A guide celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Coretta Scott King Awards

CHICAGO — “The Coretta Scott King Awards: 50th Anniversary,” published by ALA Editions and edited by Carole J. McCollough and Adelaide Poniatowski Phelps, celebrates the legacy of these prestigious honors, which have enlarged the prominence of literature for children and youth about the Black experience. Spotlighting the work of the author and illustrator winners and honorees since the awards’ inception, this unique resource is an excellent tool for collection development, readers' advisory, and classroom use. More than just a bibliography, this book includes:

• a Foreword by Dr. Claudette S. McLinn and a history of the origin, development, and evolution of the Coretta Scott King (CSK) Book Awards;
• coverage of the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Practitioner Lifetime Achievement Award and the Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe Award for New Talent;
• excerpts and color plates from many of the titles; and
• a complete listing of the 1970-2019 Award and Honor Books as well as a subject index, ideal for curriculum planning.

The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values. The award commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and honors his wife, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace and world brotherhood. They are administrated by the Office for Diversity, Literacy and Outreach Services (ODLOS), an Office of the American Library Association, which supports and promotes literacy and equity of information access initiatives for traditionally underserved populations.

McCollough is a retired associate professor and dean of the Library and Information Science program at Wayne State University. She is currently an auxiliary faculty, trainer, and curriculum committee member for the Children's Defense Fund. She has served as chair of both the CSK Book Award Committee and jury. She was a reviewer for the Multicultural Literature Review Journal and a contributing reviewer to all four previous editions of “The Coretta Scott King Awards” guide. She currently serves on two library boards: Southfield Public Library, Southfield, Michigan, and the Langston Hughes Library, Clinton, Tennessee. Phelps is the recently retired coordinator of the Educational Resources Lab in the School of Education and Human Services at Oakland University and a former lecturer in children's literature for the reading department there. She served two terms (2007-2008) on the Coretta Scott King Book Awards jury. She was a reviewer for the journal Multicultural Review and a contributing reviewer for the fourth edition of “The Coretta Scott King Awards” guide, and her work has appeared in numerous other journals and publications.

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