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 2023
Emile and the Field
by Kevin Young, Illustrated by Chioma Ebinama
In this lyrical picture book from an award-winning poet, a young boy cherishes a neighborhood field throughout the changing seasons. With stunning illustrations and a charming text, this beautiful story celebrates a child s relationship with nature.
There was a boy
named Emile
who fell
in love with a field.
It was wide
and blue
and if you could have
seen it
so would ve you.
Emile loves the field close to his home in spring, summer, and fall, when it gives him bees and flowers, blossoms and leaves. But not as much in winter, when he has to share his beautiful, changeable field with other children and their sleds. This relatable and lyrical ode to one boy s love for his neighborhood field celebrates how spending time in nature allows children to dream, to imagine and even to share.
