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.
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.
7 Coretta Scott King Award Winning and Honored Books for 1996
Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales, And True Tales
by Virginia Hamilton, Illustrated by Leo Dillon
From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun
Three-time Newbery Honor author Jacqualine Woodson explores race and sexuality through the eyes of a compelling narrator
Melanin Sun has a lot to say. But sometimes it s hard to speak his mind, so he fills up notebooks with his thoughts instead. He writes about his mom a lot they re about as close as they can be, because they have no other family. So when she suddenly tells him she s gay, his world is turned upside down. And if that weren t hard enough for him to accept, her girlfriend is white. Melanin Sun is angry and scared. How can his mom do this to him is this the end of their closeness? What will his friends think? And can he let her girlfriend be part of their family?
Like Sisters on the Homefront
Rita Williams-Garcia s masterful and bold Coretta Scott King Honor Book is fresh, funny, and powerfully relevant. This novel by a master storyteller and Newbery Honor-winning author is about one girl s discovery of her family history and her own place within it.
When fourteen-year-old Gayle gets in trouble with a boy again her mother doesn t give her a choice: Gayle is getting sent away from New York to her family down South, along with her baby, Jos .
In a small town in Georgia, there is nowhere to go but church, nothing to do but chores, and no friends except her goody-goody, big-boned, kneesock-wearing cousin, Cookie. Gayle is stuck cleaning up after Great, the old family matriarch who stays upstairs in her bed.
But the more she spends time with Cookie and Great, Gayle learns about her family s history and secrets, stretching all the way back through the preachers and ancestors of the past. And slowly, the stories of her roots begin to change how Gayle sees her future.
Like Sisters on the Homefront is a fast, gritty read about mistakes, second chances, and family. A strong choice for summer reading and for sparking conversation in the classroom or at home.
The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963
A wonderful middle-grade novel narrated by Kenny, 9, about his middle-class black family, the Weird Watsons of Flint, Michigan. When Kenny s 13-year-old brother, Byron, gets to be too much trouble, they head South to Birmingham to visit Grandma, the one person who can shape him up. And they happen to be in Birmingham when Grandma s church is blown up.
The Middle Passage: White Ships/ Black Cargo
by Tom Feelings, Illustrated by Tom Feelings
Alex Haley s Roots awakened many Americans to the cruelty of slavery. The Middle Passage focuses attention on the torturous journey which brought slaves from Africa to the Americas, allowing readers to bear witness to the sufferings of an entire people.
Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales, And True Tales
by Virginia Hamilton, Illustrated by Leo Dillon
The Faithful Friend
by Robert D. San Souci, Illustrated by Brian Pinkney
A friendship is tested by love and magic in this beautiful retelling of a traditional tale from the French West Indies.
On the lush tropical island of Martinique live Clement and Hippolyte, two inseparable friends. When Clement falls in love with the beautiful Pauline, Hippolyte agrees to join his best friend on his journey to propose marriage. But when Pauline accepts Clement s proposal, it enrages her uncle Monsieur Zabocat reputed to be a quimboiseur, a wizard. To prevent the wedding, the old wizard lures Hippolyte into a deadly trap, forcing him to choose between his friend s safety and his own.
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