Coretta Scott King Book Awards

Ellington Was Not A Street

Shange, Ntozake.

Remember

Morrison, Toni.

Maritcha

Bolden, Tonya.

A Wreath For Emmett Till

Nelson, Marilyn

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

Describes Tubman's spiritual journey as she hears the voice of God guiding her north to freedom on that very first trip to escape the brutal practice of forced servitude. Tubman would make nineteen subsequent trips back south, never being caught, but none as profound as this first one.

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.

Bad News For Outlaws

Nelson, Vaunda Micheaux.

This biography profiles the life of Bass Reeves, a former slave who was recruited as a deputy United States Marshal in the area that was to become Oklahoma.

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.

Heart And Soul

Nelson, Kadir.

A simple introduction to African-American history, from Revolutionary-era slavery up to the election of President Obama.

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"--

How I Discovered Poetry

Nelson, Marilyn

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.