Coretta Scott King Award Winners 1996 - present
The Coretta Scott King Award is presented to authors and illustrators of African descent whose books promote an understanding and appreciation of the "American Dream." The award honors both Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King for their work in promoting peace and world brotherhood. The winners are chosen by a seven-member national award jury.
If the Jones Library and/or the Branches own a copy of the book, there will be a link to the catalog, where you can check the status of the book. Otherwise, the title of the book will be in italics.
2006
Author Winner:
Day of Tears: A Novel in Dialogue by Julius Lester
Honor Books:
Maritcha: A Nineteenth-Century American Girl by Tonya Bolden
Dark Sons by Nikki Grimes
A Wreath for Emmett Till by Marilyn Nelson, illustrated by Philippe Lardy
Illustrator Winner:
Rosa illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Nikki Grimes
Honor Books:
Brothers in Hope: the Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan by R. Gregory Christie
2005
Author Winner:
Remember: The Journey to School Integration by Toni Morrison
Honor Books:
Legend of Buddy Bush by Sheila P. Moses
Who Am I Without Him?: Short Stories About Girls and the Boys in Their Lives
by Sharon G. Flake
Fortune's Bones: The Manumission Requiem by Marilyn Nelson
Illustrator Winner:
Ellington
Was Not a Street illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Honor Books:
God Bless the Child illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
If People Could Fly: The Picture Book illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon
2004
Winner:
The First Part Last by Angela Johnson
Honor Books:
Days of Jubillee: The End of Slavery in the United States by Patricia C. & Fredrick L. McKissack
Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson
The Battle of Jericho by Sharon M. Draper
Illustrator Winner:
Beautiful Blackbird by Ashley Bryan
Honor Books:
Almost to Freedom illustrated by Colin Bootman
Thunder Rose illustrated by Kadir Nelson
2003
Winner:
Bronx Masquerade
by Nikki Grimes
Honor Books:
The Red Rose Box by Brenda Woods
Talkin' About Bessie:
The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman by Nikki Grimes
Illustrator Winner:
Talkin' About Bessie:
The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman illustrated by E.B. Lewis
Honor Books:
Rap A Tap Tap: Here's
Bojangles - Think of That! illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillion
Visiting Langston
illustrated by Bryan Collier
2002
Winner:
The Land by Mildred D. Taylor
Honor Books:
Money-Hungry by Sharon G. Flake
Carver: A Life in Poems by Marilyn Nelson
Illustrator Winner:
Goin' Someplace Special illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
Honor Books:
Martin's Big Words illustrated by Bryan Collier
2001
Winner:
Miracle's Boys by Jacqueline Woodson
Honor Books:
Let It Shine! Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Illustrator Winner:
Uptown by Bryan Collier
Honor Books:
Freedom River illustrated by Bryan Collier
Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Virgie Goes to School with Us Boys illustrated by E.B. Lewis
2000
Winner:
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
Honor Books:
Francie by Karen English
Black Hands, White Sails: The Story of African-American Whalers
by Patricia C. and Fredrick L. McKissack
Monster by Walter Dean Myers
Illustrator Winner:
In the Time of the Drums illustrated by Brian Pinkney
Honor Books:
My Rows and Piles of Coins illustrated by E.B. Lewis
Black Cat by Christopher Myers
1999
Winner:
Heaven by Angela Johnson
Honor Books:
Jazmin's Notebook by Nikki Grimes
Breaking Ground, Breaking Silence: The Story of New York's African Burial Ground
by Joyce Hansen and Gary McGowan
The Other Side: Shorter Poems by Angela Johnson
Illustrator Winner:
i see the rhythm illustrated by Michele Wood
Honor Books:
I Have Heard of a Land illustrated by Floyd Cooper
The Bat Boy and His Violin illustrated by E.B. Lewis
Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra illustrated by Brian Pinkney
1998
Winner:
Forged by Fire by Sharon M. Draper
Honor Books:
Bayard Rustin: Behind the Scenes of the Civil Rights Movement by James Haskins
I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl by Joyce Hansen
Illustrator Winner:
In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers illustrated by Javaka Steptoe
Honor Books:
Ashley Bryan's ABC of African American Poetry illustrated by Ashley Bryan
Harlem illustrated by Christopher Myers
The Hunterman and the Crocodile: A West African Folktale by Baba Wague Diakite
1997
Winner:
Slam by Walter Dean Myers
Honor Books:
Rebels Against Slavery: American Slave Revolts by Patricia C. and Fredrick L. McKissack
Illustrator Winner:
Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
Honor Books:
The Palm of My Heart: Poetry by African American Children illustrated by Gregory Christie
Running the Road to ABC illustrated by Reynold Ruffins
Neeny Coming, Neeny Going illustrated by Synthia Saint James
1996
Winner:
Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales & True Tales by Virginia Hamilton
Honor Books:
The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
Like Sisters on the Homefront by Rita Williams-Garcia
From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun by Jacqueline Woodson
Illustrator Winner:
The Middle Passage: White Ships Black Cargo by Tom Feelings
Honor Books:
Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales & True Tales illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon
The Faithful Friend illustrated by Brian Pinkney
This page last updated on January 28, 2006.