March 8, 2010
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. 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.
- Author Award Winner
“Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal,” written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, is the King Author Book winner. The book is illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, published by Carolrhoda Books, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.
- Illustrator Award Winner
“My People,” illustrated by Charles R. Smith Jr., is the King Illustrator Book winner. The book was written by Langston Hughes and published by ginee seo books, Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
- Author Honor Book
“Mare’s War” by tanita s. davis and published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc.
- Illustrator Honor Book
“The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” illustrated by E. B. Lewis, written by Langston Hughes and published by Disney – Jump at the Sun Books, an imprint of Disney Book Group.
- John Steptoe New Talent Author Award
“The Rock and the River,” written by kekla magoon, is the Steptoe winner. The book is published by Aladdin, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division.
- Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement
Walter Dean Myers is the winner of this first-ever Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. The award pays tribute to the quality and magnitude of beloved children’s author Virginia Hamilton. Myers’ books include: “Amiri & Odette: A Love Story,” published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic; “Fallen Angels,” published by Scholastic Press; “Monster,” published by Amistad and HarperTeen, imprints of HarperCollins Publishers; and “Sunrise Over Fallujah,” published by Scholastic Press.
April 23, 2009
Little Sister Is Not My Name (Sassy)
by Sharon Draper
Scholastic Press
Available 03/01/09 Hardcover
It’s not easy being nine, especially when you’re Sassy Simone Sanford. Especially when you were named for sticking out your tongue on the day you were born. Especially when everyone in the family calls you Little Sister. And if that’s not bad enough, imagine being the youngest in the family. Imagine watching your big brother and sister have all the fun. Imagine being left out of the cool stuff your older sibs get to do–just because you’re younger. Just because you’re in the fourth grade. Just because Mom and Dad rule. Well, nothing stops Sassy. All she has to do is reach into her Sassy Sack to find the right lip gloss, hair clip, or rubber band, and life’s problems get solved. And thanks to her best friends, Carmelita, Jazzy, and Tandy, the most sour situations can become as sweet as honey!
April 8, 2009
Just Another Hero
by Sharon M. Draper
Available 06/23/09
Book 3 in the Jericho Trilogy
Arielle Gresham, disliked and mistrusted by most of the students at her school, has a secret past, an unbelievably complicated present, and a shaky future. But no one knows or cares because she has managed to alienate anyone who could help her. She tries to cope with problems at school, but difficulties at home almost break her spirit. As the school tries to deal with an outbreak of false fire alarms, a series of thefts, a student addicted to prescriptions drugs, and another who is a victim on vicious online bullying, Arielle finds that outward appearances are seldom what they seem to be.
A hero is needed–maybe several heroes to solve the various problems that emerge. What makes a hero? Perhaps we find out as the novel builds to a powerful, explosive conclusion.
April 7, 2009
The Hat That Wore Clara B.
by Melanie Turner-Denstaedt (Author), Frank Morrison (Illustrator)
Available 03/31/09
On Mother’s Sunday at church, Clara B.’s grandma has the most beautiful hat of all the ladies. When people compliment her on it, she says, “Honey, I’m not wearing this hat. This hat is wearing me!” Clara B. likes to sit behind the hat in church and pretend it is wearing her. One day Clara B. decides that pretending isn’t enough, and she waits for her chance at the hat. But when the right moment comes along and she finally gets her hands on it, things don’t go exactly as she’d planned . . . Exuberant illustrations by Frank Morrison perfectly capture a colorful African American Baptist tradition — and the special relationship between a girl, her grandma, and a big, bold, beautiful hat.
March 31, 2009
Father and Son
by Denize Lauture (Author), Jonathan Green (Illustrator)
Available 03/19/09
Father and son
Hand in hand
Up on the road
In the sun
This profound poem, chronicling the special bond between a father and son, is perfectly complimented by the lush, exquisite illustrations of world-renowned Gullah painter Jonathan Green. With beautiful simplicity, Father and Son is just right for its new board book format — a perfect gift for any father or son.
January 28, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Announcing the 2009 Coretta Scott King Book Award Recipients
Given to African American authors and illustrator for outstanding inspirational and educational contributions, the Coretta Scott King Book Award titles promote understanding and appreciation of the culture of all peoples and their contribution to the realization of the American dream.
The award is 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 and world brotherhood.
More about the Coretta Scott King Book Awards
Author Award
Kadir Nelson
We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
published by Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children, an imprint of Disney Book Group
Author Honor Books
Hope Anita Smith
Keeping the Night Watch
published by Henry Holt and Company
Joyce Carol Thomas
The Blacker the Berry
published by Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Carole Boston Weatherford
Becoming Billie Holiday
published by Wordsong, an imprint of Boyds Mills Press, Inc
Illustrator Award
Floyd Cooper
The Blacker the Berry
published by Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Illustrator Honor Books
Kadir Nelson
We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
published by Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children, an imprint of Disney Book Group
Jerry Pinkney
The Moon Over Star
published by Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group
Sean Qualls
Before John Was a Jazz Giant
published by Henry Holt and Company
John Steptoe Awards for New Talent
These books affirm new talent and offer visibility to excellence in writing or illustration at the beginning of a career as a published book creator.
Shadra Strickland
Bird
published by Lee & Low Books
January 16, 2009
Ashley Bryan: Words to My Life’s Song
by Ashley Bryan (Illustrator), Bill McGuinness (Photographer)
Available 01/06/09
Ashley’s autobiography is full of art, photographs, and the poignant never-say-never tale of his rich life, a life that has always included drawing and painting. Even as a boy growing up during the Depression, he painted — finding cast off objects to turn into books and kites and toy and art. Even as a solder in the segregated Army on the beaches of Normandy, he sketched — keeping charcoal crayons and paper in his gasmask to draw with during lulls. Even as a talented, visionary art student who was accepted and then turned away from college upon arrival, the school telling Ashley that to give a scholarship to an African American student would be a waste, he painted — continuing to create art when he could have been discouraged, continuing to polish his talents when his spirit should have been beaten. Ashley went on to become a Hans Christian Anderson Award nominee, a May Hill Arbuthnot lecturer, and a multiple Coretta Scott King award winner. As you might imagine, his story is powerful, bursting with his creative energy, and a testament to believing in oneself. It’s a book every child in America should have access to and it does what the very best autobiographies do; it inspires!
January 2, 2009
Publishers are paying attention to African-American teens
by Felicia Pride and Calvin Reid — Publishers Weekly, 12/8/2008
Talk to a Young Adults editor or take a stroll through that section at your local bookstore and it’s evident that there’s a growing number of books aimed at the young adult market—and those numbers include more titles geared specifically to African-American teens. As publishers are addressing the lack of material aimed at this market—many African-American teens have turned to popular adult authors because of this dearth—there has clearly been some improvement.
These days publishers are offering black teens books that deal with serious issues, such as drug addiction and pregnancy, as well as pure entertainment; they’re looking to introduce new authors and experiment with graphic novels and even historical fiction for teens, all while looking for creative ways to make sure parents, teachers and librarians—as well as the kids themselves—know what’s on their lists specifically for black teens.
Publishers Weekly talked with a number of editors and category buyers as well as an agent specializing in titles for African-American teens in order to get a better view of the past, present and future of titles aimed at black teenagers.
Publishers Weekly
January 2, 2009
Undaunted by technology, young readers have become a hot market for publishers who are making books available digitally.
By Alana Semuels
December 25, 2008
After he’s finished his homework and his chores for the day, 8-year-old Skye Vaughn-Perling likes to read Dr. Seuss. He’s a particular fan of the hijinks that ensue when the elephant Horton hears strange voices emanating from a dust speck in “Horton Hears a Who.”
He doesn’t read from a dog-eared copy of the children’s classic, though. Skye, who lives in Agoura Hills, often reads on his computer, pressing the arrow button when he wants to turn a page. Sometimes the characters move around on the screen like animated cartoons on TV. If he wants, Skye can have the computer read a book to him while he’s curled up in bed.
“It’s a whole new level of exploring the books,” said his mother, Victoria Vaughn-Perling.
Readers and publishers alike are embracing a digital future. Electronic-book sales increased 73% in October compared with the same month last year, according to the Assn. of American Publishers, while sales of adult paperbacks decreased 23% and children’s paperbacks declined 14.8%. Sales of higher-education books, including textbooks, fell 443%.
“There’s a new excitement that e-books will become a viable way for consumers to purchase and read books,” said David Langevin, vice president and director of electronic markets at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co.
The jump in digital sales is strongly related to the increased popularity of the Amazon Kindle, the Sony Reader and even the iPhone. Once readers have bought the hardware, digital books are much cheaper than hardcovers or even paperbacks. You can get a hardcover of Wally Lamb’s “The Hour I First Believed” for $17.97 on Amazon.com, for example, but it costs only $9.99 on the Kindle. And “100 Words to Make You Sound Smart” is $5.95 in print but only $2.99 in Apple’s App Store.
Digital books could get even cheaper if New York company DailyLit goes through with its plan to place advertising on the e-mails and RSS feeds it sends to subscribers, which contain serialized books. The ads would subsidize the cost of the books.
But the children’s book market is especially ripe for the wonders of the digital world.
Los Angeles Times
October 16, 2008
Sugar Plum Ballerinas #2: Toeshoe Trouble
by Whoopi Goldberg, Maryn Roos
Available May 2009
Brenda Black prides herself on her logical and orderly mind. She studies anatomy books to get a twelve-year head start on medical school, and she idolizes Leonardo da Vinci. But things go haywire when her spoiled cousin Tiffany comes to visit. At first Brenda tries to ignore Tiffany’s constant bragging. But when Tiffany implies that Brenda is not cultured enough to know who Miss Camilla Freeman is–Miss Camilla Freeman, the very famous prima ballerina–Brenda snaps. She tells Tiffany that not only does she know who Camilla Freeman is, but she happens to own an autographed pair of her toeshoes. So of course, Tiffany wants to see the shoes.
The only problem? The shoes actually belong to Ms. Debb, the headmistress of the Nutcracker School! Brenda’s anatomy books might get her into medical school, but they can’t get her out of this mess–for that, she’ll need the help of her Sugar Plum Sisters!
Sugar Plum Ballerinas: Plum Fantastic
by Whoopi Goldberg with Deborah Underwood, illus. by Maryn Roos
Available 10/21/2008
Alexandrea Petrakova Johnson does not want to be a beautiful ballerina, and she does not want to leave her friends in Apple Creek. Unfortunately, that doesn’t stop her ballet-crazy mother from moving them to Harlem, or from enrolling Al at the Nutcracker School of Ballet. Life is hard when you’re the new ballerina on the block, and it’s even harder when you’re chosen to be the Sugar Plum Fairy in the school recital! Not only is Al a terrible dancer, but she’s also got a rotten case of stage fright! Al’s ballet classmates are going to have to use all the plum power they’ve got to coach this scary fairy!
