It's Your Birthday, Shiann! by Cassandra Hill

Wanted to take a moment to introduce you to a children's book author I met yesterday at a Marita Golden writers workshop - Cassandra Hill. She has written and illustrated "It's Your Birthday, Shiann!", the story of a a mystical Egyptian cat celebrating its birthday. This multi-cultural adventure shares birthday traditions, food and dances from around the world. You'll also get to say "Happy Birthday!" in eight different languages! Enjoy!

Marcus and the Amazons on Kindle

Congratulations to poet and author Geoffrey Philip on his latest children's book Marcus and the Amazons, available on the Kindle! It's a story of friendship, loyalty, and rivalry. The retail price is $2.99. I've enjoyed the story and love that it is the first in a series! Enjoy!

Chental-Song Bembry - The Honey Bunch Kids - 14 year old author!

Just learned about 14 year old Chental-Song Bembry. She's the author of the children's book "The Honey Bunch Kids."This 64-page book was published in 2010. It took her nearly three years to write and illustrate her first book! The three characters in the book are in middle school and meet each other on the first day of classes after they miss the school bus. Have a look at this video of the author and some of her readers. Enjoy!

2011 National African American Read-In

Looking for a community project? Join the 22nd annual National African American Read-In this February. Visit the project's website for suggested books and packet to share your Read-In results.

You can also participate online. Ari (Reading in Color blog), Doret (The Happy Nappy Bookseller), and Edi (Crazy Quilts) are hosting an online book discussion. To vote on the book to be discussed, visit Ari's blog and select one of the following titles:

• Tyrell by Coe Booth
• A Wish After Midnight by Zetta Elliott
• Yummy by G. Neri
• Bleeding Violets by Dia Reeves
• Jumped by Rita Williams Garcia
• When A Black Girl Sings by Bil Wright
  

Enjoy!

Comic strip Curtis and Self-Publishing

If you are a self-published artist didn't read the comic strip Curtis on January 15, then have a look and laugh. The strip is written and illustrated by Ray Billingsley. Thanks to Zetta for sharing this! To see more Curtis comics, visit the Curtis archives from 2004. Enjoy!

Coretta Scott King Awards - Statistics 1970 to 2011

The 42nd Annual Coretta Scott King Book Awards were announced this week. The awards are for outstanding books for children and young adults by an African American author. The annual illustrator award was added in 1974. A Lifetime Achievement award was added in 2010. Congratulations to all nine 2011 recipients!

Since 2008, I've kept a spreadsheet on each year's winners. Simple items: year, what award won, name of recipient, title of the book, publisher, and whether winner was male, female or part of a team. I wish I had other insights to add: retail sales data, number of libraries which have the book in their collection, number of books published for children and young adults by African American authors or illustrators (what was the total universe of potential books), or number of books submitted that year for CSK Book Award consideration (how big was the pool from which winners selected). Or, I wish I could categorize the celebrity status of each author or illustrator (Berry Gordy and Pearl Bailey have won; but not Whoopi or Jada Pinkett-Smith). Is there such a thing as a "Walter Dean Myers brand"? I also wish I could categorize each book by mutually exclusive themes (e.g., historical, contemporary, picture book vs chapter) to see if there is any change in winning themes over time.

I'm not a statistician. I am a quilter and author of a children's book, Martha Ann's Quilt for Queen Victoria (True story!) and a couple other books about African American quilting history. I am also curious and enjoy pivot tables!

The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are an institution - a much needed one. Each year there is an Author and Illustrator award winner. Additionally, there might be one or more Honorable Mentions. Some years there are awards for newly published authors or illustrators. There is also now an award for lifetime contributions to the area of African American children's and young adult literature. Here are the latest statistics about the CSK Book Awards.

• There have been 255 total awards presented since 1970. 61% of the awards have gone to Authors, 38% to Illustrators and 1% to two individuals for lifetime achievement.

Are Women More Likely To Win a CSK Book Award?
I used to think that women were more likely to win a Coretta Scott King Book Award. And, on the face of things, it seems so. But, let's look more closely into the numbers!

• Putting all the recipients in the mix since 1970, African American women have received 49% of all Coretta Scott King Book awards; followed by 44% to Black men and 7% to teams or couple writers or illustrators.
• Black women tend to be the recipients of more Author awards and Black men tend to be the recipients of more Illustrator awards.

Let's look at only the WINNERS and not the Honors or Lifetime Achievers.

• There have been 93 Winners since 1970. 48% have been Black men and 47% have been Black women. So, women are not really more likely to WIN an award - just to be the recipient of an award.
• While not shown in the table, 80% of the New Talent Author Awards have been awarded to women. Five of the seven New Talent Illustrator Awards have been bestowed to men.

Which are the Winning Publishing Houses or Imprints?












The publishing world has changed considerably since 1970, which the first CSK Book Awards were given. My spreadsheet does not distinguish between publishers and imprints. The top five publishers since 1970 are: Scholastic (23 books), Dial (20 titles), Atheneum (14), Hyperion (12), and Harper Collins, Lothrop, and Simon & Schuster (each has 10 titles).

• Looking only at data from 2000 to 2011, there have been 86 CSK Book Awards given to works published by 35 publishers.
  
• 57% of the awards since 2000 have gone to books published by 10 children's book publishers. The top six publishers awarded a CSK Book Award are: Hyperion (9 titles or 10% of the 86 titles awarded), Scholastic (7 titles), Atheneum (6 titles), Henry Holt (6 titles), Simon and Schuster (5 titles), and Lee and Low (4 titles).
• While not shown here in the table, there have been 13 New Talent Awards (author and illustrators combined) since 2000. Farrar Straus Giroux and Lee and Low are the only two publishers to have won twice each.

Past CSK Book Award Recipients Likely to Win Again! If one has won a Coretta Scott King Book Award before, one is likely to win again.













Let's have a look at the table above. This shows the number of people or recipients who have received two or more author or illustrator awards, whether as the winner or honors, since 1970. The Lifetime Achievement Awards are not included.

• 41 recipients (male, female and couples) have received 175 awards or 69% of ALL CORETTA SCOTT KING BOOK AWARDS since 1970.
• 24 Authors (or 31% or all authors) have received 102 awards or 65% of all the Author awards given.
• 17 Illustrators (or 41% of all illustrators) have received 73 awards or 75% of all Illustrator awards given since 1970.
• While not shown on this table, no New Talent Award for Illustrators have gone on to win another CSK Book Award yet. There have been three New Talent Awards for Authors to go on to win another CSK Book Award: Hope Anita Smith, Sharon Flake, and Sharon Draper.
  

Let's look at the 2011 Coretta Scott King Awards.

• Author Book Award - One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia. This is her second CSK Award; the first was in 1996 for Like Sisters on the Homefront.
  
• Author Honor Award - Lockdown by Walter Dean Myers. This is his tenth CSK Book Award. He also received the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.
  
• Author Honor Award - Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes.
  
• Author Honor Award - Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri
  
• Illustrator Book Award - Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave illustrated by Bryan Collier. He has won five previous CSK illustrator awards/honors, including two in one year!
  
• Illustrator Honor Award - Jimi Sounds Like a Rainbow: A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix illustrated by Javaka Steptoe. This is his second CSK Book Award.
  

That's it. I've squeezed the last out of my Excel spreadsheet! My opinion on these stats? I am grateful for the exposure to African American kids literature provided by the CSK Book Awards. I celebrate those so honored. I still wish there were more authors and illustrators celebrated. There has to be more African American authors and illustrators of kids lit who are published AND who have sent their works into the CSK committee for review. I am not suggesting that awarding-winning level work not be rewarded. Nor am I asking previous multiple, multiple winners to simply not enter new works as awards lead to exposure and to potential sales... and we all have to feed our families. How is the pool of potential winners expanded? Is it really futile for a new or emerging author or illustrator to hope they can compete for a CSK Book Award? Given the emergence of self-publishing as a viable, profitable tool for authors - is it possible for a self-published book to compete for a CSK Book Award? Will there be innovations in the CSK Book Awards as eBooks and book apps gain in popularity? Only time will tell.

I'd love to hear what past CSK Book Award Judges say about the process. What is it like from their perspective? Does anyone know of any published article or video that shares a CSK judge's thoughts? Do share!

Again, congratulations to all the winners. I hope this summary is useful to the larger discourse. Thoughts?

Update: If you have a moment, visit the Reading in Color blog for the "My Issues with the Coretta Scott King Awards" for a great argument for separating picture books, middle grade school and young adult books. I wholeheartedly agree with her suggestions!

2011 Coretta Scott King Award Winners!

Congratulations to the 2011 Coretta Scott King Award Winners!

Author Book Award - One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia.

• Author Honor Award - Lockdown by Walter Dean Myers
• Author Honor Award - Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes
• Author Honor Award - Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri
• Illustrator Book Award - Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave illustrated by Bryan Collier
• Illustrator Honor Award - Jimi Sounds Like a Rainbow: A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix illustrated by Javaka Steptoe
• New Talent Author Award - Zora and Me by Victoria Bond and T. R. Simon
• New Talent Illustrator Award - Seeds of Change illlustrated by Sonia Lynn Sadler
• Virginia Hamilton Practitioner Award for Lifetime Achievement - Dr. Henrietta Mays Smith
  

2010 MOCK CSK Book Award Nominations

It's that time of year again - time to guess who might win an annual author or illustrator Coretta Scott King Book Award or Honor. The real awards will be unveiled in just a few short weeks. Serving on this year's actual committee are: Dr. Jonda C. McNair, Jury Chair, Dr. Lesley Colabucci, Washington, D.C. Children's Librarian Eboni Curry, Dr. Cora Dunkley, Diane Foote of Chicago, Debby Gold of Ohio, and Karen Lemmons of Detroit, MI.

Kyra's 2011 Mock CSK Book Award Lists - AUTHORS











Mock 2011 Author Book Award Winner: One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

Mock 2011 Author Honor Winners:

• Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes
• Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Pickney
• Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters by Barack Obama (Raise your hand if you gave this one as a Christmas gift!?)
  
• Yummy: The Last Days of the Southside Shorty by Greg Nevi (graphic novel)

Mock 2011 New Author Award - between two!

• Ruth and the Green Book by Calvin Alexander Ramsey. I have to admit, I thought the Green Book was what used to hold the S&H Green Stamps! Just love learning about new aspects of history!
• Eight-Grade Super-Zero by Olugbemisloa Rhuday-Perkovich. Hopefully, the start of a series.
  

Kyra's 2011 Mock CSK Book Award Lists - ILLUSTRATORS
























MOCK 2011 Illustrator Award - Javaka Steptoe for Jimi Sounds Like a Rainbow: A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix

MOCK 2011 Illustrator Honors:

• Sonia Lynn Sadler for Seeds of Change: Wangari’s Gift to the World
• Don Tate for She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story
• Shandra Strickland for A Place Where Hurricanes Happen

As always, I wonder if those who have self-published children's and young adult books have taken the time and effort to complete an application to be considered for the 2011 awards. I wonder if a graphic novel will indeed win an award... or if an e-book only will win an award.

To read other predicitions for the 2011 CSK Book Awards, visit the Brown Book Shelf blog or the discussion at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana Mock CSK Book Award blog. Or, you can simply leave your comments here! Who do you think should be on the winners' lists?! Enjoy!

Tabitha Bianca Brown - Chicago Illustrator

Today I stumbled upon the artwork of Chicago illustrator Tabitha Bianca Brown. WOW! Her blog is titled "Cover That Mother." The image here is titled "Balancing Act". You can also purchase her prints on etsy. According to Tabitha's profile, she says "I love vintage kitsch and modern design." Can't you just see her work in a children's book? Enjoy!

Which picture book cover would you select?

I love being a self-published author. I love the researching and the writing. I also love working with those who help me to pull together the final book project. Here are two book covers graphic designer Chad Snyder created for my book, Martha Ann's Quilt for Queen Victoria. This book is the true story of a young, former slave girl's fifty-year quest to meet the queen of England - despite the daunting tasks of saving money for the 3,500 mile voyage from her home, finding a suitable gift for a queen, and withstanding the ridicule of those who learn of her impossible dream. Which book cover would you have selected - the purple or the green? Enjoy!

Update: The comments are evenly split so far! As a self-published author, some of the considerations I made when deciding which cover to select included: 1) which cover would look good online. The book cover image on BN.com or Amazon.com is about an inch square. Will the title of the book be readable in that size? 2) which cover has pick-up appeal in the store? 3) which image captures the essence of the story? and, 4) as a quilt historian, I have to admit I wanted to show a bit of the pattern of the quilt she made (not sure that generated one more sale!). I also posed this question on my quilt history blog - the quilters there are also evenly split. Some see themselves in the image of Martha Ann sewing. Interesting, huh?!

Author Carleen Brice Welcomes White Folks to the Black Section of the Bookstore

This is a rather humorous 3 min. video. Carleen Brice is the author of the novel Orange Mint and Honey. Enjoy!

Alice in Wonderland for the iPad - What will be the first interactive African American themed book?

So exciting to see the interactive nature of this story. I wonder what African American story will be the first to offer a similar interactive reading experience. Do you know an author or illustrator working in this new direction? Do Tell!

Who wins the Coretta Scott King Book Awards - a look at stats from 1970 to 2010

This year marks the 41st annual Coretta Scott King Award for outstanding books for children and young adults by an African American author. The annual illustrator award was added in 1974. Congratulations to the 2010 winners!

For the last three or so years, I've been updating an Excel spreadsheet about the past winners. Why? As a self-published children's book author, I've wondered if the CSK judging committee will ever be open to self-published authors or illustrators. I've not noticed any among the CSK winners list. I've also noticed that many CSK winners and honor recipients are in fact ... repeat winners. It's actually become fun to predict who the current year's winners may be based on which past winner has a new book out. Fifty percent (3 out of 6) of this year's recipients, including the Lifetime Achievement award, went to past CSK winners.

Are there so few talented and marketable African American authors and illustrators of children's and young adult literature that one award committee must dip into the well repeatedly? The Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) at the University of Wisconsin, Madison has tracked U.S. children's books by and about people of color since 1994. In 2008, the CCBC said there were 83 African American authors or illustrators published (or at least in the books they tracked). This was an increase of 7.8% over 2007. There are a host of African American children's book authors and illustrators - many not counted in traditional studies or reviewed in traditional kid's lit literature.

So - who wins a Coretta Scott King Book Award? I've categorized each winner since 1970: what year won, male/female/couple, author or illustrator, which award, publisher, birth year, age when prize won. Variables that I do not have: who was on the judging committee, genre of the winners, retail or wholesale sales, whether Publishers Weekly reviewed the book, or Accelerated Reader points for the various books. I also don't have an indicator if the winner of a picture book was paired with a past CSK winner. An example of this includes when an author of a picture book wins for the first time with a book that was illustrated by a previous CSK winner.

Here's what I've learned about the CSK Book Awards 1970 - 2010

• Black women are slightly more likely to win ... 122 or 49.6% of all CSK award recipients have been female.
  
• 43% of all CSK award recipients have been African American female authors
  
• 66% of the Black male winners/honorees have been Illustrators
• 7% of all CSK award recipients have been teams or couples

On the subject of repeat winners ....

• 52% of the 246 total Coretta Scott King awards given since 1970 have gone to recipients who have receive four or more awards!
• 23 folks have won more than four Coretta Scott King awards: 12 authors and 11 illustrators
• 71 out of the 152 author awards have gone to the same 12 African American authors. This is no disrespect to these fine folks or their body of literature - but put another way - nearly 1 in 2 Coretta Scott King author awards (46.7%) have gone to the same twelve folks. Does the United States of America really publish such few potential award-winning Black kid's lit authors?!
  
• On the illustrator front, 57 out of 94 illustrator awards have gone to the same 11 Black illustrators. Put another way... 60.6% of all Coretta Scott King awards for illustration have gone to the same 11 folks.
  
• Painting a more detailed picture.... 23 illustration awards have gone to the same talented four illustrators: Jerry Pinkney, Ashley Bryan, and the team of Leo Dillon and Diane Dillon. That's 1 in 4 CSK illustrator awards!
  

Getting a Coretta Scott King Book Award undoubtedly has a positive influence on sales and library placements. Today the winners were announced. At this moment, Vaunda Micheaux Nelson's CSK winning "Bad News for Outlaws" is 1,465 on Amazon sales rank. Just don't look for the CSK Book Award to be one to showcase many new authors or illustrators ... to venture beyond traditional publishing houses to self-published creators or small presses.

I doubt the CSK Book Awards will innovate the children's book category by embracing new publishing technologies .... who are the award-winning African American kid's lit authors and illustrators of eBooks or graphic novels or series. To be honest, I look to sources like the Brown Bookshelf for innovations and variety - can't wait to see what the 2010 28 Days Later campaign will bring to the world of African American children's and young adult literature.

I am grateful for the Coretta Scott King Book awards for its forty plus years of showcasing Black authors and illustrators. I just wish there were more!

British Red Phone Booth Library

Love it! Residents of the British village of Westbury-sub-Mendip are on record with the smallest, functioning library in the UK. This converted British Telecom red phone booth is now a library - complete with children's books! Actually, this library stocks about 100 books. According to Daily Mail, the library is open 24 hours and is lit. Additionally, the phone company, "BT has received 770 applications for communities to 'adopt a kiosk' and so far 350 old boxes have been handed to parish councils." Enjoy!

Coretta Scott King Book Award Winners 2010

Congratulations to the 2010 winners and honor award recipients!

Coretta Scott King Author Award: Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, author of “Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal”

Coretta Scott King Author Honor: Tanita S. Davis, author of “Mare’s War”

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award: Charles R. Smith Jr., for “My People”

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor: E.B. Lewis for “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”

The Coretta Scott King Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement: Walter Dean Myers

Coretta Scott King Steptoe for New Talent 2010: Kekla Magoon, author of “The Rock and the River”

Ooops! A teen's booklet when starting her period

Dr. Chu Chu Onwuachi-Saunders, a pediatrician, and Marie Onwuachi, a public health consultant, have created Ooops!, a 64-page softcover book appropriate for young girls who have started their menstruation. Ooops! tales the story of 11-year old twins Kehinde and Taiwo who start their periods within days of each other. Nana tells the girls this is their special time - time to be princesses. It's a sweet story of how the girls come to accept and embrace this time of the month. The book includes a monthly calendar to keep track on when one's period starts as well as journal pages and stickers. The Ooops! book retails for $6.99 on Amazon. Or, you can visit Ooops Book website by clicking here. Enjoy!

Barack Obama A Hip Hop Tale of King's Dream Come True

Caroline Brewer's Barack Obama A Hip Hop Tale of King's Dream Come True is a must have! The rhyming tale is of Obama's decision to run for President of the United States. Even a year after his inauguration, this book is still fresh and relevant. The text is humorous and fast-flowing. The 32-page full color book is illustrated by Glenn Brewer.

Caroline Brewer is the author of 12 books and an education consultant. She hosts the blog, Unchained Spirits, and organizes reading and seminars for teachers and librarians.

You can hear Caroline read from A Hip Hop Tale on this YouTube video - click here. Enjoy the video and the book!

Shoe-per Duper Shoes - istorytimeapp.com

Technology is something else - there IS an app for children's picture books! Has anyone visited iStoryTimeApp.com or used other apps featuring kid's lit? What do you think?

Are there any recommended kid's lit apps featuring African American stories? Do Share!

Kim Whitfield-Holt - illustrator and animator

Just stumbled up the blog "Kim's Collection of Stuff" by illustrator and animator Kim Whitfield-Holt. If you have a moment, do check it out. The style is contemporary, fresh, and ... happy! I laughed at bare legs illustration on her blog titled Cactus. What do you think - can't you see her work in a children's book? Enjoy!

60 Black Superwomen in Comics

I had no IDEA there were this many Black Superwomen in comics! The video is about 7 mins long. It ends with images of First Lady Michelle Obama in different comics. And, if you'd like more visit the Black SuperHeroines blog thanks to Rebecca O'Neal. Enjoy!