Education Resources: Coretta Scott King Award
Coretta Scott King Book Awards
Designed to commemorate the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and to honor Mrs. Coretta Scott King for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace, the Coretta Scott King Book Awards annually recognize outstanding books for young adults and children by African American authors and illustrators that reflect the African American experience. Further, the Award encourages the artistic expression of the black experience via literature and the graphic arts in biographical, social, and historical treatments by African American authors and illustrators. - American Library Association
Award-Winning & Honorary Books
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Standing in the Need of Prayer
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Publication Date: 2022A stunning and deeply moving picture book based on the popular spiritual. The classic lyrics have been reworked to chronicle the milestones, struggles, tragedies, and triumphs of African American history. -
The Talk
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Publication Date: 2022As a little boy grows into a bigger boy, ready to take on the world, he first must have that very difficult conversation far too familiar to so many Black and Brown Americans in this gentle and ultimately hopeful picture book. -
Freewater
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Publication Date: 2022Award-winning author Amina Luqman-Dawson pens a lyrical, accessible historical middle-grade novel about two enslaved children's escape from a plantation and the many ways they find freedom. -
Me and the Boss
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Publication Date: 2022All the highs and lows of having a bossy, protective, and loving older sibling are depicted in this heartwarming picture book by a critically acclaimed author and award-winning illustrator. -
Swim Team
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Publication Date: 2022A splashy, contemporary middle grade graphic novel from bestselling comics creator Johnnie Christmas! -
Victory. Stand!
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Publication Date: 2022Victory. Stand! paints a stirring portrait of an iconic moment in Olympic history that still resonates today. -
Unspeakable
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Publication Date: 2021The book traces the history of African Americans in Tulsa's Greenwood district and chronicles the devastation that occurred in 1921 when a white mob attacked the Black community. -
Nina
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Publication Date: 2021This book tells the remarkable and inspiring story of acclaimed singer Nina Simone and her bold, defiant, and exultant legacy. -
Respect
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Publication Date: 2020This authoritative, rhythmic, Coretta Scott King Illustration Award-winning picture book biography will captivate young readers with Aretha's inspiring story. -
Magnificent Homespun Brown
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Publication Date: 2020With vivid illustrations by Kaylani Juanita, SamaraCole Doyon sings a carol for the plenitude that surrounds us and the self eachof us is meant to inhabit. -
Exquisite
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Publication Date: 2020 (eBook)A picture-book biography of celebrated poet Gwendolyn Brooks, the first Black person to win the Pulitzer Prize -
The Undefeated
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Publication Date: 2019Originally performed for ESPN's The Undefeated, this poem is a love letter to black life in the United States. It highlights the unspeakable trauma of slavery, the faith and fire of the civil rights movement, and the grit, passion, and perseverance of some of the world's greatest heroes. -
What Is Given from the Heart
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Publication Date: 2019With her extraordinary gift for storytelling, McKissack-with stunning illustrations by Harrison-delivers a touching, powerful tale of compassion and reminds us all that what is given from the heart, reaches the heart. -
The Bell Rang
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Publication Date: 2019A young slave girl witnesses the heartbreak and hopefulness of her family and their plantation community when her brother escapes for freedom in this brilliantly conceived picture book. -
The Stuff of Stars
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Publication Date: 2018Before the universe was formed, before time and space existed, there was . . . nothing. But then . . . BANG! Stars caught fire and burned so long that they exploded, flinging stardust everywhere. And the ash of those stars turned into planets. Into our Earth. And into us. -
Thank You, Omu!
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Publication Date: 2018Debut author-illustrator Oge Mora brings to life a heartwarming story of sharing and community in colorful cut-paper designs as luscious as Omu's stew, with an extra serving of love. This book was inspired by the strong female role models in Oge Mora's life. -
Hidden Figures
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Publication Date: 2018In this beautifully illustrated picture book edition, we explore the story of four female African American mathematicians at NASA, known as "colored computers," and how they overcame gender and racial barriers to succeed in a highly challenging STEM-based career. -
Let the Children March
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Publication Date: 2018In 1963 Birmingham, Alabama thousands of African American children volunteered to march for their civil rights after hearing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speak. They protested the laws that kept black people separate from white people. Facing fear, hate, and danger, these children used their voices to change the world. -
Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop
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Publication Date: 2018This picture book tells the story of a nine-year-old girl who in 1968 witnessed the Memphis sanitation strike - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s final stand for justice before his assassination - when her father, a sanitation worker, participated in the protest. -
Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets
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Publication Date: 2017Out of gratitude for the poet's art form, Newbery Award-winning author and poet Kwame Alexander, along with Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth, present original poems that pay homage to twenty famed poets who have made the authors' hearts sing and their minds wonder. -
Mama Africa!
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Publication Date: 2017Set defiantly in the present tense, this biography offers readers an intimate view of Makeba's fight for equality. Kathryn Erskine's call-and-response style text and Charly Palmer's bold illustrations come together in a raw, riveting duet of protest song and praise poem. A testament to how a single voice helped to shake up the world--and can continue to do so. -
Crown
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Publication Date: 2017A high-spirited, engaging salute to the beautiful, raw, assured humanity of black boys and how they see themselves when they approve of their reflections in the mirror. -
Radiant Child
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Publication Date: 2016Award-winning illustrator Javaka Steptoe's vivid text and bold artwork echoing Basquiat's own, introduce young readers to the powerful message that art doesn't always have to be neat or clean--and definitely not inside the lines--to be beautiful. -
Freedom over Me
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Publication Date: 2016Using original slave auction and plantation estate documents, Ashley Bryan offers a moving and powerful picture book that contrasts the monetary value of a slave with the priceless value of life experiences and dreams that a slave owner could never take away. -
Freedom in Congo Square
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Publication Date: 2016This poetic, nonfiction story about a little-known piece of African American history captures a human's capacity to find hope and joy in difficult circumstances and demonstrates how New Orleans' Congo Square was truly freedom's heart. -
In Plain Sight
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Publication Date: 2016Sophie lives with Mama and Daddy and Grandpa, who spends his days by the window. Every day after school, it's Grandpa whom Sophie runs to. As Sophie and her grandpa talk, he asks her to find items he's "lost" throughout the day, guiding Sophie on a tour through his daily life and connecting their generations in this sweet, playful picture book.
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