Coretta Scott King Author Award

We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
Click to order via Amazon

written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 96 pages
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH (January 8, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0786808322
ISBN-13: 978-0786808328
Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 11.1 x 0.4 inches

The story of Negro League baseball is the story of gifted athletes and determined owners; of racial discrimination and international sportsmanship; of fortunes won and lost; of triumphs and defeats on and off the field. It is a perfect mirror for the social and political history of black America in the first half of the twentieth century. But most of all, the story of the Negro Leagues is about hundreds of unsung heroes who overcame segregation, hatred, terrible conditions, and low pay to do the one thing they loved more than anything else in the world: play ball. Using an "Everyman" player as his narrator, Kadir Nelson tells the story of Negro League baseball from its beginnings in the 1920s through its decline after Jackie Robinson crossed over to the majors in 1947. The voice is so authentic, you will feel as if you are sitting on dusty bleachers listening intently to the memories of a man who has known the great ballplayers of that time and shared their experiences. But what makes this book so outstanding are the dozens of full-page and double-page oil paintings--breathtaking in their perspectives, rich in emotion, and created with understanding and affection for these lost heroes of our national game.

We Are the Ship is a tour de force for baseball lovers of all ages.

About the Author
Kadir Nelson began his professional career as an artist, publishing his work and receiving commissions from publishers and production studios such as Dreamworks, where he served as the lead conceptual artist for Steven Spielberg's �Amistad� and �Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron,� Sports Illustrated, Coca-Cola, The United States Postal Service and Major League Baseball, among others. Presently, almost twenty illustrated books are in print, including Debbie Allen's DANCING IN THE WINGS, Ntozake Shange's Coretta Scott King Award-winning book, and Carol Boston Weatherford's MOSES: When Harriet Tubman Led her People to Freedom,� for which Nelson won a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, a Caldecott Honor and an NAACP Image Award. Most recently, Nelson released his authorial debut, �WE ARE THE SHIP: The Story of Negro League Baseball� (Jump at the Sun/Disney), a New York Times best-seller.

Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books

The Blacker the Berry Click to order via Amazon by Joyce Carol Thomas (Author), Floyd Cooper (Illustrator) Reading level: Ages 4-8 Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Amistad (July 1, 2008) Language: English ISBN-10: 0060253754 ISBN-13: 978-0060253752 Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 7.7 x 0.5 inches A collection of poems, including "Golden Goodness," "Cranberry Red," and "Biscuit Brown," celebrating individuality and Afro-American identity. About the Author Joyce Carol Thomas was born in Ponca City, Oklahoma, and now lives in California. A poet, novelist, and playwright, she has been honored with the National Book Award and the Coretta Scott King Author Award for her work. In her latest book of poetry, A Mother's Heart, A Daughter's Love: Poems for Us to Share, she reflects on the lifelong relationship between mothers and daughters.

Keeping the Night Watch Click to order via Amazon by Hope Anita Smith (Author), E. B. Lewis (Illustrator) Reading level: Ages 9-12 Hardcover: 80 pages Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) (March 18, 2008) Language: English ISBN-10: 0805072020 ISBN-13: 978-0805072020 Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.7 x 0.5 inches So many unanswered questions weigh down thirteen-year-old C.J. as he struggles to understand why his father walked out. His father is back now, though C.J. is not as quick to forgive as the other members of his family. He still feels the weight of responsibility that fell on his shoulders when Daddy was gone, and he's not prepared to give that up. But C.J.'s anger is making him a stranger in his own home, and instead of life seeming better now that Daddy has returned, it feels worse. Through powerful poems, Hope Anita Smith chronicles the nuanced emotions of a family that is slowly learning to heal and put the pieces back together.

Becoming Billie Holiday Click to order via Amazon by Carole Weatherford (Author), Floyd Cooper (Illustrator) Reading level: Young Adult Hardcover: 117 pages Publisher: Wordsong; Library Binding edition (October 2008) Language: English ISBN-10: 159078507X ISBN-13: 978-1590785072 Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.8 x 0.7 inches Before the legend of Billie Holliday, there was a girl named Eleanora. The world, however, would know her as Billie Holliday, possibly one of the greatest jazz singers of all time. Eleanora's journey into legend took her through pain, poverty and run-ins with the law. By the time she was fifteen, she knew she possessed something that could change her life - a voice. Eleanora could sing! Her remarkable voice led her to a place in the spotlight with some of the era's hottest big bands. Billie Holliday sang as if she lived each lyric and in many ways she had.Through a sequence of raw and poignant poems, award-winning poet, Carole Boston Weatherford chronicles Eleanora Fagan's metamorphosis into Billie Holliday and the dream she pursued with passion.

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award

The Blacker the Berry
Click to order via Amazon

by Joyce Carol Thomas (Author), Floyd Cooper (Illustrator)

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Amistad (July 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060253754
ISBN-13: 978-0060253752
Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 7.7 x 0.5 inches

A collection of poems, including "Golden Goodness," "Cranberry Red," and "Biscuit Brown," celebrating individuality and Afro-American identity.

About the Author
Joyce Carol Thomas was born in Ponca City, Oklahoma, and now lives in California. A poet, novelist, and playwright, she has been honored with the National Book Award and the Coretta Scott King Author Award for her work. In her latest book of poetry, A Mother's Heart, A Daughter's Love: Poems for Us to Share, she reflects on the lifelong relationship between mothers and daughters.

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award

We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball Click to order via Amazon written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson Reading level: Ages 9-12 Hardcover: 96 pages Publisher: Hyperion Book CH (January 8, 2008) Language: English ISBN-10: 0786808322 ISBN-13: 978-0786808328 Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 11.1 x 0.4 inches The story of Negro League baseball is the story of gifted athletes and determined owners; of racial discrimination and international sportsmanship; of fortunes won and lost; of triumphs and defeats on and off the field. It is a perfect mirror for the social and political history of black America in the first half of the twentieth century. But most of all, the story of the Negro Leagues is about hundreds of unsung heroes who overcame segregation, hatred, terrible conditions, and low pay to do the one thing they loved more than anything else in the world: play ball. Using an "Everyman" player as his narrator, Kadir Nelson tells the story of Negro League baseball from its beginnings in the 1920s through its decline after Jackie Robinson crossed over to the majors in 1947. The voice is so authentic, you will feel as if you are sitting on dusty bleachers listening intently to the memories of a man who has known the great ballplayers of that time and shared their experiences. But what makes this book so outstanding are the dozens of full-page and double-page oil paintings--breathtaking in their perspectives, rich in emotion, and created with understanding and affection for these lost heroes of our national game. We Are the Ship is a tour de force for baseball lovers of all ages.

Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane Click to order via Amazon by Carole Boston Weatherford (Author), Sean Qualls (Illustrator) Reading level: Ages 4-8 Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) (April 1, 2008) Language: English ISBN-10: 0805079947 ISBN-13: 978-0805079944 Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.2 x 0.5 inches Young John Coltrane was all ears. And there was a lot to hear growing up in the South in the 1930s: preachers praying, music on the radio, the bustling of the household. These vivid noises shaped John's own sound as a musician. Carole Boston Weatherford and Sean Qualls have composed an amazingly rich hymn to the childhood of jazz legend John Coltrane.

The Moon Over Star Click to order via Amazon by Dianna Hutts Aston (Author), Jerry Pinkney (Illustrator) Reading level: Ages 4-8 Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Dial (October 16, 2008) Language: English ISBN-10: 0803731078 ISBN-13: 978-0803731073 Product Dimensions: 11 x 9.2 x 0.3 inches In July 1969, the world witnessed an awe-inspiring historical achievement when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the moon. For the young protagonist of this lyrical and hopeful picture book, that landing is something that inspires her to make one giant step toward all of the possibilities that life has to offer. Caldecott Honor�winning painter Jerry Pinkney and the poetic Dianna Hutts Aston create a moving tribute to the historic Apollo 11 Mission, just in time to commemorate its upcoming fortieth anniversary.

 

John Steptoe Award for New Talent

Shadra Strickland, illustrator of Bird

Bird
Click to order via Amazon

by Zetta Elliott (Author), Shadra Strickland (Illustrator)

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 48 pages
Publisher: Lee & Low Books (October 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 160060241X
ISBN-13: 978-1600602412
Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.6 x 0.6 inches

Young Mekhai, better known as Bird, loves to draw. With drawings, he can erase the things that don't turn out right. In real life, problems aren't so easily fixed. As Bird struggles to understand the death of his beloved grandfather and his older brother's drug addiction, he escapes into his art. Drawing is an outlet for Bird's emotions and imagination, and provides a path to making sense of his world. In time, with the help of his grandfather's friend, Bird finds his own special somethin' and wings to fly. Told with spare grace, Bird is a touching look at a young boy coping with real-life troubles. Readers will be heartened by Bird s quiet resilience, and moved by the healing power of putting pencil to paper.

Related Links

A complete list of all of Coretta Scott King's Author and Illustrator Awards 1970 to Present -- an excellent start on your quest for the best in African-American literature for children.