2021 Winners and Honors

2021 Author Winner

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91´«Ã½

"Before the Ever After,” written by Jacqueline Woodson, and published by Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.

2021 Illustrator Winner

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91´«Ã½

"R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, The Queen of Soul,” illustrated by Frank Morrison, written by Carole Baston Weatherford, and published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon and Schuster Children's Publish Division.

2021 Author Honor Titles

The entirety of the cover displays an orange sky with an open road at the bottom, with a dark green bus driving toward us and greens displayed in the distance.

91´«Ã½

“All the Days Past, All the Days to Come,” written by Mildred D. Taylor, and published by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.

Half of a young Black person's face is displayed, with short curly dark brown hair. Behind them is green trees and grass with dragonflies all around the cover.

91´«Ã½

“King and the Dragonflies,” written by Kacen Callender, and published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.

On a yellow pale cover, the shadow outline is a tall women is displaying with her back to us, with curly volumized hair and her arm up in the air, with a fist. In her shadow, there's a black and white photo of Black women in Victorian clothing and hats.

91´«Ã½

“Lifting as We Climb: Black Women's Battle for the Ballot Box,” written by Evette Dionne and published Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.

2021 Illustrator Honor Titles

With a gray background, a celebratory young Black female with long braids is falling into a pile of yellow and red leaves.

91´«Ã½

"Magnificent Homespun Brown,” illustrated by Kaylani Juanita, written by Samara Cole Doyon and published by Tilbury House Publishers.

With a cloudy blue sky in the background, a young Black girl peers up at the corner, wearing black glasses, a red and brown plaid collared top, and her hair in high braids.

91´«Ã½

“Exquisite: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks,” illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera, written by Suzanne Slade, and published by Abrams Brooks for Young Readers, an imprint ABRAMS.

With a pale pink background, a taller Black women wearing a pink shirt is covering her face with her hands. Next to her, a younger Black girl is also covering her face with her hands, wearing a white shirt with pink flowers and high pigtails.

91´«Ã½

“Me and Mama,” illustrated and written by Cozbi A. Cabrera and published by Denene Millner Books/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

John Steptoe New Talent Author Award Winner

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91´«Ã½

“Legendborn,” written by Tracy Deonn and published by Margaret K. McElderry Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing Division.

2021 Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement

With a stacked bookshelf in the background, an older Black women smiles up at the right corner, wearing a red blouse and a pearl necklace and earrings. Her honey colored hair is short in a bob.

91´«Ã½

Dorothy L. Guthrie (Practitioner)

Dorothy L. Guthrie is an award-winning retired librarian, district administrator, author and school board member. A respected children’s literature advocate, Guthrie promotes and affirms the rich perspectives of African Americans. Her work, “Integrating African American Literature in the Library and Classroom,” inspires educators with African American literature. Guthrie founded the first African American museum in her home, Gaston County, North Carolina.