Coretta Scott King Awards 2009
Awards
Coretta Scott King Awards 2009
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 Books 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.
2009 Author Winner
WE ARE THE SHIP: The Story of Negro League Baseball
Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children
ISBN: 9780786808328
Ages 8-up
96 pages
January 2008
The story of Negro League baseball is the story of gifted athletes and determined owners; of racial discrimination and international sportsmanship; of fortunes won and lost; of triumphs and defeats on and off the field. It is about hundreds of unsung heroes who overcame segregation, hatred, terrible conditions and low pay to do the one thing they loved more than anything else in the world: play ball.
Using an “Everyman” player as his narrator, Kadir Nelson tells the story of Negro League baseball from its beginnings in the 1920s through its decline after Jackie Robinson crossed over to the majors in 1947.
2009 Author Honors
BECOMING BILLIE HOLIDAY
Wordsong
ISBN: 9781590785072
Ages 12-up
117 pages
October 2008
Before the legend of Billie Holliday, there was a girl named Eleanora. The world, however, would know her as Billie Holliday, possibly one of the greatest jazz singers of all time. Eleanora's journey into legend took her through pain, poverty and run-ins with the law. By the time she was 15, she knew she possessed something that could change her life --- a voice. Eleanora could sing! Her remarkable voice led her to a place in the spotlight with some of the era's hottest big bands. Billie Holliday sang as if she lived each lyric and in many ways she had.
Through a sequence of raw and poignant poems, award-winning poet Carole Boston Weatherford chronicles Eleanora Fagan's metamorphosis into Billie Holliday and the dream she pursued with passion.
THE BLACKER THE BERRY
Amistad/HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780060253752
Ages 4-8
32 pages
July 2008
Black is dazzling and distinctive, like toasted wheat berry bread; snowberries in the fall; rich, red cranberries; and the bronzed last leaves of summer. In this lyrical and luminous collection, Coretta Scott King honorees Joyce Carol Thomas and Floyd Cooper celebrate these many shades of black beautifully.
KEEPING THE NIGHT WATCH
Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780805072020
Ages 8-13
80 pages
March 2008
So many unanswered questions weigh down 13-year-old C.J. as he struggles to understand why his father walked out. His father is back now, though C.J. is not as quick to forgive as the other members of his family. He still feels the weight of responsibility that fell on his shoulders when Daddy was gone, and he’s not prepared to give that up. But C.J.’s anger is making him a stranger in his own home, and instead of life seeming better now that Daddy has returned, it feels worse. Through powerful poems, Hope Anita Smith chronicles the nuanced emotions of a family that is slowly learning to heal and put the pieces back together.
2009 Illustrator Winner
THE BLACKER THE BERRY
Amistad/HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780060253752
Ages 4-8
32 pages
July 2008
Black is dazzling and distinctive, like toasted wheat berry bread; snowberries in the fall; rich, red cranberries; and the bronzed last leaves of summer. In this lyrical and luminous collection, Coretta Scott King honorees Joyce Carol Thomas and Floyd Cooper celebrate these many shades of black beautifully.
2009 Illustrator Honors
BEFORE JOHN WAS A JAZZ GIANT: A Song of John Coltrane
Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780805079944
Ages 5-9
32 pages
April 2008
Young John Coltrane was all ears. And there was a lot to hear growing up in the South in the 1930s: preachers praying, music on the radio, the bustling of the household. These vivid noises shaped John’s own sound as a musician. Carole Boston Weatherford and Sean Qualls have composed an amazingly rich hymn to the childhood of jazz legend John Coltrane.
THE MOON OVER STAR
Dila Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9780803731073
Ages 6-8
32 pages
October 2008
In July 1969, the world witnessed an awe-inspiring historical achievement when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the moon. For the young protagonist of this lyrical and hopeful picture book, that landing is something that inspires her to make one giant step toward all of the possibilities that life has to offer.
WE ARE THE SHIP: The Story of Negro League Baseball
Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children
ISBN: 9780786808328
Ages 8-up
96 pages
January 2008
The story of Negro League baseball is the story of gifted athletes and determined owners; of racial discrimination and international sportsmanship; of fortunes won and lost; of triumphs and defeats on and off the field. It is about hundreds of unsung heroes who overcame segregation, hatred, terrible conditions and low pay to do the one thing they loved more than anything else in the world: play ball.
Using an “Everyman” player as his narrator, Kadir Nelson tells the story of Negro League baseball from its beginnings in the 1920s through its decline after Jackie Robinson crossed over to the majors in 1947.
2009 Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award
Shadra Strickland, illustrator of BIRD
BIRD
Lee & Low Books
ISBN: 9781600602412
Ages 8-12
48 pages
October 2008
Young Mekhai, better known as Bird, loves to draw. With drawings, he can erase the things that don't turn out right. In real life, problems aren't so easily fixed. As Bird struggles to understand the death of his beloved grandfather and his older brother's drug addiction, he escapes into his art. Drawing is an outlet for Bird's emotions and imagination, and provides a path to making sense of his world. In time, with the help of his grandfather's friend, Bird finds his own special somethin' and wings to fly.
