Ezra Jack Keats Award Winning and Honored Books
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The Ezra Jack Keats Award was established in 1985 and the New Illustrator Award in 2001 to recognize and encourage emerging talent in the field of children’s books. Many past winners have gone on to distinguished careers, creating books beloved by parents, children, librarians, and teachers around the world.
The EJK Award is given annually to an outstanding new writer and new illustrator by the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. A distinguished selection committee reviews the entries, seeking books that portray the universal qualities of childhood, a strong and supportive family, and the multicultural nature of our world. Learn more about this award at Ezra Jack Keats Foundation.
Below are the Ezra Jack Keats Award Winning or Honored Books featuring Black Main Characters.
One Book Received The Ezra Jack Keats Award or Honor in 2001
Uptown (An Owlet Book)
by Bryan Collier, Illustrated by Bryan Collier
Coretta Scott King Award-winning illustrator Bryan Collier discovers the vibrant world of Harlem, New York, as seen through the eyes of a little boy"Uptown
Harlem, New York.
Chicken and waffles.
Jazz.
Home."Uptown is a rich mix of flavors, colors, sounds, and cultures that come together to create a vibrant community like no other in the world. Seen through the eyes of one little boy who lives there, the details of life in Harlem are as joyous as a game of basketball on a summer s afternoon and as personal as a trip to the barbershop where old-timers reminisce.Bryan Collier s spare, poetic text and beautiful, intricate illustrations evoke every aspect of Harlem, from the legendary Apollo Theater to chocolate-colored brownstones, weekend shopping on 125th Street, and the music of Duke Ellington.Uptown is the winner of the 2001 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award.
