Coretta Scott King Book Award Winners 1970 to Present
The Coretta Scott King Awards are presented annually by the American Library Association to honor African-American authors and illustrators who create outstanding books for children and young adults. “… an
excellent start on your quest for the best in African-American literature for children.”
The CSK Book Awards seal and award names are owned by the American Library Association.
The award was established in 1969 to recognize authors. In 1979 it was expanded to include a separate award for illustrators. There are now five categories for book awards; Author, Author Honor, Illustrator, Illustrator Honor, and the John Steptoe Award for New Talent.
These awards are given to commemorate the life and work of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and to honor Mrs. Coretta Scott King for her continuing efforts in working for peace and civil rights issues. In 2015 The Coretta Scott King Awards became part of the Youth Media Awards. Here is a printable list of all the award winning books.
You may learn more, about this award, at the American Library Association’s website. Also check out our list of Top 100+ Recommended African-American Children’s Books, some are also CSK Award winning titles.
9 Coretta Scott King Award Winning and Honored Books for 1971
Author Award
Black Troubadour
by Langston Hughes
List Price: $4.95Rand Mcnally (Jan 01, 1971)
Nonfiction, Hardcover, 143 pages
Target Age Group: Middle Grade
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Author Honor
Black Means …
by Barney Grossman
List Price: $5.95Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Jun 01, 1970)
Nonfiction, Hardcover, 63 pages
Target Age Group: Early Reader
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Author Honor
Every Man Heart Lay Down
by Lorenz Graham
List Price: $19.95Front Street, Incorporated (Sep 01, 1993)
Fiction, Hardcover, 48 pages
Target Age Group: Picture Book
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Author Honor
I Am a Black Woman
by Mari Evans
Writers and Readers Publishing (Dec 01, 1993)Poetry, Paperback, 160 pages
Target Age Group: Young Adult
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Author Honor
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
by Maya Angelou
- Voted #5 of the Top 100 Books of the 20th Century
- 10 Time AALBC.com Bestselling Book!
- Selected for 1 Book Club’s Reading List
- Coretta Scott King Award Winning Book 1971
Random House (Mar 05, 2002)
Nonfiction, Hardcover, 304 pages
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Author Honor
Mary Jo’s Grandmother
by Janice May Udry
List Price: $8.75Albert Whitman & Company (Jun 01, 1970)
Fiction, Library Binding, 32 pages
Target Age Group: Picture Book
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Author Honor
The Ebony Book of Black Achievement
by Margaret Peters
Johnson Publishing Company, Inc. (Feb 01, 1974)Nonfiction, Hardcover, 124 pages
Target Age Group: Middle Grade
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Author Honor
The Voice of the Children
by June Jordan
Holt Rinehart & Winston (Jun 01, 1970)Poetry, Library Binding, 101 pages
Target Age Group: Middle Grade
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Author Honor
Unbought and Unbossed: Expanded 40th Anniversary Edition
by Shirley Chisholm
Take Root Media (Jan 20, 2010)Nonfiction, Paperback, 200 pages
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