Announced by the American Library Association during the Midwinter which took place in Boston, MA, Jan 18, 2010 Below are the Coretta Scott King Award Winning Books for 2010. You'll find the Author Award and Honor Books, the Illustrator and illustrator honor books, the John Steptoe New Talent Author Award and the Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award winning Books.
Click here see the award winning books from prior years.
Coretta Scott King Author Award
Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U. S. Marshal
Click to order via Amazon
by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson (Author), R. Gregory Christie (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Library Binding: 40 pages
Publisher: Carolrhoda Books (November 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0822567644
ISBN-13: 978-0822567646
Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 9.6 x 0.4 inches
Sitting tall in the saddle, with a wide-brimmed black hat and twin Colt pistols on his belt, Bass Reeves seemed bigger than life. As a U.S. Marshal - and former slave who escaped to freedom in the Indian Territories - Bass was cunning and fearless.
When a lawbreaker heard Bass Reeves had his warrant, he knew it was the end of the trail, because Bass always got his man, dead or alive. He achieved all this in spite of whites who didn't like the notion of a black lawman.
For three decades, Bass was the most feared and respected lawman in the territories. He made more than 3,000 arrests, and though he was a crach shot and a quick draw, he only killed fourteen men in the line of duty. Bad News for Outlaws reveals the story of a remarkable African American hero of the Old West.From the Back Cover
Bass Reeves . . .
"One of the bravest men this country has ever known."
"The most feared deputy U.S. marshal that was ever heard of."
The first black man to ever be a deputy U.S. Marshall.
Sitting tall in the saddle, with a wide-brimmed black hat and twin Colt pistols on his belt, Bass Reeves seemed bigger than life. Outlaws feared him. Law-abiding citizens respected him. As a peace officer, he was cunning and fearless. When a lawbreaker heard Bass Reeves had his warrant, he knew it was the end of the trail, because Bass always got his man, dead or alive. He achieved all this in spite of whites who didn't like the notion of a black lawman.
Born into slavery in 1838, Bass had a hard and violent life, but he also had a strong sense of right and wrong that others admired. When Judge Isaac Parker tried to bring law and order to the lawless Indian Territories, he chose Bass to be a deputy U.S. Marshall. Bass would quickly prove a smart choice.
For three decades, Bass was the most feared and respected lawman in the territories. He made more than 3,000 arrests, and though he was a crack shot and a quick draw, he only killed fourteen men in the line of duty.
The story of Bass Reeves is the story of a remarkable African American and a remarkable hero of the Old West.
About the Author
Vaunda Micheaux Nelson is the author of numerous fiction and nonfiction books for children, including Almost to Freedom, which received 2004 Coretta Scott King Illustration Honor Award. In addition to writing books, she has also been a teacher, newspaper reporter, bookseller, and school librarian. She lives in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.
Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books
Mare's War
Click to order via Amazonby Tanita S. Davis
Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (June 9, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0375857141
ISBN-13: 978-0375857140
Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
Meet Mare, a grandmother with flair and a fascinating past.
Octavia and Tali are dreading the road trip their parents are forcing them to take with their grandmother over the summer. After all, Mare isn’t your typical grandmother. She drives a red sports car, wears stiletto shoes, flippy wigs, and push-up bras, and insists that she’s too young to be called Grandma. But somewhere on the road, Octavia and Tali discover there’s more to Mare than what you see. She was once a willful teenager who escaped her less-than-perfect life in the deep South and lied about her age to join the African American battalion of the Women’s Army Corps during World War II.
Told in alternating chapters, half of which follow Mare through her experiences as a WAC member and half of which follow Mare and her granddaughters on the road in the present day, this novel introduces a larger-than-life character who will stay with readers long after they finish reading.
About the Author
Tanita S. Davis is the author of the young adult novel A la Carte, published by Knopf in June 2008. A native Californian, she lives in Glasgow, Scotland.
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award
My People
Click to order via Amazonby Langston Hughes (Author), Charles R. Smith Jr. (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing/Atheneum (January 6, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1416935401
ISBN-13: 978-1416935407
Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 9.1 x 0.6 inchesLangston Hughes's spare yet eloquent tribue to his people has been cherished for generations. Now, acclaimed photographer Charles R. Smith Jr. interprets this beloved poem in vivid sepia photographs that capture the glory, the beauty, and the soul of being a black American today.
About the Illustrator
Charles R. Smith Jr. is the acclaimed poet and Coretta Scott King Award-winning illustrator of My People, a picture book based on the poem by Langston Hughes. He is also the illustrator of If, and he won the Coretta Scott King Author Honor for his book Twelve Rounds To Glory. He grew up in California and attended the Brooks Institute of Photography. A magazine and book cover photographer in addition to a picture book creator, Charles now lives with his wife and son in Poughkeepsie, New York. Visit him on the web at www.charlesrsmithjr.com.
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
Click to order via Amazonby Langston Hughes (Author), E. B. Lewis (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH (January 6, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0786818670
ISBN-13: 978-0786818679
Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 11.3 x 0.4 inches
Langston Hughes has long been acknowledged as the voice, and his poem, The Negro Speaks of Rivers, the song, of the Harlem Renaissance. Although he was only seventeen when he composed it, Hughes already had the insight to capture in words the strength and courage of black people in America.
Artist E.B. Lewis acts as interpreter and visionary, using watercolor to pay tribute to Hughes’s timeless poem, a poem that every child deserves to know.
About the Illustrator
E. B. Lewis is the acclaimed illustrator of many award-winning picture books, including the 2005 Caldecott Honor Book, Coming on Home Soon. He has received a Coretta Scott King Illustgrator Award for Talking About Bessie, by Nikki Grimes, and his books Verivie Goes to School With Us Boys, Bat Boy and his Violin, and My Rows and Piles of Coins each won a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award. Mr. Lewis teaches illustration at Philadelphia's University of the Arts, and is a member of the Society of Illustrators. He lives in Folsom, New Jersey.
John Steptoe Award for New Talent
The Rock and the River
Click to order via Amazonby Kekla Magoon
Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Aladdin (April 6, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9781416978039
ISBN-13: 978-1416978039
ASIN: 1416978038
Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
"An intensely significant story..." -- Sundee T. Frazier, winner of the ALA 2008 Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award
The Rock and the River is Kekla Magoon’s poignant debut novel about an African-American boy's search for identity and brotherhood set in 1968 Chicago.
About the Author
Kekla Magoon has worked with youth-serving organizations in New York City and Chicago. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and resides in New York City. You can visit Kekla at her website: keklamagoon.com
Coretta Scott King - Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award
Walter Dean Myers is the winner of this first-ever Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.
The award pays tribute to the quality and magnitude of beloved children’s author Virginia Hamilton. Myers’ books include: “Amiri & Odette: A Love Story,” published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic; “Fallen Angels,” published by Scholastic Press; “Monster,” published by Amistad and HarperTeen, imprints of HarperCollins Publishers; and “Sunrise Over Fallujah,” published by Scholastic Press.
The Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement is named in memory of beloved children’s author Virginia Hamilton. The award is presented annually andis presented in odd years (i.e. 2011, 2013, 2015…), to a practitioner for substantial contributions through active engagement with youth using award winning African American literature for children and/or young adults, via implementation of reading and reading related activities/programs.
Virginia Hamilton was an award-winning author of children’s books. She wrote more than 35 books throughout her career, including “M. C. Higgins, the Great,” for which she won the 1975 Newbery Medal. During her lifetime, Hamilton received numerous awards including the Coretta Scott King Book Award, the Edgar Allan Poe Award, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and the Hans Christian Andersen Award.
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.
