2006 CORETTA SCOTT KING AWARDS

Coretta Scott King, widow of assassinated activist, Dr. Martin Luther King, passed away earlier this week. Coincidentally, just last week, the 2006 winners of the Coretta Scott King Awards were announced at the recent ALA Midwinter Meeting. Since 1969, this annual award has been given to African American authors and illustrators whose works are outstandingly inspirational and educational, depicting the lives of African Americans of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. This year, the winners are:

AUTHOR AWARD
Julius Lester for Day of Tears: a Novel in Dialogue (YA LES)

AUTHOR HONOR BOOKS
Tonya Bolden for Maritcha: A Remarkable Nineteenth Century American Girl (J 974.71 BOL)
Nikki Grimes for Dark Sons (NEW YA GRI)
Marilyn Nelson for A Wreath for Emmett Till (YA 811.54 NEL)

ILLUSTRATOR AWARD
Bryan Collier for Rosa by Nikki Giovanni (also a 2006 Caldecott Honor Book) (NEW J 323.092 GIO)

ILLUSTRATOR HONOR BOOK
R. Gregory Christie for Brothers in Hope: the Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan (NEW J WIL)

JOHN STEPTOE NEW TALENT AWARD--AUTHOR
Jaime Adoff for Jimi & Me (NEW YA ADO)