Carter G. Woodson Award Winning Books


As of 2001 awards and honors are given in the following categories, Elementary (K-6), Middle (5-8), and Secondary (7-12) grade level books.

Carter Woodson Award Seal Carter G. Woodson Seal

The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) established the Carter G. Woodson Book Awards for the most distinguished books appropriate for young readers that depict ethnicity in the United States. First presented in 1974, this award is intended to “encourage the writing, publishing, and dissemination of outstanding social studies books for young readers that treat topics related to ethnic minorities and race relations sensitively and accurately.” Books relating to ethnic minorities and the authors of such books rarely receive the recognition they merit from professional organizations. By sponsoring the Carter G. Woodson Awards, NCSS gives wide recognition to and encourages these authors and publishers. Here is a printable list of all the award winning books. Learn more at NCSS’s website.

Also check out our list of Top 100+ Recommended African-American Children’s Books, some are also CSK Award winning titles.


6 Award Winning and Honored Books for 1993


Secondary Level Winner

Mississippi Challenge
by Mildred Pitts Walter

Publication Date: Nov 30, 1992
List Price: $19.99
Format: Hardcover, 205 pages
Classification: Nonfiction
Target Age Group: Middle Grade
ISBN13: 9780027923018
Imprint: Bradbury Press
Publisher: Bradbury Press
Parent Company: Bradbury Press

Read a Description of Mississippi Challenge


Book Description: 
A two-part chronicle of the history of African Americans in Mississippi documents the slavery, Civil War, and Reconstruction eras, as well as the civil rights movement of the 1960s, including the Freedom Summer, the murder of three civil rights workers, and more.

Outstanding Merit

How My Family Lives in America
by Susan Kuklin

    Publication Date: Mar 31, 1992
    List Price: $17.99
    Format: Hardcover, 40 pages
    Classification: Fiction
    Target Age Group: Picture Book
    ISBN13: 9780027512397
    Imprint: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
    Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Inc.
    Parent Company: KKR & Co. Inc.

    Read a Description of How My Family Lives in America


    Book Description: 
    In How My Family Lives in America, author-photographer Susan Kuklin zeroes in on the source of cultural identity: the family. Meet: Sanu, who is learning how to braid her hair and to cook the same African meal her father makes. Eric, who loves to play baseball with his dad and to dance the merengue with his friends and family. April, who works hard on her Chinese writing and tries to keep up with her family’s challenging games. Their stories emphasize the seemingly minor and everyday ways heritage is transmitted: stories, songs, games, language, special occasions. They show the importance of choice and adaptation in forging a cultural identity. And they provoke readers to examine their own families — what makes them the same, what makes them distinct, and how this uniqueness is celebrated.

    Outstanding Merit

    The Year They Walked: Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
    by Beatrice Siegel

      Publication Date: Apr 01, 1992
      List Price: $16.00
      Format: Hardcover, 103 pages
      Classification: Nonfiction
      Target Age Group: Middle Grade
      ISBN13: 9780027826319
      Imprint: Simon & Schuster
      Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Inc.
      Parent Company: KKR & Co. Inc.

      Read a Description of The Year They Walked: Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott


      Book Description: 
      A study of the Montgomery bus boycott reveals how one woman, who refused to give up her bus seat on a cold day in 1955, sparked the nonviolent civil rights movement in the South that eventually ended segregation.

      Outstanding Merit

      Hoang Anh A Vietnamese-American Boy
      by Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith

      Hardcover Unavailable for Sale from AALBC
      (Check with Amazon  )


      Buy the Kindle eBook 
      Borrow from Library 

        Publication Date: Jan 01, 1992
        List Price: Unavailable
        Format: Hardcover, 30 pages
        Classification: Nonfiction
        Target Age Group: Picture Book
        ISBN13: 9780153022500
        Imprint: Harcourt Children’s Books
        Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
        Parent Company: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

        Read a Description of Hoang Anh A Vietnamese-American Boy


        Book Description: 
        A Vietnamese American boy describes the daily activities of his family in San Rafael, California, and the traditional culture and customs that shape their lives.

        Outstanding Merit

        Thurgood Marshall: A Life for Justice
        by James Haskins

          Publication Date: Jun 01, 1992
          List Price: $14.95
          Format: Hardcover, 163 pages
          Classification: Nonfiction
          Target Age Group: Young Adult
          ISBN13: 9780805020953
          Imprint: Henry Holt & Company (BYR)
          Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
          Parent Company: Holtzbrinck Publishing Group

          Read a Description of Thurgood Marshall: A Life for Justice


          Book Description: 
          Examines the life and accomplishments of the first black judge to be appointed to the Supreme Court.

          Elementary Award

          Madam C.J. Walker: Inventor and Millionaire (Famous African Americans)
          by Patricia C. McKissack and Fredrick McKissack

            Publication Date: Jan 01, 2013
            List Price: $22.60
            Format: Hardcover, 24 pages
            Classification: Nonfiction
            Target Age Group: Picture Book
            ISBN13: 9780766041059
            Imprint: Enslow Publishing
            Publisher: Enslow Publishing LLC
            Parent Company: Enslow Publishing LLC

            Read a Description of Madam C.J. Walker: Inventor and Millionaire (Famous African Americans)


            Book Description: 
            ”Don’t wait for opportunities to come … get up and make them!” said Madam C. J. Walker. She rose from laundry woman to become America’s first black woman millionaire. Born in poverty, Walker set her sights on a better life and made her fortune by developing hair care and beauty products specially formulated for African Americans. As her wealth and influence grew, she also channeled her energies into working for civil rights and social change. This real-life rags-to-riches story comes to life in an engaging narrative by the McKissacks.