Coretta Scott King Book Award Winners 1970 to Present

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The CSK Book Awards seal and award names are owned by the American Library Association.

coretta_scott_king 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 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.

3 Coretta Scott King Award Winning and Honored Books for 1985

Author Award
Motown and Didi (Polk Street Special)

Motown and Didi (Polk Street Special)

by Walter Dean Myers

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Imprint: Laurel Leaf (Sep 01, 1987)
Fiction, Mass Market Paperback, 176 pages
Publisher: Laurel Leaf
ISBN: 9780440957621
Book Description:

Motown lives in a burned-out building one floor above the rats, searching out jobs every day, working his muscles every night, keeping strong, surviving. Didi lives in her cool dream bubble, untouched by the Harlem heat that beats down on her brother until only drugs can soothe him. Didi escapes, without needles, in her tidy plans and stainless visions, etchings of ivycovered colleges where her true life will begin. Didi can survive inside her own safe mind, until Motown steps into her real world and makes it bearable. Together they can stand the often brutal present. What about the future?
Author Honor
A Little Love

A Little Love

by Virginia Hamilton

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Imprint: Berkley Pub Group (Mm) (Nov 01, 1985)
Fiction, Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Random House
ISBN: 9780425084243
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Book Description:

Part of a series of fiction aimed specifically at libraries and secondary school English courses for fourth and fifth year and GCSE, this is the story of a teenager in America who goes searching for her father in her boyfriend s rickety old car.
Author Honor
Circle of Gold

Circle of Gold

by Candy Dawson Boyd

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Imprint: Scholastic Paperbacks (Jan 01, 1996)
Fiction, Paperback, 124 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
ISBN: 9780590432665
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Book Description:

After the death of Mattie s father, her mother seems to take out her frustrations on Mattie. But Mattie devises a plan to bring her family back together again. Coretta Scott King Award Honor Book; Notable Children s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies.