Giant Steps to Change the World, by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee, illustrated by Sean Qualls

Abstract: Pursuing one's own path in life takes courage, strength, and perseverance, as demonstrated by such inspirational leaders as Barack Obama, Albert Einstein, and Muhammad Ali.

 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, unpaged

Roots and Blues: A Celebration, by Arnold Adoff, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

Abstract: Lyrical text explores how Blues have been part of everyday life throughout history, from its origins in the sounds of the earth, through slaves' voices singing of freedom, to today's greatest performers--and listeners.



Publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Clarion Books, 86 p.

Coretta Scott King Book Awards 2012

Reading makes time pass so quickly. The American Library Association (ALA) will be announcing their 2012 literature awards before we know it! One of my favorite award-groups is the Coretta Scott King array of honors for African-American authors and illustrators.

The awards began in the late 1960's when two librarians met at a booth at the annual ALA convention. Both were trying to obtain a poster of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and their conversation turned to a discussion of the need to honor the work of African-American authors and illustrators. A publisher at the booth asked them why they didn't start an award. One year later, at a dinner of the New Jersey Library Association, Lillie Patterson was honored for her book Martin Luther King, Jr. Man of Peace. In 1982 the American Library Association added the CSK award to its nationally honored children's literature awards. (Source: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/emiert/cskbookawards/about.cfm).

So, it's time to begin reading to find our favorites of this year's books meeting the criteria established by the many volunteer committee workers who have chosen those honored in years past. Please post your comments and book suggestions on the blog, or send them to bwhite@acpl.info.

1970

2011

2011 Coretta Scott King Book Awards

The Coretta Scott King Book Awards were announced at the American Library Association's Midwinter Meeting in January.


Author Award: One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia



Illustrator Award: Dave the Potter: artist, poet, slave, by Laban Hill, illustrated by Bryan Collier












Honor Books

Author:

Lockdown, by Walter Dean Myers

Ninth Ward, by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty, by G. Neri

Illustrator:

Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow: A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix, by Gary Golio, illustrated by Javaka Steptoe

For more information about the 2011 Coretta Scott King Awards, please click here.

Winners!

Results of our Mock Coretta Scott King Book Award Program this year are:

Author Award: Ninth Ward, by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Honor Books: Zora and Me, by Victoria Bond & T. R. Simon; One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia; and Ruth and the Green Book, by Calvin Alexander Ramsey

Illustrator Award: Black Jack, The Ballad of Jack Johnson, by Charles R. Smith Jr., illustrated by Shane W. Evans
Honor Books: Back of the Bus, by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Floyd Cooper and Ruth and the Green Book, by Calvin Alexander Ramsey, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

Many Thanks to all of you who participated, virtually and in person. And to all of the authors and illustrators who gave us so many fantastic reading hours this year, our gratitude -- we'll do our best to put your work into the hands and hearts of children.

Short List for ACPL Mock Coretta Scott King Book Awards

Below is our short list for our in-person discussion at 1 p.m. on December 5, at the ACPL Main Library, Fort Wayne, IN. We've added titles suggested by blog-readers if the books are currently available in the ACPL collection. If you would like to add a title to this list, please do so in the comment section of this blog entry. Thanks!

For Author Award:
8th Grade Superzero, by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
Black Jack: The Ballad of Jack Johnson, by Charles R. Smith Jr.
Clemente!, by Willie Perdomo
The Cruisers, by Walter Dean Myers
Finding Family, by Tonya Bolden
Fort Mose, by Glennette Tilley Turner
Ninth Ward, by Jewell Parker Rhodes
One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia
Oprah: The Little Speaker, by Carole Boston Weatherford
The Other Half of my Heart, by Sundee Tucker Frazier
Paper Thin, by Shelia M. Goss
Ruth and the Green Book, by Calvin Alexander Ramsey
Saving Maddie, by Varian Johnson
Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down, by Andrea Davis Pinkney
sweet, hereafter, by Angela Johnson
What Momma Left Me, by Renee Watson
Yummy : The Last Days of a Southside Shorty, by G. Neri
Zora and Me, by Victoria Bond and T. R. Simmons

For Illustrator Award:
Back of the Bus, by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Floyd Cooper
Black Jack: The Ballad of Jack Johnson, by Charles R. Smith Jr., illustrated by Shane W. Evans
Clemente!, by Willie Perdomo, illustrated by Bryan Collier
Dave the Potter
Oprah: The Little Speaker, by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by London Ladd
A Place Where Hurricanes Happen, by Renee Watson, illustrated by Shadra Strickland
Ruth and the Green Book, by Calvin alexander Ramsey, illustrated by Floyd Cooper
She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story, by Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Don Tate
Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down, by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney
Skit-Skat Raggedy Cat: Ella Fitzgerald, by Roxane Orgill, illustrated by Sean Qualls
Yummy : The Last Days of a Southside Shorty, by G. Neri, illustrated by Randy Duburke

Zora and Me, by Victoria Bond and T. R. Simon

Abstract: A fictionalized account of Zora Neale Hurston's childhood with her best friend Carrie, in Eatonville, Florida, as they learn about life, death, and the differences between truth, lies, and pretending. Includes an annotated bibliography of the works of Zora Neale Hurston, a short biography of the author, and information about Eatonville, Florida.







Publisher: Candlewick Press, 169 p.