Ezra Jack Keats Award Winning and Honored Books
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 of early childhood education specialists, librarians, illustrators and experts in children’s literature reviews the entries, seeking books that portray the universal qualities of childhood, a strong and supportive family, and the multicultural nature of our world. To be eligible, writers and illustrators must have had no more than three books previously published. The award includes a prize of $3,000 for each winner. 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 Recieved The Ezra Jack Keats Award or Honor in 2023
Illustrator – Honor
Emile and the Field
by Kevin Young, Illustrated by Chioma Ebinama
List Price: $17.99Make Me a World (Mar 15, 2022)
Fiction, Hardcover, 40 pages
Target Age Group: Picture Book
More Info
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.