The Coretta Scott King Book Awards celebrate their 50th anniversary this year! For half of a century, the awards have championed authors and illustrators that reflect the black experience in our country.
These award-winning titles fill our shelves, including picture books like:
- Uptown by Bryan Collier
- Firebird illustrated by Christopher Myers
- Goin’ Someplace Special by Patricia McKissack & Jerry Pinkney
- Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes and Gordon C. James
- Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale by John Steptoe
- Aida illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon
…nonfiction and biographies like:
- The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton
- Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
- Talkin’ ’bout Bessie: The Story of Aviator Bessie Coleman by Nikki Grimes & E.B. Lewis
- Heart and Soul by Kadir Nelson
- Beautiful Blackbird by Ashley Bryan
- Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales & True Tales by Virginia Hamilton
- Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat by Javaka Steptoe
- Hand in Hand: 10 Black Men who Changed America by Andrea Davis Pinkney & Brian Pinkney
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
- The Middle Passage: White Ships/Black Cargo by Tom Feelings
…chapter books like:
- Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
- P.S. Be Eleven by Rita Williams-Garcia
- The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
- Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry by Mildred Taylor
- Bud, not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
…and young adult fiction, including:
- The First Part Last by Angela Johnson
- Copper Sun by Sharon Draper
- Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
- The Sun Is also a Star by Nicola Yoon
Borrow a few the next time you visit.
We can think of no better way to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day than by celebrating his wife’s awards and 50 years of beautiful books that tell the stories of black America.