On January 23, 2012, at the Midwinter Meeting of the American Library Association (ALA), the winners of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards were announced.
The 2012 Coretta Scott King Author Award
Kadir Nelson is the winner of the 2012 Coretta Scott King Author Award for Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans. According to Coretta Scott King Book Awards Jury Chair Dr. Jonda C. McNair, “Mr. Nelson was selected because of his engaging and extensive description of African American history and the strong narrative voice.” (Source: 1/23/12 ALA announcement)The book has also been recognized as the sole 2012 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book. To learn more about this excellent book and Kadir Nelson, read my review of Heart and Soul. (Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins, 2011. ISBN: 9780061730740) Compare prices.
The 2012 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books
The 2012 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books honors were awarded to two authors:- Eloise Greenfield, for The Great Migration: Journey to the North, a collection of poems and collages. Jan Spivey Gilchrist illustrated the book, which was published by Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Compare prices.
- Patricia C. McKissack, for Never Forgotten, which was illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon and published by Schwartz & Wade Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc. Never Forgotten is on my Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2011 list. Compare prices.
The 2012 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award
Shane W. Evans, illustrator and author of Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom, is the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Book Award winner. Coretta Scott King Book Awards Jury Chair Dr. Jonda C. McNair said, “Mr. Evans presents the difficult topic of slavery in a visually engaging manner for young children.” (Source: 1/23/12 ALA announcement) Underground, a Neal Porter Book, was published by Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership. Compare prices.The Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement
Illustrator and author Ashley Bryan is the winner of the Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime achievement. The award pays tribute to the achievements of the late Virginia Hamilton, a highly respected author. Bryan's award-winning children's books include Beautiful Blackbird and All Night, All Day: A Child's First Book of African-American Spirituals.Additional Resources: African-American History and Heritage in Children's Books
Check the annual list of winners of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards for some excellent books. You can learn about the awards and find links to award winners from 2005 through 2012 by going to The Coretta Scott King Book Awards and the Winners Are....Other books I recommend are -
- Ruth and the Green Book, which is a fascinating work of historical fiction in picture book format set in the Jim Crow era. The author is Calvin Alexander Ramsey and the illustrator is Floyd Cooper.
- Portraits of African-American Heroes, a nonfiction book with illustrated profiles of 20 important African American men and women, spanning the nineteenth to the twenty-first century. The author is Tonya Bolden and the illustrations, sepia-toned paintings, were done by Ansel Pitcairn.
- Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters by Andrea Davis Pinkney, with stunning allegorical portraits by Stephen Alcorn. The ten Africa-American women whose lives are covered in the book include Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Rosa Parks and Shirley Chisholm.
- My People by Langston Hughes a picture book edition of Hughes' poem, which is beautifully illustrated with the photographs of Charles R. Smith, Jr.
