Author Award Winner

Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, is the King Author Book winner. The book is illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, published by Carolrhoda Books, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.
This biography profiles the life of Bass Reeves, a former slave who was recruited as a deputy United States Marshal in the area that was to become Oklahoma.

Illustrator Award Winner

My People illustrated by Charles R. Smith Jr., is the King Illustrator Book winner. The book was written by Langston Hughes and published by ginee seo books, Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
Langston Hughes's spare yet eloquent tribue to his people has been cherished for generations. Now, acclaimed photographer Charles R. Smith Jr. interprets this beloved poem in vivid sepia photographs that capture the glory, the beauty, and the soul of being a black American today.

Author Honor Book

Mare’s War by tanita s. davis and published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc.
Teens Octavia and Tali learn about strength, independence, and courage when they are forced to take a car trip with their grandmother, who tells about growing up Black in 1940s Alabama and serving in Europe during World War II as a member of the Women's Army Corps.

Illustrator Honor Book

The Negro Speaks of Rivers illustrated by E. B. Lewis, written by Langston Hughes and published by Disney - Jump at the Sun Books, an imprint of Disney Book Group.
Langston Hughes has long been acknowledged as the voice--and his poem, The Negro Speaks of Rivers, the song--of the Harlem Renaissance. Although he was only eighteen when he composed it, Hughes already had the insight to capture in words the strength and courage of black people in America. Artist E. B. Lewis acts as interpreter and visionary, using watercolor to pay tribute to Hughes's timeless anthem, a poem that every child deserves to know.