Skip to Main Content

Topic: African Americans in Children's Literature at UConn Archives & Special Collections — By Book Awards

This guide serves as a resource for researching African American representation in children's literature, as well as African American children's authors and illustrators in the UConn Archives & Special Collections.

The Northeast Children's Literature Collection (NCLC) in the Uconn Archives & Special Collections develops a core collection of award-winning children’s books by participating in a children’s awards acquisition plan. The plan encompasses standard prizes such as the Newbery and Caldecott Medals, as well as a large number of multi-cultural awards such as the Coretta Scott King award.

You can use this page to explore a selection of books related to African Americans in children's literature by select awards represented in the NCLC. Clicking on each tab will show you a list of titles that have received that award held in Archives & Special Collections. Clicking on a book title will take you to the book's catalog record.

Duey's tale by Bailey, Pearl.; Bailey, Pearl, inscriber.; Rouben Mamoulian Collection (Library of Congress)
Call Number: Levy B1323
Publication Date: 1975
Africa dream by Greenfield, Eloise, author; Byard, Carole, 1941-2017, illustrator.; John Day Company, publisher.
Call Number: C3329
Publication Date: 1977
Mother Crocodile = Maman-Caïman by Diop, Birago.; Steptoe, John, 1950-1989, illustrator.; Guy, Rosa, translator, adapter.; Gatti, David.; Delacorte Press.; A. Hoen & Co.; Mueller Color Plate Company.; Economy Bookbinding Corporation.
Call Number: Boyson 5808; Boyson 6127
Publication Date: 1981
Tar Beach by Ringgold, Faith, author.; Crown Publishers.
Call Number: CLC D76
Publication Date: 1991
Bud, not Buddy by Curtis, Christopher Paul, author.; Delacorte Press, publisher.
Call Number: CLC C1743
Publication Date: 1999
A wreath for Emmett Till by Nelson, Marilyn, 1946- author.; Lardy, Philippe, illustrator.
Call Number: CLC A2804
Publication Date: 2005
Moses : when Harriet Tubman led her people to freedom by Weatherford, Carole Boston, 1956- author.; Nelson, Kadir, illustrator.
Call Number: CLC D1494
Publication Date: 2006
Elijah of Buxton by Curtis, Christopher Paul, author.
Call Number: CLC A4528
Publication Date: 2007
The blacker the berry : poems by Thomas, Joyce Carol, author.; Cooper, Floyd, illustrator.; HarperCollins (Firm), publisher.
Call Number: CLC C5548
Publication Date: 2008
One crazy summer by Williams-Garcia, Rita.
Call Number: CLC A6500
Publication Date: 2010
Everett Anderson's goodbye by Clifton, Lucille, 1936-2010.; Grifalconi, Ann, illustrator.
Call Number: Levy E3686
Publication Date: 1983
The people could fly : American Black folktales by Hamilton, Virginia, 1934-2002.; Dillon, Leo, illustrator.; Dillon, Diane, illustrator.; Bierhorst, Jane Byers, book designer.
Call Number: Levy C256
Publication Date: 1985
The land by Taylor, Mildred D.
Call Number: CLC B1094
Publication Date: 2001
Fallen angels by Myers, Walter Dean, 1937-2014.
Call Number: CLC A16709
Publication Date: 2008, ©1988

Black means ... by Grossman, Barney.; Groom, Gladys, author.; Bible, Charles, illustrator.; Public School 150 (New York, N.Y.)
Call Number: Boyson 6145
Publication Date: 1970
A hero ain't nothin' but a sandwich by Childress, Alice, author.
Call Number: Boyson 235
Publication Date: 1974
Roll of thunder, hear my cry by Taylor, Mildred D. author.; Levy, Billie M., former owner, donor; Nelson, Kadir, illustrator.; Pinkney, Jerry, illustrator.; Paul Cartwright Collection (Mississippi State University. Libraries)
Call Number: Levy B1049
Publication Date: 1976
Justice and her brothers by Hamilton, Virginia, 1934-2002.
Call Number: CLC A2771
Publication Date: 1978
A little love by Hamilton, Virginia, 1934-2002.; Dillon, Leo.; Dillon, Diane.
Call Number: CLC A6811
Publication Date: 1984
Monster by Myers, Walter Dean, 1937-2014, author.; Myers, Christopher, illustrator.
Call Number: CLC C1609
Publication Date: 1999
Duke Ellington : the piano prince and his orchestra by Pinkney, Andrea Davis, author.; Pinkney, J. Brian, illustrator.
Call Number: CLC C1528
Publication Date: 1998
Rosa by Giovanni, Nikki, author.; Collier, Bryan, illustrator.; Henry Holt and Company, publisher.
Call Number: CLC C4109
Publication Date: 2005
No crystal stair : a documentary novel of the life and work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem bookseller by Nelson, Vaunda Micheaux.; Christie, R. Gregory, 1971- illustrator.
Call Number: CLC C7642
Publication Date: 2012
Brown girl dreaming by Woodson, Jacqueline, author.
Call Number: CLC A13516
Publication Date: 2014
The crossover by Alexander, Kwame, author.
Call Number: CLC A13395
Publication Date: 2014
Freedom in Congo Square by Weatherford, Carole Boston, 1956- author.; Christie, R. Gregory, 1971- illustrator.; Evans, Freddi Williams, writer of foreword.; Little Bee Books, publisher.
Call Number: CLC D8673
Publication Date: 2016
Freedom over me : eleven slaves, their lives and dreams brought to life by Bryan, Ashley, author, illustrator.; Atheneum Books for Young Readers, publisher.
Call Number: CLC D8688
Publication Date: 2016
Crown : an ode to the fresh cut by Barnes, Derrick, author.; James, Gordon C., illustrator.
Call Number: CLC D9418
Publication Date: 2017
The hate u give by Thomas, Angie, author.
Call Number: CLC A16747
Publication Date: 2017
The season of Styx Malone by Magoon, Kekla, author.
Call Number: CLC A17346
Publication Date: 2018

The snowy day by Keats, Ezra Jack, illustrator, author.
Call Number: CLC C219; CLC B600; Levy E996
Publication Date: 1962
Ashanti to Zulu : African traditions by Musgrove, Margaret, author.; Levy, Billie M., former owner, donor; Dillon, Leo, illustrator.; Dillon, Diane, illustrator.; Tehon, Atha, typographer.; Wallerstein, Warren, book producer.; Holyoke Lithograph Co., printer.; Rainbows Inc., printer.; Economy Bookbinding Corporation, binder.
Call Number: Levy C257
Publication Date: 1976
The lion & the mouse by Pinkney, Jerry, illustrator.; Aesop.
Call Number: CLC D2435
Publication Date: 2009
Radiant child : the story of young artist by Jean-Michel Basquiat Steptoe, Javaka, 1971- author, illustrator.; Little, Brown and Company, publisher.
Call Number: CLC D8685
Publication Date: 2016
The undefeated by Alexander, Kwame, author.; Nelson, Kadir, illustrator.; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, publisher.
Call Number: CLC D9876
Publication Date: 2019

Goggles! by Keats, Ezra Jack, author, illustrator.; Levy, Billie M., former owner, donor; Macmillan Company.
Call Number: CLC C3116
Publication Date: 1969
Moja means one : Swahili counting book by Feelings, Muriel L.; Feelings, Tom, illustrator.; Dial Press, publisher.
Call Number: XA I.11 no.82
Publication Date: 1971
Anansi the spider : a tale from the Ashanti by McDermott, Gerald, writer of adaptation, illustrator.; Juvenile Collection (Library of Congress)
Call Number: C3523
Publication Date: 1972
Jambo means hello : Swahili alphabet book by Feelings, Muriel L., author.; Feelings, Tom, illustrator.; Juvenile Collection (Library of Congress)
Call Number: CLC D449
Publication Date: 1974
Why mosquitoes buzz in people's ears. by Aardema, Verna.; Dillon, Diane.; Dillon, Leo.
Call Number: Levy C254
Publication Date: 1975
Ashanti to Zulu : African traditions by Musgrove, Margaret, author.; Levy, Billie M., former owner, donor; Dillon, Leo, illustrator.; Dillon, Diane, illustrator.; Tehon, Atha, typographer.; Wallerstein, Warren, book producer.; Holyoke Lithograph Co., printer.; Rainbows Inc., printer.; Economy Bookbinding Corporation, binder.
Call Number: Levy C257
Publication Date: 1976
Freight train by Crews, Donald, author, illustrator.; Greenwillow Books.
Call Number: C3081
Publication Date: 1978
Mufaro's beautiful daughters : an African tale by Steptoe, John, 1950-1989.; Juvenile Collection (Library of Congress)
Call Number: CLC C54
Publication Date: 1987
Mirandy and Brother Wind by McKissack, Pat, 1944-2017 author.; Pinkney, Jerry, illustrator.; Greenstein, Mina, book designer.; Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., publisher.
Call Number: CLC C113
Publication Date: 1988
Tar Beach by Ringgold, Faith, author.; Crown Publishers.
Call Number: CLC D76
Publication Date: 1991
John Henry by Lester, Julius, 1939-2018, author.; Pinkney, Jerry, illustrator.
Call Number: CLC D6472
Publication Date: 1994
Duke Ellington : the piano prince and his orchestra by Pinkney, Andrea Davis, author.; Pinkney, J. Brian, illustrator.
Call Number: CLC C1528
Publication Date: 1998
Coming on home soon by Woodson, Jacqueline.; Lewis, E. B. (Earl Bradley), 1956- illustrator.
Call Number: CLC C3673
Publication Date: 2004
Rosa by Giovanni, Nikki, author.; Collier, Bryan, illustrator.; Henry Holt and Company, publisher.
Call Number: CLC C4109
Publication Date: 2005
Moses : when Harriet Tubman led her people to freedom by Weatherford, Carole Boston, 1956- author.; Nelson, Kadir, illustrator.
Call Number: CLC D1494
Publication Date: 2006
Henry's freedom box by Levine, Ellen.; Nelson, Kadir, illustrator.
Call Number: CLC D1863
Publication Date: 2007
The lion & the mouse by Pinkney, Jerry, illustrator.; Aesop.
Call Number: CLC D2435
Publication Date: 2009
Voice of freedom : Fannie Lou Hamer, spirit of the civil rights movement by Weatherford, Carole Boston, 1956- author.; Holmes, Ekua, illustrator.; Candlewick Press, publisher.
Call Number: CLC D8095
Publication Date: 2015
Last stop on Market Street by de la Peña, Matt, author.; Robinson, Christian, illustrator.; Thomann, Ryan, book designer.; G.P. Putnam's Sons, publisher.; Phoenix Color Corp., printer.
Call Number: CLC C10904
Publication Date: 2015
Freedom in Congo Square by Weatherford, Carole Boston, 1956- author.; Christie, R. Gregory, 1971- illustrator.; Evans, Freddi Williams, writer of foreword.; Little Bee Books, publisher.
Call Number: CLC D8673
Publication Date: 2016
Crown : an ode to the fresh cut by Barnes, Derrick, author.; James, Gordon C., illustrator.
Call Number: CLC D9418
Publication Date: 2017
Thank You, Omu! by Mora, Oge, author, illustrator.
Call Number: CLC D9620
Publication Date: 2018
Going down home with Daddy by Lyons, Kelly Starling, author.; Minter, Daniel, illustrator.; Peachtree Publishers, publishers.
Call Number: CLC D9882
Publication Date: 2019
Double bass blues by Loney, Andrea J., author.; Gutierrez, Rudy, illustrator.
Call Number: CLC D9914
Publication Date: 2019

Amos Fortune : free man by Yates, Elizabeth, 1905-2001, author.; Unwin, Nora S. (Nora Spicer), 1907-1982, illustrator.
Call Number: CLC A6883
Publication Date: 1950
I, Juan de Pareja by Treviño, Elizabeth Borton de, 1904-2001.
Call Number: CLC A4898; CLC A11601; CLC A10432
Publication Date: 1965
Sounder by Armstrong, William H. (William Howard), 1914-1999, author.; Barkley, James, illustrator.
Call Number: Boyson 5006; Levy B124; Levy E63
Publication Date: 1972
The slave dancer : a novel by Fox, Paula, author.; Keith, Eros, illustrator.
Call Number: CLC C6785
Publication Date: 1973
M.C. Higgins, the great by Hamilton, Virginia, 1934-2002.
Call Number: CLC A7164
Publication Date: 1974
Roll of thunder, hear my cry by Taylor, Mildred D. author.; Levy, Billie M., former owner, donor; Nelson, Kadir, illustrator.; Pinkney, Jerry, illustrator.; Paul Cartwright Collection (Mississippi State University. Libraries)
Call Number: Levy B1049
Publication Date: 1976
Maniac Magee : a novel by Spinelli, Jerry, author.; Little, Brown and Company, publisher.
Call Number: Levy E2948
Publication Date: 1990
Bud, not Buddy by Curtis, Christopher Paul, author.; Delacorte Press, publisher.
Call Number: CLC C1743
Publication Date: 1999
The crossover by Alexander, Kwame, author.
Call Number: CLC A13395
Publication Date: 2014
Last stop on Market Street by de la Peña, Matt, author.; Robinson, Christian, illustrator.; Thomann, Ryan, book designer.; G.P. Putnam's Sons, publisher.; Phoenix Color Corp., printer.
Call Number: CLC C10904
Publication Date: 2015

To be a slave by Lester, Julius, 1939-2018 compiler.; Lester, Julius, 1939-2018, compiler.; Feelings, Tom, illustrator.
Call Number: CLC A2028
Publication Date: 1968
The hundred penny box by Mathis, Sharon Bell.; Dillon, Leo, illustrator.; Dillon, Diane, illustrator.
Call Number: Mathis, Sharon Bell.; Dillon, Leo, illustrator.; Dillon, Diane, illustrator.
Publication Date: 1975
Scorpions by Myers, Walter Dean, 1937-2014, author.; Harper & Row, Publishers, publisher.
Call Number: CLC A8626
Publication Date: 1988
In the beginning : creation stories from around the world by Hamilton, Virginia, 1934-2002; Levy, Billie M., former owner, donor; Moser, Barry, illustrator, book designer.
Call Number: CLC C82
Publication Date: 1988
The dark-thirty : Southern tales of the supernatural by McKissack, Pat, 1944-2017.; Pinkney, J. Brian, illustrator.
Call Number: CLC C10597
Publication Date: 1992
Somewhere in the darkness by Myers, Walter Dean, 1937-2014.
Call Number: CLC C1957
Publication Date: 1992
Carver, a life in poems by Nelson, Marilyn, 1946- author.; Front Street (Firm : Asheville, N.C.), publisher.
Call Number: CLC C2371
Publication Date: 2001
Show way by Woodson, Jacqueline, author.; Talbott, Hudson, illustrator.
Call Number: CLC D1276
Publication Date: 2005
Feathers by Woodson, Jacqueline, author.; G.P. Putnam's Sons, publisher.
Call Number: CLC A4713
Publication Date: 2007
Elijah of Buxton by Curtis, Christopher Paul, author.
Call Number: CLC A4528
Publication Date: 2007
After Tupac & D Foster by Woodson, Jacqueline.
Call Number: CLC A5548
Publication Date: 2008
Claudette Colvin : twice toward justice by Hoose, Phillip M., 1947- 2009
Call Number: CLC C5919
Publication Date: 2009
One crazy summer by Williams-Garcia, Rita.
Call Number: CLC A6500
Publication Date: 2010
Brown girl dreaming by Woodson, Jacqueline, author.
Call Number: CLC A13516
Publication Date: 2014
Freedom over me : eleven slaves, their lives and dreams brought to life by Bryan, Ashley, author, illustrator.; Atheneum Books for Young Readers, publisher.
Call Number: CLC D8688
Publication Date: 2016
Crown : an ode to the fresh cut by Barnes, Derrick, author.; James, Gordon C., illustrator.
Call Number: CLC D9418
Publication Date: 2017
Long way down by Reynolds, Jason, author.; Atheneum (New York, N.Y.), publisher.
Call Number: CLC A17118
Publication Date: 2017
Piecing me together by Watson, Renée, author.
Call Number: Watson, Renée, author.
Publication Date: 2017
The undefeated by Alexander, Kwame, author.; Nelson, Kadir, illustrator.; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, publisher.
Call Number: CLC D9876
Publication Date: 2019
New kid by Craft, Jerry, author, artist.; Callahan, Jim (Graphic novel colorist) colorist.
Call Number: CLC C12344
Publication Date: 2019
Genesis begins again by Williams, Alicia, 1970- author.; Atheneum Books for Young Readers, publisher.
Call Number: CLC A17680
Publication Date: 2019

M.C. Higgins, the great by Hamilton, Virginia, 1934-2002.
Call Number: CLC A7164
Publication Date: 1974
Jambo means hello : Swahili alphabet book by Feelings, Muriel L., author.; Feelings, Tom, illustrator.; Juvenile Collection (Library of Congress)
Call Number: CLC D449
Publication Date: 1974
Anthony Burns : the defeat and triumph of a fugitive slave by Hamilton, Virginia, 1934-2002.; Levy, Billie M., former owner, donor; Dillon, Diane.; Dillon, Leo, illustrator.; Frank and Virginia Williams Collection of Lincolniana (Mississippi State University. Libraries)
Call Number: Levy E2635
Publication Date: 1988
Maniac Magee : a novel by Spinelli, Jerry, author.; Little, Brown and Company, publisher.
Call Number: Levy E2948
Publication Date: 1990
John Henry by Lester, Julius, 1939-2018, author.; Pinkney, Jerry, illustrator.
Call Number: CLC D6472
Publication Date: 1994
Leon's story by Tillage, Leon Walter, 1936-2011, author.; Roth, Susan L., illustrator.
Call Number: CLC A563
Publication Date: 1997
Carver, a life in poems by Nelson, Marilyn, 1946- author.; Front Street (Firm : Asheville, N.C.), publisher.
Call Number: CLC C2371
Publication Date: 2001
A wreath for Emmett Till by Nelson, Marilyn, 1946- author.; Lardy, Philippe, illustrator.
Call Number: CLC A2804
Publication Date: 2005
The astonishing life of Octavian Nothing : traitor to the nation by Anderson, M. T.
Call Number: CLC C4467
Publication Date: 2006-2008
Marching for freedom : walk together, children, and don't you grow weary by Partridge, Elizabeth.; Hoover, Jim.; Viking Press.
Call Number: CLC D2448
Publication Date: 2009
No crystal stair : a documentary novel of the life and work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem bookseller by Nelson, Vaunda Micheaux.; Christie, R. Gregory, 1971- illustrator.
Call Number: CLC C7642
Publication Date: 2012
Jazz day : the making of a famous photograph by Orgill, Roxane, author.; Vallejo, Francis, 1985- illustrator.
Call Number: CLC D8276
Publication Date: 2016
Freedom over me : eleven slaves, their lives and dreams brought to life by Bryan, Ashley, author, illustrator.; Atheneum Books for Young Readers, publisher.
Call Number: CLC D8688
Publication Date: 2016
The season of Styx Malone by Magoon, Kekla, author.
Call Number: CLC A17346
Publication Date: 2018
This promise of change : one girl's story in the fight for school equality by Boyce, Jo Ann Allen, author.; Levy, Debbie, author.; Bloomsbury Children's Books, publisher.
Call Number: CLC A17487
Publication Date: 2019
Saturday by Mora, Oge, author, illustrator.
Call Number: CLC D9872
Publication Date: 2019