Coretta Scott King Award and Honor Books

Dragonwagon, C., & Pinkney, J. (1986). Half a moon and one whole star. New York: Macmillian PublishingCompany.                                                                              Susan is in bed not yet asleep she can’t help but listen and think about the world.  She thinks about what everyone else is doing. When Susan does fall asleep the crickets, owls, possums and raccoons start to wake up. The illustrations are so vivid with color it brings the scenes to life. The rhythm of the poem has a lullaby feel to it. It is a great read for children.

Greenfield, E., & Gilchrist, J. S. (1991).  Night on Neighborhood Street. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.                                                                                       Stunning! A book of poems that show the lives of people who live on Neighborhood Street. Some families were getting ready to sleep, putting babies to sleep and family discussions. It also depicts the lives of children and what they do before they go to bed, it gives a reader a deep understanding of what their lives consist of. Each poem has an illustration that captures the emotions of the people.

Grimes, N. (2013). Words with wings. Honesdale, P.A.:Wordson                                          Gabby is a dreamer, she spends every minute of her day daydreaming.  It is her escape from reality. She daydreams more often now that her parents are divorcing.  She gets into trouble with her mother, school teachers, and other kids at school bully her. She tries to keep it at bay but she isn’t herself and everyone notices until her teacher Mr. Spicer encourages her to continue.

McKissack, P. C., & Pinkney, J. (1988).  Mirandy and Brother Wind. New York: Alfred A. Knoph, Inc.                                                                                                                  Mirandy is determined to have the best dance partner to win the junior cakewalk. She tries several ways to catch Brother Wind but without success. Mirandy finally catches him in the hen and tells him that he has to do whatever she tells him! When another girl speaks unkind things about her friend Ezel she makes her wish to make Ezel dance elegantly with her. They win the junior cakewalk and everyone was amazed at their performance.

Price, L., Dillon, D., & Dillon, L. (1990). Aida. New York: Gulliver Books.                        Aida is a royal Ethiopian princess. Her country is at war with Egypt so as protection her father has very confining accommodations of how far and where people should go. Aida being very curious decides to disguise herself and sneak out of the palace. She goes too far and is caught by Egyptian soldiers. During her time as a prisoner she falls in love with the captain of the Egyptian army.  She cannot choose between her true love and the loyalty to her country. The illustrations in this book are very rich with color and depict how Aida’s life has changed.

Reynolds, J. (2016). As brave as you. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.     Ernie and Genie are two Brooklyn brothers who are sent to live with their grandparents for a month in Virginia so their parents can work things out. Ernie is all about looking cool whereas Genie is always asking questions. As they get to know their grandparents they discover family secrets. Several things happen to them during their stay. In the end they learn the importance of telling the truth.

Smith, H. A., & Lewis, E. B. (2008). Keeping the Night Watch. New York: Henry Holt and Co.                                                                                                                       Thirteen year old C.J. has so many unanswered questions on why his father walked out on his family. Now that his father came back into the picture C.J. is not going to forgive him so quickly. C.J. feels that he still needs to be the man of the house and he is not ready to give that up. He has a lot of anger inside of him making him become distant to his own family.  A book full of powerful poems shows the true feelings of a family learning how to heal. 

Steptoe, J. (1987). Mufaro’s beautiful daughters. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books.                                                                                                            Manyara is very ill tempered and selfish whereas Nyasha is very sweet and humble. When the Great King decides that he wants to marry he sends an invite to the most worthy and beautiful daughters in the land to meet with him. Mufaro decides to take both of his daughters to the city for a chance at becoming queen. However, only one of them is worthy of becoming the King’s Queen.  

Taylor, M. (2001). The land. New York: Speak.                                                                  Paul-Edward Logan is a young boy whose father is a prosperous white man and a mother who is colored.  He learns the truth of living in time of racism, slaves and the disrespect of being a black man in the 1800s. All Paul wanted and dreamed about was to own a beautiful piece of land that he can call his own.  Paul has the determination to make his dream a reality by doing hard work and making daring decisions. This book takes you back to a time when people had to treat others with respect but at the same time let them mistreat you.

Woodsen, J. (1994). I hadn’t meant to tell you this. New York: Delacorte.                       We’re all just people here. The stories of two girls from different backgrounds become best friends. Marie is the popular girl at her school she befriends the new girl, Lena. Lena is considered white trash, while Marie is black and comes from a very well off family. They are drawn to each other once the find out they both lost their mothers but they also have to deal with the racism surrounding them. Lena shares a dark secret about how her father treats her with Marie making her promise not to tell anyone.