The Coretta Scott King Award: information and recent winners

The Coretta Scott King Award

This award goes to "authors and illustrators of African descent whose distinguished books promote an understanding and appreciation of the 'American Dream.'" Separate awards go to authors and illustrators; there are Award winners and Honor books. Scroll past the Award winners for the lists of Honor books.

The links in the book titles take you to the book's page on Amazon or on Bookshop.org, a bookselling website that supports independent booksellers. I have also set up a page of recent CSK Medal and Honor books on Bookshop. These are affiliate links; purchases made through them earn me a commission.
Scroll down past the book lists for links for more information and some interesting opinion pieces.

Coretta Scott King Author Award winners:

Cover of Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson--2021 Corett Scott King Award winner

2021: Before the Ever After, by Jacqueline Woodson. You can also find Before the Ever After at Amazon.
2020: New Kid, by Jerry Craft. Also a Newbery medal-winner. You can also find New Kid at Bookshop.
2019: A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919, by Claire Hartfield. You can also find A Few Red Drops at Amazon.
2018: Piecing Me Together, by Renée Watson. Also a Newbery Honor winner. You can also find Piecing Me Together at Bookshop.
2017: March: Book Three, by John Lewis. Also a National Book Award winner.
2016: Gone Crazy in Alabama, by Rita Williams-Garcia. The two previous books in this series also won CSK Author Awards.
2015: Brown Girl Dreaming, by Jacqueline Woodson. Also a National Book Award and Newbery Honor winner.
2014: P.S. Be Eleven, by Rita Williams-Garcia.
2013: Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America, by Andrea Davis Pinkney.
2012: Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans, by Kadir Nelson (also a CSK Illustrator Honor book).
2011: One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia (also a Newbery Honor book, and a Scott O'Dell Award winner).
2010: Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal, by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson.
2009: We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, by Kadir Nelson (also a CSK Illustrator Honor book).
2008: Elijah of Buxton, by Christopher Paul Curtis (also a Newbery Honor and Scott O'Dell Award winner).
2007: Copper Sun, by Sharon Draper.
2006: Day of Tears, a Novel in Dialogue, by Julius Lester.
2005: Remember: The Journey to School Integration, by Toni Morrison.
2004: The First Part Last, by Angela Johnson (also a Printz Award winner).
2003: Bronx Masquerade, by Nikki Grimes.
2002: The Land, by Mildred Taylor (also a Scott O'Dell winner).

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award winners:

Cover of R-E-S-P-E-C-T--2021 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award winner

2021: R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, illustrated by Frank Morrison, by Carole Boston Weatherford. You can also find R-E-S-P-E-C-T at Amazon.
2020: The Undefeated, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Kwame Alexander. You can also find The Undefeated at Bookshop. Also the Caldecott Medal winner.
2019: The Stuff of Stars, illustrated by Ekua Holmes, by Marion Dane Bauer. You can also find The Stuff of Stars at Amazon.
2018: Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets, illustrated by Ekua Holmes, by Kwame Alexander. You can also find Out of Wonder at Bookshop.
2017: Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, by Javaka Steptoe. Also the Caldecott Medal winner.
2016: Trombone Shorty, illustrated by Bryan Collier, by Troy Andrews. Also a Caldecott Honor book.
2015: Firebird, illustrated by Christopher Myers, by Misty Copeland.
2014: Knock Knock: My Dad's Dream for Me, illustrated by Bryan Collier, by Daniel Beaty.
2013: I, Too, Am America, illustrated by Bryan Collier, with poems of Langston Hughes.
2012: Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom, illustrated by Shane W. Evans.
2011: Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave, illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Laban Carrick Hill (also a Caldecott Honor book).
2010: My People, illustrated by Charles R. Smith Jr., written by Langston Hughes.
2009: The Blacker the Berry, illustrated by Floyd Cooper, written by Joyce Carol Thomas (also a CSK Author Honor book).
2008: Let It Shine: Three Favorite Spirituals, by Ashley Bryan.
2007: Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Carole Boston Weatherford (also a Caldecott Honor book).
2006: Rosa, illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Nikki Giovanni.
2005: Ellington Was Not a Street, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, by Ntozake Shange.
2004: Beautiful Blackbird, by Ashley Bryan.
2003: Talkin' About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman, illustrated by E.B. Lewis, by Nikki Grimes.
2002: Goin' Someplace Special, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, written by Patricia McKissack.

Coretta Scott King Honor books:

Author

2021:

All the Days Past, All the Days to Come, by Mildred D. Taylor. The conclusion of the saga of the Logan family.
King and the Dragonflies, by Kacen Callender.
Lifting as We Climb: Black Women's Battle for the Ballot Box, by Evette Dionne.

2020:

The Stars and the Blackness Between Them, by Junauda Petrus.
Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, by Kwame Mbalia. A rare instance of a series book receiving an ALA award.
Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks, by Jason Reynolds.

2019:

Finding Langston, by Lesa Cline-Ransome.
The Parker Inheritance, by Varian Johnson.
The Season of Styx Malone, by Kekla Magoon.

2018:

Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut, by Derrick Barnes. Also a Caldecott Honor and a Newbery Honor book.
Long Way Down, by Jason Reynolds. Also a Newbery Honor and a Printz Honor book.
The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas.

2017:

As Brave as You, by Jason Reynolds.
Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan, by Ashley Bryan.

2016:

All American Boys, by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely.
The Boy in the Black Suit, by Jason Reynolds.
X: A Novel, by Ilyasah Shabazz with Kekla Magoon.

2015:

The Crossover, by Kwame Alexander. Also a Newbery Medal winner.
How I Discovered Poetry, by Marilyn Nelson.
How It Went Down, by Kekla Magoon.

2014:

March: Book One, by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell.
Darius & Twig, by Walter Dean Myers.
Words with Wings, by Nikki Grimes.

2013:

Each Kindness, by Jacqueline Woodson.
No Crystal Stair, by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson.

2012:
- The Great Migration: Journey to the North, by Eloise Greenfield.
- Never Forgotten, by Patricia C. McKissack.
2011:
- Lockdown, by Walter Dean Myers.
- Ninth Ward, by Jewell Parker Rhodes.
- Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty, by G. Neri.
2010:
- Mare's War, by Tanita S. Davis.
2009:
- Keeping the Night Watch, by Hope Anita Smith.
- The Blacker the Berry, by Joyce Carol Thomas.
- Becoming Billie Holiday, by Carole Boston Weatherford.
2008:
- November Blues, by Sharon Draper.
- Twelve Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali, by Charles R. Smith Jr.
2007:
- The Road to Paris, by Nikki Grimes.
2006:
- Maritcha: A Remarkable Nineteenth Century American Girl, by Tonya Bolden.
- Dark Sons, by Nikki Grimes.
- A Wreath for Emmett Till by Marilyn Nelson.
2005:
- The Legend of Buddy Bush, by Shelia P. Moses.
- Who Am I Without Him? : Short Stories..., by Sharon G. Flake.
- Fortune's Bones: The Manumission Requiem, by Marilyn Nelson.
2004:
- The Battle of Jericho, by Sharon Draper.
- Locomotion, by Jacqueline Woodson.
- Days of Jubilee: The End of Slavery in the United States, by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack.
2003:
- The Red Rose Box, by Brenda Woods.
- Talkin' About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman, by Nikki Grimes.
2002:
- Money Hungry, by Sharon G. Flake.
- Carver: A Life in Poems, by Marilyn Nelson.

Illustrator

2021:
- Exquisite: The Poetry and Life of Gwendolyn Brooks, illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera, by Suzanne Slade.
- Magnificent Homespun Brown: A Celebration, illustrated by Kaylani Juanita, by Samara Cole Doyon.
- Me & Mama, illustrated and written by Cozbi A. Cabrera.
2020:
- The Bell Rang, illustrated and written by James E. Ransome.
- Infinite Hope: A Black Artist's Journey from World War II to Peace, illustrated and written by Ashley Bryan.
- Sulwe, illustrated by Vashti Harrison, by Lupita Nyong'o.
2019:
- Hidden Figures, illustrated by Laura Freeman, by Margot Lee Shetterly.
- Let the Children March, illustrated by Frank Morrison, by Monica Clark-Robinson.
- Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, by Alice Faye Duncan.
2018:
- Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut, illustrated by Gordon C. James, by Derrick Barnes. Also a Caldecott Honor and a Newbery Honor book.
- Before She Was Harriet: The Story of Harriet Tubman, illustrated by James Ransome, by Lesa Cline-Ransome.
2017:
- Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life by Ashley Bryan, by Ashley Bryan.
- Freedom in Congo Square, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, by Carole Boston Weatherford.
- In Plain Sight, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, by Richard Jackson.
2016:
- The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Harlem's Greatest Bookstore, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson.
- Last Stop on Market Street, illustrated by Christian Robinson, by Matt de la Peña. Also the Newbery Medal winner.
2015:
- JOSEPHINE: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker, illustrated by Christian Robinson, by Patricia Hruby Powell.
- Little Melba and Her Big Trombone, illustrated by Frank Morrison, by Katheryn Russell-Brown.
2014:
- Nelson Mandela, written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson.
2013:
- H.O.R.S.E., written and illustrated by Christopher Myers.
- Ellen's Broom, by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by Daniel Minter.
- I Have a Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr., by Martin Luther King, Jr., illustrated by Kadir Nelson.
2012:
2011:
2010:
2009:
- We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson.
- The Moon Over Star, by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney.
- Before John Was a Jazz Giant, by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Sean Qualls.
2008:
- The Secret Olivia Told Me, by N. Joy, illustrated by Nancy Devard.
- Jazz On A Saturday Night, by Leo and Diane Dillon.
2007:
- Jazz, by Walter Dean Myers, illustrated by Christopher Myers.
- Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes, illustrated by Benny Andrews.
2006:
- Brothers in Hope, by Mary Williams, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie.
2005:
- God Bless the Child, by Billie Holiday, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney.
- The People Could Fly: The Picture Book, by Virginia Hamilton, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon.
2004:
- Almost to Freedom, illustrated by Colin Bootman, written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson.
- Thunder Rose, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Jerdine Nolen.
2003:
- Rap a Tap Tap: Here's Bojangles—Think of That, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon.
- Visiting Langston, illustrated by Bryan Collier.
2002:
- Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Doreen Rappaport.

More information:

Coretta Scott King Book Award Online Curriculum Resource Center: A database of audio recordings of CSK award and honor winners reading from their books, created by TeachingBooks.net. Lesson plans and other materials are also available.
What Is Your Guess for the 2013 Coretta Scott King Book Awards?: Interesting prediction piece for 2013 which also provides some statistical analysis of past winners.
More information about the Coretta Scott King Award: this link leads to the official site for the Award, which includes a complete list of past winners.
John Steptoe Award for New Talent: An award for emerging talent given by the CSK committee.

Children's Book Awards Index page

The Purple Crayon home page