By Libby Stille, Publicist
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Coretta Scott King Awards. Here are the Lerner titles that have been honored.
Almost to Freedom, CSK Illustrator Honor
Written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and illustrated by Colin Bootman
Lindy and her doll Sally are best friends, they do everything together. So when Lindy and her mother run away in search of freedom, Sally joins her enslaved family on their quest for freedom.
Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal, CSK Author Award
Written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Bass Reeves was a fearless, larger-than-life lawman. Outlaws feared him and good citizens respected him. He achieved all this in spite of whites who didn’t like the notion of a black officer.
The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Harlem’s Greatest Bookstore, CSK Illustrator Honor
Written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Lewis’s dad said he had an itch he needed to scratch—a book itch. How to scratch it? He started the National Memorial African Bookstore. It became a center of black culture and a home to activists like Malcolm X.
H.O.R.S.E., CSK Illustrator Honor
By Christopher Myers
A slam dunk from award-winning author and illustrator Christopher Myers, H.O.R.S.E. is a celebration of the sport of basketball, the art of trash-talking, and the idea that what’s possible is bounded only by what you can dream.
No Crystal Stair: A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem Bookseller, CSK Author Honor
Written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
Vaunda Micheaux Nelson combines meticulous research with a storyteller’s flair to document the life and times of her great-uncle Lewis Michaux, an extraordinary literacy pioneer of the Civil Rights era.