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 1995


Secondary Level Winner

Till Victory Is Won: Black Soldiers in the Civil War (Young Reader’s Hist- Civil War)
by Zak Mettger

Publication Date: Apr 01, 1994
List Price: $16.99
Format: Hardcover, 128 pages
Classification: Nonfiction
Target Age Group: Middle Grade
ISBN13: 9780525674122
Imprint: Dutton Juvenile
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Parent Company: Bertelsmann

Read a Description of Till Victory Is Won: Black Soldiers in the Civil War (Young Reader’s Hist- Civil War)


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

Harriet
by Norma Johnston

    Publication Date: May 01, 1994
    List Price: $30.99
    Format: Hardcover, 242 pages
    Classification: Nonfiction
    Target Age Group: Young Adult
    ISBN13: 9780027477146
    Imprint: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
    Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Inc.
    Parent Company: KKR & Co. Inc.

    Read a Description of Harriet


    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

    Dear Benjamin Banneker
    by Andrea Davis Pinkney

      Publication Date: Oct 31, 1994
      List Price: $16.00
      Format: Hardcover, 32 pages
      Classification: Nonfiction
      Target Age Group: Picture Book
      ISBN13: 9780152004170
      Imprint: Gulliver Books
      Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
      Parent Company: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

      Read a Description of Dear Benjamin Banneker


      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

      Master of Mahogany: Tom Day, Free Black Cabinetmaker (African-American Artists and Artisans)
      by Mary E. Lyons

        Publication Date: Oct 01, 1994
        List Price: $15.95
        Format: Hardcover, 48 pages
        Classification: Nonfiction
        Target Age Group: Picture Book
        ISBN13: 9780684196756
        Imprint: Atheneum
        Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Inc.
        Parent Company: KKR & Co. Inc.

        Read a Description of Master of Mahogany: Tom Day, Free Black Cabinetmaker (African-American Artists and Artisans)


        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.

        Outstanding Merit

        Battlefields and Burial Grounds: The Indian Struggle to Protect Ancestral Graves in the United States
        by Roger Echo-Hawk and Walter R. Echo-Hawk

          Publication Date: Oct 01, 1993
          List Price: $22.60
          Format: Hardcover, 80 pages
          Classification: Fiction
          Target Age Group: Middle Grade
          ISBN13: 9780822526636
          Imprint: Lerner Publishing Group
          Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group
          Parent Company: Lerner Publishing Group

          Read a Description of Battlefields and Burial Grounds: The Indian Struggle to Protect Ancestral Graves in the United States


          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.

          Elementary Award

          What I Had Was Singing: The Story of Marian Anderson (Trailblazer Biographies)
          by Jeri Ferris

            Publication Date: Jan 01, 1994
            List Price: $8.95
            Format: Paperback, 96 pages
            Classification: Nonfiction
            Target Age Group: Middle Grade
            ISBN13: 9780876146347
            Imprint: Carolrhoda Books
            Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group
            Parent Company: Lerner Publishing Group

            Read a Description of What I Had Was Singing: The Story of Marian Anderson (Trailblazer Biographies)


            Book Description: