Designed to commemorate the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and to honor Mrs. Coretta Scott King for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace, the Coretta Scott King Book Awards annually recognize outstanding books for young adults and children by African American authors and illustrators that reflect the African American experience. Further, the Award encourages the artistic expression of the black experience via literature and the graphic arts in biographical, social, and historical treatments by African American authors and illustrators. (From ala.org)
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New Kid
Craft, Jerry
Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds–and not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?
The Undefeated
Alexander, Kwame
The Newbery Award-winning author of The Crossover pens an ode to black American triumph and tribulation, with art from a two-time Caldecott Honoree”–
Genesis Begins Again
Williams, Alicia
Thirteen-year-old Genesis tries again and again to lighten her black skin, thinking it is the root of her family’s troubles, before discovering reasons to love herself as is.
What Is Given From The Heart
McKissack, Pat
Despite their own poverty since Daddy died, Mama tells nine-year-old James Otis they need to help Sarah, seven, whose family lost everything in a fire.
Thank You, Omu!
Mora, Oge
When the aroma of Omu’s homemade stew fills the air, her neighbors arrive, one by one, for a taste until all is gone except for her generous spirit.
Monday’s Not Coming
Jackson, Tiffany D.
When her friend Monday Charles goes missing and Monday’s mother refuses to give her a straight answer, Claudia digs into her disappearance.
Langston Hughes
Hughes, Langston
A brief profile of African American poet Langston Hughes accompanies some of his better known poems for children.
Moses
Weatherford, Carole Boston
A brief profile of African American poet Langston Hughes accompanies some of his better known poems for children.
Elijah Of Buxton
Curtis, Christopher Paul.
In 1859, eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first free-born child in Buxton, Canada, which is a haven for slaves fleeing the American south, uses his wits and skills to try to bring to justice the lying preacher who has stolen money that was to be used to buy a family’s freedom.
Jazz On A Saturday Night
Dillon, Leo.
Learn about this popular music form and hear each instrument play on a specially produced CD.
Let It Shine
Dillon, Leo.
Illustrated versions of three well-known hymns. Includes music for the spirituals at end of book.
Twelve Rounds To Glory
Smith, Charles R.
A brief biography in verse of boxer Muhammad Ali. Interspersed with biographical information on the famous boxer are poems written by Ali which describe events in his life.
The Moon Over Star
Aston, Dianna Hutts.
On her family’s farm in the town of Star, eight-year-old Mae eagerly follows the progress of the 1969 Apollo 11 flight and moon landing and dreams that she might one day be an astronaut, too.
My People
Hughes, Langston
This lovely poem is interpreted in picture book format using beautiful sepia toned photographs.
Lockdown
Myers, Walter Dean
Teenage Reese, serving time at a juvenile detention facility, gets a lesson in making it through hard times from an unlikely friend with a harrowing past.
One Crazy Summer
Williams-Garcia, Rita.
In the summer of 1968, after traveling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.
Before John Was A Jazz Giant
Weatherford, Carole Boston
This lyrical picture-book biography of John Coltrane focuses on his childhood and how he interpreted sounds before he made his music.
Before John Was A Jazz Giant
Weatherford, Carole Boston
This lyrical picture-book biography of John Coltrane focuses on his childhood and how he interpreted sounds before he made his music.
Never Forgotten
McKissack, Pat
In eighteenth-century West Africa, a boy raised by his blacksmith father and the Mother Elements–Wind, Fire, Water, and Earth–is captured and taken to America as a slave.
Each Kindness
Woodson, Jacqueline.
When Ms. Albert teaches a lesson on kindness, Chloe realizes that she and her friends have been wrong in making fun of new student Maya’s shabby clothes and refusing to play with her.
H.O.R.S.E.
Myers, Christopher.
Two friends try to outdo each other on the basketball court in an out-of-this-world game of H.O.R.S.E”–
I Have A Dream
King, Martin Luther
An illustrated edition of Martin Luther King’s famous “I have a dream” speech.
P.S. Be Eleven
Williams-Garcia, Rita.
Eleven-year-old Brooklyn girl Delphine feels overwhelmed with worries and responsibilities. She’s just started sixth grade and is self-conscious about being the tallest girl in the class, and nervous about her first school dance. She’s supposed to be watching her sisters, but Fern and Vonetta are hard to control. Her uncle Darnell is home from Vietnam and seems different. And her pa has a girlfriend. At least Delphine can write to her mother in Oakland, California, for advice. But why does her mother tell her to ‘be eleven’ when Delphine is now twelve?” — from publisher’s web site.
Darius & Twig
Myers, Walter Dean
Two best friends, a writer and a runner, deal with bullies, family issues, social pressures, and their quest for success coming out of Harlem”–
The Crossover
Alexander, Kwame.
Fourteen-year-old twin basketball stars Josh and Jordan wrestle with highs and lows on and off the court as their father ignores his declining health.
Little Melba And Her Big Trombone
Alexander, Kwame.
A biography of African American musician Melba Doretta Liston, a virtuoso musician who played the trombone and composed and arranged music for many of the great jazz musicians of the twentieth century. Includes afterword, discography, and sources” —
How It Went Down
Magoon, Kekla.
When sixteen-year-old Tariq Johnson is shot to death, his community is thrown into an uproar because Tariq was black and the shooter, Jack Franklin, is white, and in the aftermath everyone has something to say, but no two accounts of the events agree.
Hand In Hand
Pinkney, Andrea Davis
Presents the stories of ten African-American men from different eras in American history, organized chronologically to provide a scope from slavery to the modern day.
The Boy In The Black Suit
Reynolds, Jason.
Soon after his mother’s death, Matt takes a job at a funeral home in his tough Brooklyn neighborhood and, while attending and assisting with funerals, begins to accept her death and his responsibilities as a man.
Last Stop On Market Street
de la Peña, Matt.
A young boy rides the bus across town with his grandmother and learns to appreciate the beauty in everyday things.
Gone Crazy In Alabama
Williams-Garcia, Rita.
Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern are off to Alabama to visit their grandmother, Big Ma, and her mother, Ma Charles. Across the way lives Ma Charles’s half sister, Miss Trotter. The two half sisters haven’t spoken in years. As Delphine hears about her family history, she uncovers the surprising truth that’s been keeping the sisters apart. But when tragedy strikes, Delphine discovers that the bonds of family run deeper than she ever knew possible.
Trombone Shorty
Andrews, Troy
A Grammy-nominated headliner for the New Orleans Jazz Fest describes his childhood in Tremé and how he came to be a bandleader by age six.
As Brave As You
Reynolds, Jason
When Genie and his older brother spend their summer in the country with their grandparents, he learns a secret about his grandfather and what it means to be brave.
Freedom In Congo Square
Weatherford, Carole Boston
Six days a week, slaves labor from sunup to sundown and beyond, but on Sunday afternoons, they gather with free blacks at Congo Square outside New Orleans, free from oppression. Includes foreword about Congo Square by Freddi Williams Evans, glossary, and historical notes.
All American Boys
Reynolds, Jason
When sixteen-year-old Rashad is mistakenly accused of stealing, classmate Quinn witnesses his brutal beating at the hands of a police officer who happens to be the older brother of his best friend. Told through Rashad and Quinn’s alternating viewpoints.
In Plain Sight
Jackson, Richard
An ailing grandfather and his helpful granddaughter play a unique game of seek and find”–
Radiant Child
Steptoe, Javaka
Presents the life of the artist, who was inspired as a child by a book of anatomy given to him by his mother after being injured in a car crash and who went on to become a celebrity in the art world before his early death at twenty-eight.
Freedom Over Me
Bryan, Ashley
Using original slave auction and plantation estate documents, contrasts the monetary value of a slave with the priceless value of life experiences and dreams that a slave owner could never take away”–
The Hate U Give
Thomas, Angie
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr. But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.
Piecing Me Together
Watson, Renée
Tired of being singled out at her mostly-white private school as someone who needs support, high school junior Jade would rather participate in the school’s amazing Study Abroad program than join Women to Women, a mentorship program for at-risk girls.
Long Way Down
Reynolds, Jason
As Will, fifteen, sets out to avenge his brother Shawn’s fatal shooting, seven ghosts who knew Shawn board the elevator and reveal truths Will needs to know.
Crown
Barnes, Derrick D
Celebrates the magnificent feeling that comes from walking out of a barber shop with newly-cut hair.
