Acclaimed New Books by Men and the ALA Honors Top Books for Children - 1/26/2021

[Daylian]

“Just As I Am is my truth. It is me, plain and unvarnished, with the glitter and garland set aside.” —Cicley Tyson Just As I Am is the stunning life-story of Academy, Tony, and three-time Emmy Award winning actress and trailblazer, Cicely Tyson, detailing her incredible six-decade career on and off screen. It is a personal testimony of how her experiences—some magnificent, others sorrowful, some on screen, many away from it—have given birth to the woman she is still becoming. More ►

New Books and Noteworthy Books

Blood Grove by Walter Mosley Walter Mosley returns with a new installment in his extremely popular Easy Rawlins mystery series! Blood Grove is a crackling, moody, and thrilling race through a California of hippies and tycoons, radicals and sociopaths, cops and grifters, both men and women. Easy will need the help of his friends—from the genius Jackson Blue to the dangerous Mouse Alexander, Fearless Jones, and Christmas Black—to make sense of a case that reveals the darkest impulses humans harbor.

The Prophets by Robert Jones, Jr. A singular and stunning debut novel about the forbidden union between two enslaved young men on a deep south plantation, the refuge they find in each other, and a betrayal that threatens their existence. Isaiah was Samuel’s and Samuel was Isaiah’s. That was the way it was since the beginning, and the way it was to be until the end. In the barn they tended to the animals, but also to each other, transforming the hollowed-out shed into a place of human refuge, a source of intimacy and hope in a world ruled by vicious masters. But when an older man—a fellow slave—seeks to gain favor by preaching the master’s gospel on the plantation, the enslaved begin to turn on their own. Isaiah and Samuel’s love, which was once so simple, is seen as sinful and a clear danger to the plantation’s harmony.

A Man Who Is Not a Man by Thando Mgqolozan “His straightforward no-frills prose tells an effective story of a botched circumcision and its consequences.” —Zakes Mda A Man Who is Not a Man is an evocative story about a young Xhosa man’s trauma and lifelong shame after a rite-of-passage circumcision goes wrong. This botched circumcision is framed as a personal failure, stripping young Lumkile of his humanity, social support system, and labelling him “a failed man.” This powerful coming of age novel follows Lumkile’s journey into manhood, from petty theft and violence in Cape Town, to education and first love in the village, and finally to the harrowing isolation of a mountain hut. With language that moves from raunchy and comical, to tender and earnest, A Man Who is Not a Man challenges the code of silent suffering expected of men, and provides a subversive depiction of masculinity, in all its varied forms.

The Missing American by Kwei Quartey Mystery Writers of America have nominated The Missing American as for the 2021 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, which honors the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, and television. The Missing American tells the story of Accra private investigator Emma Djan’s first missing persons case, which leads her to the darkest depths of the email scams and fetish priests in Ghana, the world’s Internet capital.

ALA Announced 2021 Youth Media Awards

The American Library Association (ALA) announced the top books, digital media, video and audio books for children and young adults – including the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, and Newbery awards which we track. Below are the Black writers and illustrators who won awards or were honored.

The Coretta Scott King Awards and Honors

The Coretta Scott King (CSK) Awards and Honors are presented annually by the American Library Association to honor African-American authors and illustrators who create outstanding books for children and young adults. Before the Ever After, written by Jacqueline Woodson, is the CSK Author Book winner. R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, illustrated by Frank Morrison, is the CSK Illustrator Book winner. the CSK John Steptoe Award for New Talent (Author) went Tracy Deonn for her YA novel, Legendborn. Learn about the nine 2021 The Coretta Scott King Honored books ►

John Newbery Medal and Honors

First awarded in 1922, The John Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the American Library Association for the most distinguished American children’s book published the previous year. Virginia Hamilton, in 1975, was the first African American writer to win the medal. Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford, Illustrated by Michele Wood received a Newbery Honor this year.

Randolph Caldecott Medal & Honors

The Randolph Caldecott Medal is awarded to the most distinguished American picture book for children. This year Me & Mama by written and Illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera and A Place Inside of Me: A Poem to Heal the Heart by Zetta Elliott, Illustrated by Noa Denmon received honors this year. In the 84-year history of this award a Black woman has never won the Randolph Caldecott Medal Read More ►

Other Youth Media Awards

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award and Honors Named for Dr. Seuss, this award is given each year to authors and illustrators “of the most distinguished American book for beginning readers published in English in the United States.” Ty’s Travels: Zip, Zoom! written by Kelly Starling Lyons, Illustrated by Nina Mata received a Seuss Geisel Honor. William C. Morris Award and Honors go to debut books published by a first-time author writing for teens. Morrisa Honors, this year included; Black Girl Unlimited: The Remarkable Story of a Teenage Wizard by Echo Brown; and The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed. Check out the The American Library Association's press release for all of the award winning and honored books.

Troy Johnson on Wisconsin Public Radio

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Wisconsin Public Radio’s Larry Meiller who hosts a radio program and book club. I shared with him a variety of recommended reads and how I got started with AALBC. Check out the interview.

Dear Reader, As always, you are why I’ve been able to make AALBC the premier platform for books by, or about, Black people. Your paid subscription, book purchases, suggestions, spreading the word, engagement on the site (commenting and social sharing), and advertisements helps support this effort to celebrate Black books and authors. Peace and Love, Troy Johnson Founder & Webmaster, AALBC.com

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