Great Reads: The Coretta Scott King Book Awards

Kidding Around

Every year, the American Library Association honors hundreds of the best books for children and young adults. One of the most noteworthy is the Coretta Scott King Book Award, which recognizes the best books by African American authors and illustrators about the African American experience. In this, the second in a series of articles about some of the award-winners, Carole McCollough, chair of the jury that picked the winners, discusses the winning books.

Author:

By Carole McCollough

The moving words of legendary poet Langston Hughes inspired two beautiful books honored by the jury. The first, My People, winner of the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, features Charles R. Smith Jr.’s sepia-toned photography showing all hues and ages of African Americans. Hughes’s familiar, beloved words grow in power when juxtaposed with an array of jubilant faces! The Negro Speaks of Rivers was recognized as an honor book for E.B. Lewis’s stunning watercolors, which use images of the rivers of Africa and the Mississippi to tell the story of African Americans. As echoes of classic poems, illustrated by two gifted artists, these are books you can share with everyone, from newborns to grandparents.

A special treat, particularly for third through sixth graders, is Vaunda Micheaux Nelson's history, Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy US Marshal , illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, winner of the Coretta Scott King Author Award. Who can resist the story of this American hero? Born a slave, Reeves escaped to the Indian Territory and eventually became the straight shooting U.S. Marshal who kept the peace in the Territories for thirty-two years, arresting more than 3,000 outlaws with only 14 deaths. Nelson and Christie team up to tell this rip-roaring tale of a man of impeccable character. Why read the same old biographies when you can experience life through the eyes of Bass Reeves?

So, the next time you are ready for a new book, choose these or previous years’ Coretta Scott King Award-winning books. You won’t be disappointed!