Library & Information Science, Course 262: Resources for Young Adults.
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The following are just a few of the many recipients of the Coretta Scott King Award. This award honors African American authors and illustrators for outstanding contributions to children's and young adult literature that promote understanding and appreciation of the culture and contribution of all people to the realization of the American Dream.î (ALA, 1999).

1999 Author Award:

Johnson, Angela. Heaven. Simon & Schuster, New York, 1998. Marley is a 14 year old girl growing up in a small town in Ohio. The small town is named Heaven. There she lives out a nice and peaceful existence with her loving mother, father, and brother and friends. But Marley also has a mysterious ëUncle Jackí whom her family sends money to via Western Union. Soon Marley discovers a secret her family has been keeping from her for so long, and the true identity of her uncle. There is almost no references to race in this book, making Marleyís struggle for self-discovery an issue that any teenage girl could easily identify with.

1999 Honor Book:

Grimes, Nikki. Jazminís Notebook. Dial Books for Young Readers, New York, 1998. 14-year-old Jazmin likes to sit on the front stoop of her Harlem neighborhood filling her journal with the witty observations of the goings-on around her this includes. Jazmin was "born with clenched fists," and her journal entries and occasional poems about her life there in the 1960s are funny, tender, and angry. Her father is dead, her alcoholic mother is in the hospital from a breakdown. Meanwhile Jazmin has her sites set on college but must deal with very harsh realities, including being life has included shuttled between relatives and foster homes, living in rat-infested tenements, and avoiding the everyday violence of the streets. Here Grimes produces a touching coming of age story.  

1998 Honor Book:

Haskins, James. Bayard Rustin: Behind the Scenes of the Civil Rights Movement. Hyperion Books for Children, New York, 1997. Although relatively unknown, Bayard Rustin was a talented activist whose organizational skills and commitment to nonviolent protest helped shape the civil rights movement. In this moving and informative biography, Haskins highlights the forces that shaped Rustinís beliefs, including his grandmother who raised him as a quaker and sparked his dedication to nonviolence. Imprisoned for refusing to fight in WWII, Rustin taught Gandhiís principles of nonviolent protest to Martin Luther King Jr. His crowning accomplishment was the 1963 March on Washington, which led to the most sweeping civil rights legislation the country has ever seen.  

1997 Author Award: Myers,

Walter Dean. Slam. Scholastic Press, New York, 1996.   On the basketball court, 17-year-old Greg "Slam" Harris is in control. His disciplined body does what he tells it, the ball becomes an extension of his arms, and his powerful legs allow him to elevate above the chaos at ground level. Off the court, however, order is elusive and elevation rarely possible. Thus begins this engaging tale of a teen trying to make it on the mean streets of New York where his best friend is dealing drugs and his grades at his predominately white High School are going down. Teens will cheer on Greg as he overcomes many obstacles to lead his team to a conference championship.  

1996 Author Award:

Hamilton, Virginia; illustrated by Dillon, Leo and Diane. Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales, and True Tales. Blue Sky Press, New York, 1995.   Gracefully written, this is a collection of nineteen stories that focus on the magical tales and wonderous imaginings of black women. The author groups the stories into sections such as "Her Animal Tales," "Her Fairy Tales," and "Her Supernatural," and finally, "Her True Tales," the oral histories of three African-American women. The style of each telling has been subtly adapted to reflect the tale's tone and origin, and the author's comments following each tale are interesting and informative. I have never heard of a black mermaid until I read this book. These are wonderful stories for all ages.  

1996 Honor Book:

Woodson, Jocqueline. From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun. Scholastic Inc. New York, 1995.   Melanin Sun is a good, warm-hearted thirteen year old boy who is living with his single mother. All is well until one day Melaninís mother brings home a special guest that will challenge their close relationship. Unable to sort out his feelings and confusions about sexuality, racial identity, and love, he punishes his mother by rejecting her and shutting her out of his life. With emotions that are raw and often painful; both harsh and realistic, this novel by Woodson tells a powerful and ultimately hopeful story.  

1996 Honor Book:

Curtis, Christopher Paul. The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963. Delacorte Press, New York, 1995.   The story is told by ten year old Kenny Watson, who among other things must deal with teasing at school, friends who steal his dinosaur collection, and an older brother named Byron who at thirteen is already a juvenile delinquent. The parents are loving but strict, and know that they must do something with Bryon who is increasingly getting more out of control. So they decide drive to Birmingham where his strong willed grandma will put some sense into him. In this excellent first novel by Curtis, the reader is taken through the lighthearted comic adventures of Kenny and his siblings, and onto the darker, more serious backdrop of the southern racial conflicts of that era.    

1995 Author Award

McKissack, Patricia; Mckissack, Fredrick; Illustrated by Thompson, John. Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters. Scholastic Inc, New York, 1994.   It is Christmas time on a Virginia plantation in 1859. Preparations are being made but differences in resources, lifestyles, and traditions between the plantation owner's family and that of the slaves provides a continuous contrast. Dramatic, full-color illustrations throughout the book bring to life the period, showing individualized portraits of the characters at work, at rest, and at play. But lurking beneath it all, is fearful talk among the whites of black insurrectionists and the possibility of war, while the slaves speak of rumors of emancipation. This is a poignant, informative and heartwarming book for both children and teens.  

1995 Honor Book:

Woodson, Jacqueline. I Hadnít Meant to Tell You This. Delacorte Press, New York, 1994.   This is the story of two girls, unlikely friends who are drawn together by a common bond - both have lost their mothers. Marie tells the story; she's black and smart, part of the well-dressed crowd in her middle-class black suburb near Athens, Ohio. Lena is a poor white girl, new at school, one of those living in the "crevices at the edge of town." Lena has a terrible secret, involving her father, and Marie must face the dilemma of keeping Lenaís secret or telling. The racism and class prejudice on all sides is graphically confronted, as is the subplot of child abuse.  

1994 Author Award:

Johnson, Angela. Toning the Sweep. Orchard Books, New York,1993.     Fourteen-year-old Emily learns the ritual of "toning the sweep," a way of drumming a plow to create a sound that honors the deceased, in this tale of mourning and healing. Emilyís Grandmother Ola has cancer, so Emily and her mother go to the California desert to pack up Olaís belongings and take her back to Cleveland so she can die in peace. Recording with a video camera, Emily starts gathering the reminiscences of Ola's friends, stories of grief and hardship - including the lynching of Ola's husband in 1964 Alabama. Johnson shows off remarkable narrative skill as she not only uses different perspectives, but moves between past and present times flawlessly.  

1993 Honor Book:

Walter, Mildred Pitts. Mississippi Challenge. Bradbury Press, New York, 1992.   Throughout the often dark history of the United States, Mississippi has stood as an icon of racial hatred, and mob brutality. In that state, black citizens often had to endure every indignity imaginable, with the threat of lynching and other forms of brutal violence always looming ahead. In this well-researched and informative non-fiction book, Walter begins with a detailed account of indignities against African-American citizens during a one-hundred-year period and ends by highlighting the civil-rights work of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNNC) and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. The writing is moving, well detailed, and filled with photos.  

1992 Honor Book:

Greenfield, Eloise; illustrated by Gilchrist, Jan Spivey. Night On Neighborhood Street. Dial Books for Young Readers, New York, 1991.   With sparse, lyrical poetry, and colorful illustrations the busy goings-on with children, families, and an urban, African American community are set into focus. Greenfield's poems have a peaceful tone that vary from stark realism to moments of pure playfulness. These are beautifully matched by Gilchrist's gentle, dreamy paintings, colorful paintings, which by the way, earned this book the Coretta Scott King 1992 Illustrator Honor Award. This is a great book for kids of all ages.  

1991 Author Award:

Taylor, Mildred D. The Road To Memphis. Dial Books, New York,1990.   The Road to Memphis was the story of a small group of black friends who grew up in the racist south if the1940s. It was written from the vantage point of 17 year old Cassie Logan - an intelligent and outspoken girl who is dreaming of college. But she must watch as her brother and friends are harassed by the townís racist white bullies. When her friend, Moe fights back, lashing out against his tormentors, he becomes an outlaw. Cassie and the others must help him escape north to safety before the police, or even worse, the racists get to him first. This is the very well written and powerful third novel in Taylorís series that began with ìRoll of Thunder, Here my Cry, and Let the Circle Be Unbroken.î  

1990 Author Award:

McKissack, Patricia; Mckissack, Fredrick. A Long Hard Journey: The Story of the Pullman Porter.   For more than a century, black men rode the rails as porters on George Pullmanís luxury sleeping cars. Always smiling and courteous, these early porters were freed slaves who embodied the service trademark inwhich the Pullman company was built. But the fact was they were working for very low pay, with unsafe working conditions, at the hands of a tyrannical management. Soon came younger porters who where determined to bring about better conditions. They formed an effective labor movement called the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, headed by civil rights leader A Philip Randolph. This well written and engaging book is the story of their struggle.

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