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Coretta Scott King Book Awards
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.
Current Winners | All Author Award Winners | All Illustrator Award Winners
Current Winners 2024
Author Award Winner
 Nigeria Jones by Ibi Aanu Zoboi Warrior Princess. That's what Nigeria Jones's father calls her. He has raised her as part of the Movement, a Black separatist group based in Philadelphia. Nigeria is homeschooled and vegan and participates in traditional rituals to connect her and other kids from the group to their ancestors. But when her mother--the perfect matriarch of their Movement--disappears, Nigeria's world is upended. She finds herself taking care of her baby brother and stepping into a role she doesn't want. Nigeria's mother had secrets. She wished for a different life for her children, which includes sending her daughter to a private Quaker school outside of their strict group. Despite her father's disapproval, Nigeria attends the school with her cousin, Kamau, and Sage, who used to be a friend. There, she begins to flourish and expand her universe. As Nigeria searches for her mother, she starts to uncover a shocking truth. One that will lead her to question everything she thought she knew about her life and her family. | Honor Books |
Illustrator Award Winner
 An American Story by Kwame Alexander Illustrated by Dare Coulter A picture book in verse that threads together past and present to explore the legacy of slavery during a classroom lesson. | Honor Books
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All Author Award Winners
2023 WinnerFreewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson After fleeing the plantation where they were enslaved, siblings Ada and Homer discover the secret community of Freewater and work with freeborn Sanzi to protect their new home from the encroaching dangers of the outside world. | Honor Books |
2022 WinnerUnspeakable : The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford Celebrated author Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrator Floyd Cooper provide a powerful look at the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, one of the worst incidents of racial violence in our nation's history --Provided by publisher. | |
2021WinnerBefore the Ever After by Woodson. Jacqueline ZJ's friends Ollie, Darry and Daniel help him cope when his father, a beloved professional football player, suffers severe headaches and memory loss that spell the end of his career. | |
2020 WinnerNew Kid by Jerry Craft 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. | |
2018 WinnerPiecing Me Together by Renee Watson 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. | Honor Books |
2017 WinnerMarch: Book Three by John and Andrew Aydin Lewis Illustrated by Nate Powell Congressman Lewis concludes his firsthand account of the civil rights era, spotlighting pivotal moments (the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL; the Freedom Summer murders; the 1964 Democratic National Convention; and the Selma to Montgomery marches). | Honor Books |
2016 WinnerGone Crazy in Alabama by Rita Williams-Garcia 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. | |
2015 WinnerBrown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson The author shares her childhood memories and reveals the first sparks that ignited her writing career in free-verse poems about growing up in the North and South. | Honor Books |
2014 WinnerP.S. Be Eleven by Rita Williams-Garcia The Gaither sisters return to Brooklyn, where they adapt to new feelings of independence while managing changes large and small, from Pa's new girlfriend to a very different Uncle Darnell's return from Vietnam. | Honor Books |
2013 WinnerHand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America by Andrea Davis Pinkney "Hand in Hand" presents the stories of 10 men from different eras in American history, organized chronologically to provide a scope from slavery to the modern day. Men profiled include Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. DuBois, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Barack H. Obama II. Illustrations. | |
2012WinnerHeart and Soul : The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson Illustrated by Kadir Nelson A simple introduction to African-American history, from Revolutionary-era slavery up to the election of President Obama. | |
2011WinnerOne Crazy Summer by Rita Willimas-Garcia In the summer of 1968, after travelling 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. | |
2010 WinnerBad news for outlaws : the remarkable life of Bass Reeves, deputy U.S. marshall by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson 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. | Honor Books |
2009 WinnerWe Are the Ship : The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson Illustrated by Kadir Nelson Using an "Everyman" player as his narrator, Kadir Nelson tells the story of Negro League baseball from its beginnings in the 1920s through the decline after Jackie Robinson crossed over to the majors in 1947. Illustrations from oil paintings by artist Kadir Nelson. | Honor Books |
2008 WinnerElijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis 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. | |
2007 WinnerCopper Sun by Sharon Draper Two fifteen-year-old girls--one a slave and the other an indentured servant--escape their Carolina plantation and try to make their way to Fort Moses, Florida, a Spanish colony that gives sanctuary to slaves. | Honor Books |
Winner Day of Tears : A Novel in DialoguebyJulius Lester Emma has taken care of the Butler children since Sarah and Frances's mother, Fanny, left. Emma wants to raise the girls to have good hearts, as a rift over slavery has ripped the Butler household apart. Now, to pay off debts, Pierce Butler wants to cash in his slave "assets", possibly including Emma. | |
2005 WinnerRemember : The Journey to School Integration by Toni Morrison Toni Morrison has collected a treasure chest of archival photographs that depict the historical events surrounding school desegregation. These unforgettable images serve as the inspiration for Ms. Morrison's text-a fictional account of the dialogue and emotions of the children who lived during the era of "separate but equal" schooling. Remember is a unique pictorial and narrative journey that introduces children to a watershed period in American history and its relevance to us today. Remember will be published on the 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision ending legal school segregation, handed down on May 17, 1954. | |
2004 WinnerThe First Part Last by Angela Johnson Bobby's carefree teenage life changes forever when he becomes a father and must care for his adored baby daughter. | |
2003 WinnerBronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes While studying the Harlem Renaissance, students at a Bronx high school read aloud poems they've written, revealing their innermost thoughts and fears to their formerly clueless classmates. | Honor Books |
2002 WinnerThe Land by Mildred D. Taylor After the Civil War Paul, the son of a white father and a black mother, finds himself caught between the two worlds of colored folks and white folks as he pursues his dream of owning land of his own. | Honor Books |
2001 WinnerMiracle's Boys by Jacqueline Woodson Twelve-year-old Lafayette's close relationship with his older brother Charlie changes after Charlie is released from a detention home and blames Lafayette for the death of their mother. | |
2000 WinnerBud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father--the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway of Grand Rapids. | |
1999 WinnerHeaven by Angela Johnson You never know what's gonna come down -- in Heaven. At fourteen, Marley knows she has Momma's hands and Pops's love for ice cream, that her brother doesn't get on her nerves too much, and that Uncle Jack is a big mystery. But Marley doesn't know all she thinks she does, because she doesn't know the truth. And when the truth comes down with the rain one stormy summer afternoon, it changes everything. It turns Momma and Pops into liars. It makes her brother a stranger and Uncle Jack an even bigger mystery. All of a sudden, Marley doesn't know who she is anymore and can only turn to the family she no longer trusts to find out. Truth often brings change. Sometimes that change is for the good. Sometimes it isn't. Coretta Scott King award-winning author Angela Johnson writes a poignant novel of deception and self-discovery -- about finding the truth and knowing what to do when truth is at hand. | |
1998 WinnerForged by Fire by Sharon Draper When Gerald was a child he was fascinated by fire. But fire is dangerous and powerful, and tragedy strikes. His substance-addicted mother is taken from him. Then he loses the loving generosity of a favorite aunt. A brutal stepfather with a flaming temper and an evil secret makes his life miserable. The one bright light in Gerald's life is his little half sister, Angel, whom he struggles to protect from her father, Jordan Sparks, who abuses her, and from their mother, whose irresponsible behavior forces Gerald to work hard to keep the family together. As a teenager, Gerald finds success as a member of the Hazelwood Tigers basketball team, while Angel develops her talents as a dancer. Trouble still haunts them, however, and Gerald learns, painfully, that young friends can die and old enemies must be faced. In the end he must stand up to his stepfather alone in a blazing confrontation. Sharon M. Draper has interwoven characters and events from her previous novel, Tears of a Tiger, in this unflinchingly realistic portrayal of poverty and child abuse. It is an inspiring story of a young man who rises above the tragic circumstances of his life by drawing on the love and strength of family and friends. |
1997 WinnerSlam by Walter Dean Myers An exciting, eye-catching repackage of acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers' bestselling paperbacks, to coincide with the publication of SUNRISE OVER FALLUJA in hardcover. Seventeen-year-old Greg "Slam" Harris can do it all on the basketball court. He's seen ballplayers come and go, and he knows he could be one of the lucky ones. Maybe he'll make it to the top. Or maybe he'll stumble along the way. Slam's grades aren't that hot. And when his teachers jam his troubles in his face, he blows up. Slam never doubted himself on the court until he found himself going one-on-one with his own future, and he didn't have the ball. | |
1996 WinnerHer Stories by Virginia Hamilton Illustrated by Leo Dillon In the tradition of Hamilton's The People Could Fly and In the Beginning, a dramatic new collection of 25 compelling tales from the female African American storytelling tradition. Each story focuses on the role of women--both real and fantastic--and their particular strengths, joys and sorrows. Full-color illustrations. | |
1995 WinnerChristmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters by Patricia C. McKissack Rich in historical detail and filled with luminous illustrations, this poignant book movingly describes the holiday celebrations of both slaves and slave owners on a pre-Civil War plantation. The year is 1859, and it's Christmastime on a Virginia Plantation. The slaves are cleaning and setting up the Big House--where their masters live--for the festivities. The Big House is filled with warmth, colorful decorations, and yummy food...but there is talk of war and a sense that times may be changing. In the quarters--where the slaves live--conditions are poor, dirty, and cold, but the slaves are filled with hope for better times ahead, and they sing songs of freedom. Moving deftly between two worlds, this beautifully illustrated book is a historical tale as well as a holiday treat. | |
Winner Toning the SweepbyAngela Johnson Angela Johnson's Coretta Scott King Award winning novel that traces three generations of African American women as they learn one another's truths. Three generations of African American women, each holding on to a separate truth. Their story -- encompassing racism and murder as well as the family commonplaces that make a life -- is one that readers will never forget. | Honor Books |
1993 WinnerThe Dark-Thirty : Southern Tales of the Supernatural by Patricia C. McKissack A collection of ghost stories with African American themes, designed to be told during the Dark Thirty--the half hour before sunset--when ghosts seem all too believable. | |
1992 WinnerNow is Your Time : The African American Struggle for Freedom by Walter Dean Myers History has made me an African American. It is an Africa that I have come from, and an America that I have helped to create. Since they were first brought as captives to Virginia, the people who would become African Americans have struggled for freedom. Thousands fought for the rights of all Americans during the Revolutionary War, and for their own rights during the Civil War. On the battlefield, through education, and through their creative genius, they have worked toward one goal: that the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness be denied no one. Fired by the legacy of men and women like Abd al Rahman Ibrahima, Ida B. Wells, and George Latimer, the struggle continues today. Here is African-American history, told through the stories of the people whose experiences have shaped and continue to shape the America in which we live. | Honor Books
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1991WinnerThe Road to Memphis by Mildred D. Taylor It is 1941, and while America is on the verge of war, Cassie is fighting a battle of her own. She is not prepared for the violent explosion when her black friend lashes out at his white tormentors, an action unheard of in Mississippi. | Honor Books |
1990WinnerA Long Hard Journey : The Story of the Pullman Porter by Patricia C. McKissack A chronicle of the first black-controlled union, made up of Pullman porters, who after years of unfair labor practices staged a battle against a corporate giant resulting in a "David and Goliath" ending. | |
1989WinnerFallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers Seventeen-year-old Richie Perry, just out of his Harlem high school, enlists in the Army in the summer of 1967 and spends a devastating year on active duty in Vietnam. | |
1988 WinnerThe Friendship by Mildred D. Taylor Four children witness a confrontation between an elderly black man and a white storekeeper in rural Mississippi in the 1930s. | |
1987 WinnerJustin and the Best Biscuits in the World by Mildred Pitts Walter Suffering in a family full of females, ten-year-old Justin feels that cleaning and keeping house are women's work until he spends time on his beloved grandfather's ranch. | Honor Books |
1986 WinnerThe People Could Fly : American Black Folktales by Virgina Hamilton Illustrated by Leo Dillon Retold Afro-American folktales of animals, fantasy, the supernatural, and desire for freedom, born of the sorrow of the slaves, but passed on in hope. | Honor Books |
1985 WinnerMotown and Didi by Walter Dean Myers Motown lives in a burned-out building one floor above the rats, searching out jobs every day, working his muscles every night, keeping strong, surviving. Didi lives in her cool dream bubble, untouched by the Harlem heat that beats down on her brother until only drugs can soothe him. Didi escapes, without needles, in her tidy plans and stainless visions, etchings of ivycovered colleges where her true life will begin. Didi can survive inside her own safe mind, until Motown steps into her real world and makes it bearable. Together they can stand the often brutal present. What about the future? | Honor Books |
1984 WinnerEverett Anderson's Goodbye by Lucille Clifton Everett Anderson has a difficult time coming to terms with his grief after his father dies. | |
1983WinnerSweet Whispers, Brother Rush by Virgina Hamilton The first time Teresa saw Brother was the way she would think of him ever after. Tree fell head over heels for him. It was love at first sight in a wild beating of her heart that took her breath. But it was a dark Friday three weeks later when it rained, hard and wicked, before she knew Brother Rush was a ghost.Why had he come to her, with his dark secrets from a long-ago past? Was it to help Dab, her retarded older brother, wracked with mysterious pain? Was it for her mother, Vy, who loved them the best she knew how, but wasn't home enough to ease the terrible longing? Whatever secrets he held, Tree knew she must follow. She must follow Brother Rush through the magic mirror, and find out the truth. About all of them. | Honor Books |
1982 WinnerLet the Circle Be Unbroken by Mildred D. Taylor Four black children growing up in rural Mississippi during the Depression experience racial antagonisms and hard times, but learn from their parents the pride and self-respect they need to survive. | |
1981 WinnerThis Life by Sidney Poitier An autobiography of the actor who arrived in Miami, from the Bahamas, at age sixteen. Some of his movies have been "A Raisin in the Sun," "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," and "In the Heat of the Night." | Honor Books |
1980 WinnerThe Young Landlords by Walter Dean Myers If you were looking for a real ghetto dump, you couldn't beat The Stratford Arms. There was Askia Ben Kenobi throwing karate chops upstairs, Petey Darden making booze downstairs, and Mrs. Brown grieving for Jack Johnson, who'd died for the third time in a month and not a rent payer in the bunch. Still, when Paul Williams and the Action Group got the Arms for one dollar, they thought they had it made. But when their friend Chris was arrested for stealing stereos and Dean's dog started biting fire hydrants and Gloria started kissing, being a landlord turned out to be a lot more work than being a kid. | |
1979 WinnerEscape to Freedom by Ossie Davis Douglass overcame his beginnings as a slave to become the first black man to hold a diplomatic office. He was a great orator and also wrote several books. This play emphasizes his contributions. | |
1978 WinnerAfrica Dream by Eloise Greenfield Illustrated by Carole Byard An African-American child dreams of long-ago Africa, where she sees animals, shops in a marketplace, reads strange words from an old book, and returns to the village where her long-ago granddaddy welcomes her. | |
1977 WinnerThe Story of Stevie Wonder by James Haskins A biography of the blind composer, pianist, and singer who was a child prodigy and went on to win nine Grammy awards. | |
1976WinnerDuey's Tale by Pearl Bailey A maple seedling becomes separated from his mother tree, makes friends with a bottle and a log, and searches for his own place in life. | |
1975 WinnerThe Legend of Africana by Dorothy Robinson An allegorical tale of Africa's struggle against the ravishment of its people and country. | |
1974WinnerRay Charles by Sharon Bell Mathis Illustrated by George Ford As a young boy he fell in love with music, and as a man, the world fell in love with his music. Ray Charles and his soulful, passionate rhythms and melodies have been embraced around the world for decades. Now, in this beautiful new edition of an award-winning biography, readers can follow Charles from his boyhood, when he lost his sight and learned to read and write music in Braille, until the age of 40, when he had become a world-renowned jazz and blues musician packing auditoriums and stadiums. | |
1973WinnerI Never Had it Made : The Autobiography of Jackie Robinson by Jackie Robinson Before Barry Bonds, before Reggie Jackson, before Hank Aaron, baseball's stars had one undeniable trait in common: they were all white. In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke that barrier, striking a crucial blow for racial equality and changing the world of sports forever. I Never Had It Made is Robinson's own candid, hard-hitting account of what it took to become the first black man in history to play in the major leagues. I Never Had It Made recalls Robinson's early years and influences: his time at UCLA, where he became the school's first four-letter athlete; his army stint during World War II, when he challenged Jim Crow laws and narrowly escaped court martial; his years of frustration, on and off the field, with the Negro Leagues; and finally that fateful day when Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers proposed what became known as the "Noble Experiment" -- Robinson would step up to bat to integrate and revolutionize baseball. More than a baseball story, I Never Had It Made also reveals the highs and lows of Robinson's life after baseball. He recounts his political aspirations and civil rights activism; his friendships with Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, William Buckley, Jr., and Nelson Rockefeller; and his troubled relationship with his son, Jackie, Jr. Originally published the year Robinson died, I Never Had It Made endures as an inspiring story of a man whose heroism extended well beyond the playing field. | |
Honor Books | |
1970WinnerMartin Luther King, Jr. : Man of Peace by Lillie Patterson A biography of the minister, orator, and crusader for equal civil rights who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. |
Award Lists
Coretta Scott King Book Awards
Schneider Family Book Award (Middle School)
Schneider Family Book Award (Teens)
Staff Picks Award Lists
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