Coretta Scott King Author Award Winners

(2) YA This readable, compelling history explores the deeply rooted causes of the 1919 Chicago Race Riot, which left thirty-eight people dead and 537 wounded. Two-thirds of this book carefully unpacks the underlying factors leading to the unrest; the remainder details each violence-filled day of the week-long, citywide uprising. Meticulously chosen archival photos, documents, newspaper clippings, and quotes from multiple primary sources add authenticity. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Eboni Njoku | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2018

(2) YA African American teen Jade doesn't particularly feel at-risk, but at her mother's prodding she takes every opportunity offered to her, including joining a mentoring group with a clueless, careless mentor. Watson takes Jade on her own journey of self-discovery, one that readers will eagerly follow. This involving, thought-provoking novel is a multifaceted and clear-eyed exploration of the intersections of race, class, and gender.

Reviewer: Eboni Njoku | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2017

(1) YA Illustrated by Nate Powell. This final volume includes the expected and necessary set pieces from the civil rights movement, culminating, finally, with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But the smaller, lesser-known moments of violence, injustice, and helplessness are no less painful than these major events to read about, and Lewis recalls them with intimate familiarity and bracing honesty. Powell's kinetic, fluid black-and-white illustrations underscore the period's brutality.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2016

(2) 4-6 Sisters Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern (One Crazy Summer; P. S. Be Eleven) visit their grandmother and great-grandmother in Alabama. When a tornado strikes, twelve-year-old Delphine sees how her scattered family comes together to hold one another up. This concluding installment has the feeling of a saga, related effectively from Delphine's first-person point of view--and with help from some feisty elders.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2015

(1) 4-6 A memoir-in-verse so immediate that readers will feel they are experiencing Woodson's childhood along with her. We see young Jackie grow up not just in historical context but also in the context of extended family, community, and religion (she was raised Jehovah's Witness). Most notably, we trace her development as a nascent writer. The poetry here sings: specific, lyrical, and full of imagery.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2014

(1) 4-6 Delphine and her sisters have returned from their mother's (One Crazy Summer), but home in Bedford-Stuyvesant has become tricky. Pa has a new "lady friend"; their uncle returns from Vietnam greatly changed; and Delphine's sisters have learned to stand up for themselves. Williams-Garcia brilliantly gets to the very heart of Delphine and each of her family members, creating complex, engaging, and nuanced characters.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2013

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. The Pinkneys create a testament to African American males (from Benjamin Banneker to Barack Obama) that, taken together, tells one big story of triumph that, incidentally, spans American history. Each profile is compact but comprehensive and includes an introductory poem and a watercolor portrait. The illustrations are a perfect marriage of line, color, and medium and complement the colloquial and ebullient text. Reading list, timeline. Ind.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2013

(1) 4-6 The unnamed narrator of this graceful and personalized overview of African American history provides a sweeping account that covers history from the Colonial era to the present day. Each page of text is accompanied by a magnificent oil painting, forty-seven in all, including six dramatic double-page spreads. The illustrations, combined with the narrative, give a sense of intimacy. A tour de force. Timeline. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Kathleen T. Horning | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2011