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 five categories of 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.

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7 Coretta Scott King Award Winning and Honored Books for 2000

Author Award

Book Description: 

It’s 1936, in Flint, Michigan, and when 10-year-old Bud decides to hit the road to find his father, nothing can stop him.

Author Honor

Book Description: 
During colonial and pre-Civil War times, whaling was a dangerous job. Despite the challenges of the sea, runaway slaves were eager to enlist. This is the story of the brave black sailors and Paul Cuffe, Lewis Temple, Frederick Douglas, and other pivotal African-American figures in the whaling industry and abolitionist movement.

Author Honor

Book Description: 
Francie lives with her mother and younger brother, Prez, in rural Alabama, where all three work and wait. Francie’s father is trying to get settled in Chicago so he can move his family up North. Unfortunately, he’s made promises he hasn’t kept, and Francie painfully learns that her dreams of starting junior high school in an integrated urban classroom will go unfulfilled. Amid the day-to-day grind of working odd jobs for wealthy white folks on the other side of town, Francie becomes involved in helping a framed young black man to escape arrest—a brave gesture, but one that puts the entire black community in danger. In this vivid portrait of a girl in the pre-civil rights era South, Karen English completes Francie’s world using lively vernacular and a wide array of flesh-and-blood characters.Francie is a Coretta Scott King Honor book.

Author Honor

Book Description: 
This New York Times bestselling novel and National Book Award nominee from acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers tells the story of Steve Harmon, a teenage boy in juvenile detention and on trial. Presented as a screenplay of Steve’s own imagination, and peppered with journal entries, the book shows how one single decision can change our whole lives.Fade In: Interior: Early Morning In Cell Block D, Manhattan Detention Center.Steve (Voice-Over)
Sometimes I feel like I have walked into the middle of a movie. Maybe I can make my own movie. The film will be the story of my life. No, not my life, but of this experience. I’ll call it what the lady prosecutor called me … Monster.Supports the Common Core State Standards

Illustrator Award

Book Description: 

Mentu has never known Africa. He is an island-born boy. But Grandmother Twi, she has Africa in her blood—and she shares the old magic of her home through songs and stories. One day, a slave ship docks on the shore of the island where Mentu lives. Like Twi, the people inside yearn to return to Africa. Will old magic help them break their chains and cross the ocean to freedom?

Certain to inspire for years to come, In the Time of the Drums tells a spellbinding story of strength in slavery times. An essential addition to library and family collections, this arrives just in time for Black History Month.

Illustrator Honor

Book Description: 
"Arresting photo-collage artwork and hip-hop poetry tell the story of a stray cat’s search for a home as it slinks its way through city streets…Pulses with city rhythms and scenarios, just waiting to be discovered and discussed." - School Library Journal, starred review "Edgy, visceral, this dazzling book captures the rhythms of the city and the gritty beauty of the urban landscape." - The Horn Book Coretta Scott

Illustrator Honor

Book Description: 
"I emptied my secret money box, arranged the coins in piles and the piles in rows . . ." The market is full of wonderful things, but Saruni is saving his precious coins for a red and blue bicycle. How happy he will be when he can help his mother carry heavy loads to market on his very own bicycle—and how disappointed he is to discover that he hasn’t saved nearly enough! Determination and generosity are at the heart of this satisfying tale, set in Tanzania and illustrated with glowing watercolors that capture the warmth of Saruni’s family and the excitement of market day.