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 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.

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6 Award Winning and Honored Books for 1995

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Secondary Level Winner

Book Description: 
Complemented by archival photographs, paintings, maps, and letter and diary excerpts, this informative historical study chronicles the contributions of black soldiers who fought for the Union during the Civil War.

Outstanding Merit

Book Description: 
Describes the efforts of Native Americans to rebury ancestral human remains and grave offerings held by museums and historical societies, with particular emphasis on the Pawnees and their struggle to reclaim their dead.

Outstanding Merit

Book Description: 
A narrative portrait of the life and writings of Harriet Beecher Stowe examines the nineteenth-century era that spawned her work and the dramatic influence of her controversial work, Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Outstanding Merit

Book Description: 
Throughout his life Banneker was troubled that all blacks were not free. And so, in 1791, he wrote to Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, who had signed the Declaration of Independence. Banneker attacked the institution of slavery and dared to call Jefferson a hypocrite for owning slaves. Jefferson responded. This is the story of Benjamin Banneker—his science, his politics, his morals, and his extraordinary correspondence with Thomas Jefferson.

Outstanding Merit

Book Description: 
Examines the life and work of master cabinetmaker Tom Day, a free, literate African-American craftsman whose distinctive furniture was much prized in antebellum North Carolina.

Elementary Award

Book Description: