
PS3515 .U274 I3 2012 |
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|
2012 |
An simple introduction to African-American history, from Revolutionary-era slavery up to the election of President Obama. |
E185 .N427 2011 |
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Illustrator: Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom / written and illustrated by Shane W. Evans. "A family silently crawls along the ground. They run barefoot through unlit woods, sleep beneath bushes, take shelter in a kind stranger's home. Where are they heading? They are heading for Freedom by way of the Underground Railroad."--from publisher description |
E450 .E94 2011 |
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2011 |
Author: One crazy summer / Williams-Garcia, Rita. In the summer of 1968, after travelling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp. |
PZ7 .W6713 ON 2010 |
|
Illustrator: Dave the potter : artist, poet, slave / illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Laban Carrick Hill. Chronicles the life of Dave, a nineteenth-century slave who went on to become an influential poet, artist, and potter. |
NK 4210 .D247 H55 2010 |
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2010 |
This biography profiles the life of Bass Reeves, a former slave who was recruited as a deputy United States Marshal in the area that was to become Oklahoma. |
F697 .R44 N45 2009 |
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Illustrator: My people / Langston Hughes ; photographs by Charles R. Smith Jr. Hughes's spare yet eloquent tribute to his people has been cherished for generations. Now, acclaimed photographer Smith interprets this beloved poem in vivid sepia photographs that capture the glory, the beauty, and the soul of being a black American today. |
PS3515 .U274 M9 2009 |
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2009 |
Author: We are the ship : the story of Negro League baseball / Kadir Nelson. Using an "Everyman" player as his narrator, Kadir Nelson tells the story of Negro League baseball from its beginnings in the 1920s through the decline after Jackie Robinson crossed over to the majors in 1947. Illustrations from oil paintings by artist Kadir Nelson. |
GV875 .A1 N45 2008 |
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Illustrator: The blacker the berry : poems / Joyce Carol Thomas. A collection of poems, including "Golden Goodness," "Cranberry Red," and "Biscuit Brown," celebrating individuality and Afro-American identity. |
PS3570 .H565 B53 2008 |
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2008 |
Author: Elijah of Buxton / Christopher Paul Curtis. In 1859, eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first free-born child in Buxton, Canada, which is a haven for slaves fleeing the American south, uses his wits and skills to try to bring to justice the lying preacher who has stolen money that was to be used to buy a family's freedom. |
PZ7 .C94137 EL 2007 |
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Illustrator: Let it shine : three favorite spirituals / [illustrated by] Ashley Bryan Illustrated versions of three well-known hymns. |
BV353 .L48 2007 |
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2007 |
Author: Copper sun / Sharon M. Draper Two fifteen-year-old girls--one a slave and the other an indentured servant--escape their Carolina plantation and try to make their way to Fort Moses, Florida, a Spanish colony that gives sanctuary to slaves. |
PZ7.D78325 COP 2006 |
|
Illustrator: Moses : when Harriet Tubman led her people to freedom / Carole Boston Weatherford ; illustrated by Kadir Nelson Describes Tubman's spiritual journey as she hears the voice of God guiding her north to freedom on that very first trip to escape the brutal practice of forced servitude. Tubman would make nineteen subsequent trips back south, never being caught, but none as profound as this first one. |
E444 .T82 W43 2006X |
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2006 |
Author: Day of tears : a novel in dialogue / Julius Lester Emma has taken care of the Butler children since Sarah and Frances's mother, Fanny, left. Emma wants to raise the girls to have good hearts, as a rift over slavery has ripped the Butler household apart. Now, to pay off debts, Pierce Butler wants to cash in his slave "assets", possibly including Emma. |
PZ7 .L5629 DA 2005 |
|
Illustrator: Rosa / Nikki Giovanni ; illustrated by Bryan Collier The story of Rosa Parks and her courageous act of defiance. Provides the story of the young black woman who refused to give up her seat to a white passenger in Alabama, setting in motion all the events of the Civil Rights Movements that resulted in the end of the segregated south, gave equality to blacks throughout the nation, and forever changed the country in which we all live today. She had not sought this moment but she was ready for it. When the policeman bent down to ask "Auntie, are you going to move?" all the strength of all the people through all those many years joined in her. She said, "No." An inspiring account of an event that shaped American history. Fifty years after her refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus, Mrs. Rosa Parks is still one of the most important figures in the American civil rights movement. This picture-book tribute to Mrs. Parks is a celebration of her courageous action and the events that followed. Award-winning poet, writer, and activist Nikki Giovanni's evocative text combines with Bryan Collier's striking cut-paper images to retell the story of this historic event from a wholly unique and original perspective. |
F334 .M753 P38427 2005 |
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2005 |
Author: Remember : the journey to school integration / Toni Morrison Toni Morrison has collected a treasure chest of archival photographs that depict the historical events surrounding school desegregation. These unforgettable images serve as the inspiration for Ms. Morrison's text--a fictional account of the dialogue and emotions of the children who lived during the era of "separate but equal" schooling. Remember is a unique pictorial and narrative journey that introduces children to a watershed period in American history and its relevance to us today. Remember will be published on the 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision ending legal school segregation, handed down on May 17, 1954. |
LC214.2 .M67 2004 |
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Illustrator: Ellington was not a street / written by Ntozake Shange ; illustrations by Kadir Nelson |
PS3569.H3324 E45 2004 |
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2004 |
Author: The first part last / Angela Johnson Bobby's carefree teenage life changes forever when he becomes a father and must care for his adored baby daughter. |
PZ7.J629 FI 2003 |
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The Days of Jubille: The End of Slavery in the United States / Patricia C. and Fredrick L. McKissack |
Not in collection |
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|
Illustrator: Beautiful Blackbird / Ashley Bryan. In a story of the Ila people, the colorful birds of Africa ask Blackbird, whom they think is the most beautiful of birds, to decorate them with some of his "blackening brew." |
PZ8.1 .B838 BG 2003 |
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2003 |
Author: Bronx masquerade / by Nikki Grimes While studying the Harlem Renaissance, students at a Bronx high school read aloud poems they've written, revealing their innermost thoughts and fears to their formerly clueless classmates. |
PZ7.G88429 BR 2002 |
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Illustrator: Talkin' about Bessie : the story of aviator Elizabeth Coleman / by Nikki Grimes ; illustrated by E.B. Lewis A biography of the first licensed female African American pilot. |
TL540.C646 G75 2002 |
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2002 |
Author: The land / Mildred D. Taylor After the Civil War Paul, the son of a white father and a black mother, finds himself caught between the two worlds of colored folks and white folks as he pursues his dream of owning land of his own. |
PZ7.T21723 LAN 2001 |
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Illustrator: Goin' someplace special / Patricia C. McKissack ; Jerry Pinkney In segregated 1950s Nashville, a young African American girl braves a series of indignities and obstacles to get to one of the few integrated places in town: the public library. |
PZ7.M478693 GO 2001 |
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2001 |
Author: Miracle's boys / Jacqueline Woodson Twelve-year-old Lafayette's close relationship with his older brother Charlie changes after Charlie is released from a detention home and blames Lafayette for the death of their mother. |
PZ7.W868 MI 2000 |
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Illustrator: Uptown / Bryan Collier A tour of the sights of Harlem, including the Metro-North Train, brownstones, shopping on 125th Street, a barber shop, summer basketball, the Boy's Choir, and sunset over the Harlem River. |
PZ7.C67759 UP 2000 |
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2000 |
Author: Bud, not Buddy / Christopher Paul Curtis Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father--the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway of Grand Rapids. |
PZ7.C94137 BU 1999 |
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Illustrator: In the time of the drums / Kim L. Siegelson ; illustrated by Brian Pinkney Mentu, an American-born slave boy, watches his beloved grandmother, Twi, lead the insurrection at Teakettle Creek of Ibo people arriving from Africa on a slave ship. |
PZ7.S56657 IN 1999 |
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1999 |
Author: Heaven / Angela Johnson When her grandmother reveals that the daughter that she had given up for adoption is coming from America to visit her Vietnamese family, nine-year-old Binh is convinced that her newly-discovered aunt is wealthy and will take care of all the family's needs. |
PZ7.J629 HE 1998 |
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Illustrator: I see the rhythm / paintings by Michele Wood ; text by Toyomi Igus Chronicles and captures poetically the history, mood, and movement of African American music. |
ML3556 .I48 1998 |
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1998 |
Author: Forged by fire / Sharon M. Draper Teenage Gerald, who has spent years protecting his fragile half-sister from their abusive father, faces the prospect of one final confrontation before the problem can be solved. |
PZ7.D78325 FO 1997 |
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Illustrator: In daddy's arms I am tall : African Americans celebrating fathers / illustrated by Javaka Steptoe A collection of poems celebrating African-American fathers by Angela Johnson, E. Ethelbert Miller, Carole Boston Weatherford, and others. |
PS 591.N4 B46 1997 |
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1997 |
Author: Slam! / Walter Dean Myers Sixteen-year-old "Slam" Harris is counting on his noteworthy basketball talents to get him out of the inner city and give him a chance to succeed in life, but his coach sees things differently. |
PZ7.M992 SL 1996 |
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Illustrator: Minty : a story of young Harriet Tubman / by Alan Schroeder ; pictures by Jerry Pinkney Young Harriet Tubman, whose childhood name was Minty, dreams of escaping slavery on the Brodas plantation in the late 1820s. |
E444.T82 S37 2000 |
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1996 |
GR111.A47 H35 1995 |
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Illustrator: The Middle Passage: White Ships Black Cargo / by Tom Feelings (introduction by John Henrik Clarke) |
ND237.F32 A4 1995 |
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1995 |
Describes the customs, recipes, poems, and songs used to celebrate Christmas in the big plantation houses and in the slave quarters just before the Civil War. |
F213 .M36 1994 |
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Illustrator: The Creation / James Weldon Johnson ; illustrated by James E. Ransome A poem based on the story of creation from the first book of the Bible. |
PS3519.O2625 C73 1994 |
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1994 |
Author: Toning the sweep / Angela Johnson On a visit to her grandmother Ola, who is dying of cancer in her house in the desert, fourteen-year-old Emmie hears many stories about the past and her family history and comes to a better understanding of relatives both dead and living. |
PZ7.J629 TO 1994 |
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Illustrator: Soul Looks Back in Wonder / Tom Feelings. Artwork and poems by such writers as Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, and Askia Toure portray the creativity, strength, and beauty of their African American heritage. |
PS59 .N4 S58 1999 |
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1993 |
Author: The Dark-Thirty: Southern Tales of the Supernatural /Patricia McKissak |
Not in collection |
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Illustrator: The Origin of Life on Earth: An African Creation Myth/ Kathleen Atkins Wilson. Retells the Yoruba creation myth in which the deity Obatala descends from the sky to create the world. |
PZ8.1 .A543 OR 1991 |
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1992 |
Author: Now is Your Time! The African-American Struggle for Freedom/ Walter Dean Myers. A history of the African-American struggle for freedom and equality, beginning with the capture of Africans in 1619, continuing through the American Revolution, the Civil War, and into contemporary times. |
E185 .M96 1991 |
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Illustrator: Tar Beach / Faith Ringgold A young girl dreams of flying above her Harlem home, claiming all she sees for herself and her family. Based on the author's quilt painting of the same name. |
PZ7.R5 TAR 1992 |
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1991 |
Author: The Road to Memphis/ Mildred D. Taylor |
On Order |
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Illustrator: Aida/ Leo and Diane Dillon. Retells the story of Verdi's opera in which the love of the enslaved Ethiopian princess for an Egyptian general brings tragedy to all involved. |
ML3930 .V4 P7 1997 |
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1990 |
Author: A Long Hard Journey: The Story of the Pullman Porter/ Patricia and Frederick McKissak |
Not in collection |
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Illustrator: Nathaniel talking / by Eloise Greenfield ; illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist |
PS3557.R39416 N38 1988 |
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1989 |
Author: Fallen Angels/ Walter Dean Myers |
On Order |
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Illustrator: Mirandy and Brother Wind / by Patricia C. McKissack ; illustrated by Jerry Pinkney To win first prize in the Junior Cakewalk, Mirandy tries to capture the wind for her partner. |
PZ7.M478693 MI 1988 |
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1988 |
Author: The Friendship/ Mildred D. Taylor. Four children witness a confrontation between an elderly black man and a white storekeeper in rural Mississippi in the 1930s. |
PZ7 .T21723 FR 1998 |
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Illustrator: Mufaro's beautiful daughters : an African tale / John Steptoe Mufaro's two beautiful daughters, one bad-tempered, one kind and sweet, go before the king, who is choosing a wife. |
PZ 8 .S585 MU 1987 |
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1987 |
Author: Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World/ Mildred Pitts Walter. Suffering in a family full of females, ten-year-old Justin feels that cleaning and keeping house are women's work until he spends time on his beloved grandfather's ranch. |
PZ7 .W17125 JU 1986 |
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Illustrator: Half a Moon and One Whole Star/ Jerry Pinkney |
Not in collection |
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1986 |
Retold Afro-American folktales of animals, fantasy, the supernatural, and desire for freedom, born of the sorrow of the slaves, but passed on in hope. |
PZ8.1.H154 PE 1985 |
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Illustrator: The patchwork quilt / by Valerie Flournoy ; pictures by Jerry Pinkney Using scraps cut from the family's old clothing, Tanya helps her grandmother and mother make a beautiful quilt that tells the story of her family's life. |
PZ7.F667 PAT 1985 |
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1985 |
Author: Motown and Didi/ Walter Dean Myers |
Not in collection |
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1984 |
Author: Everett Anderson's Goodbye/ Lucille Clifton. Everett Anderson has a difficult time coming to terms with his grief after his father dies. |
PZ8.3 .C573 EVH 1988X |
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Illustrator: My Mama Needs Me/ Pat Cumming |
Not in collection |
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1983 |
Author: Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush/ Virginia Hamilton. Fourteen-year-old Tree, resentful of her working mother who leaves her in charge of a retarded brother, encounters the ghost of her dead uncle and comes to a deeper understanding of her family's problems. |
PZ7 .H1828 SW 2001 |
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Illustrator: Black Child/ Peter Magubane |
Not in collection |
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1982 |
Author: Let the circle be unbroken / Mildred D. Taylor Four black children growing up in rural Mississippi during the Depression experience racial antagonisms and hard times, but learn from their parents the pride and self-respect they need to survive. |
PZ7 .T21723 LE |
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Illustrator: Mother Crocodile: An Uncle Amadou Tale From Senegal/ John Steptoe |
Not in collection |
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1981 |
Author: This Life/ Sidney Poitier |
Not in collection |
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Illustrator: Beat the story-drum, pum-pum / retold and illustrated by Ashley Bryan Five traditional Nigerian tales include "Hen and Frog," "Why Bush Cow and Elephant are Bad Friends," "The Husband Who Counted the Spoonfuls," "Why Frog and Snake Never Play Together," and "How Animals Got Their Tails." |
PZ8.1.B838 BE 1987 |
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1980 |
Author: The Young Landlords/ Walter Dean Myers |
On Order |
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Illustrator: Cornrows/ Carole Byard. Explains how the hair style of cornrows, a symbol in Africa since ancient times, can today in this country symbolize the courage of outstanding Afro-Americans. |
PZ7 .Y1995 CO 1996 |
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1979 |
Author: Escape to Freedom: A Play About Young Frederick Douglass/ Ossie Davis. Born a slave, young Frederick Douglass endures many years of cruelty before escaping to the North to claim his freedom. |
PS3507 .A7444 E84 1990 |
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Illustrator: Something on My Mind/ Tom Feelings |
Not in collection |
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1978 |
Author: Africa dream / by Eloise Greenfield ; illustrated by Carole Byard An African American girl dreams of long-ago Africa, where she sees animals, a marketplace, and some strange words from an old book. Then she returns to the village where her long-ago granddad welcomes her. |
PS3557.R39416 A46 1992 |
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1977 |
Author: The Story of Stevie Wonder/ James Haskins |
Not in collection |
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1976 |
Author: Duey's Tale/ Pearl Bailey |
Not in Collection |
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1975 |
Author: The Legend of Africania/ Dorothy Robinson |
Not in collection |
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1974 |
Author: Ray Charles / Sharon Bell Mathis ; illustrated by George Ford |
ML930.C443 M42 2001 |
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1973 |
Author: I Never Had it Made: The Autobiography of Jackie Robinson/Jackie Robinson as told to Alfred Duckett. Autobiography of an African American who broke the color barrier in major league baseball and devoted his life to achieving justice. |
GV865 .R6 A3 1995 |
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1972 |
Author: Seventeen Black Artists/ Elton C. Fax |
Not in collection |
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1971 |
Author: Black Troubador: Langston Hughes/ Charlemae H. Rollins |
Not in collection |
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1970 |
Author: Martin Luther King, Jr.: Man of Peace/ Lillie Patterson. A biography of the minister, orator, and crusader for equal civil rights who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. |
E185.97 .K5 P3 |