Coretta Scott King Award 2008

Coretta Scott King Honor Books

Author Honor Books
• November Blues by Sharon M. Draper (Atheneum) review
•Twelve Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali by Charles R. Smith, Jr.; illus. by Bryan Collier (Candlewick) review

Illustrator Honor Books
• Jazz on a Saturday Night by Leo Dillon and Diane Dillon (Scholastic) review
• The Secret Olivia Told Me illus. by Nancy Devard; written by N. Joy (Just Us)

How the Horn Book reviewed the winners

Christopher Paul Curtis  Elijah of Buxton
          Scholastic
          Reviewed 11/07
The story of the Underground Railroad, which led escaping slaves to Canada, has been richly celebrated in fiction. But what happened after they arrived? In Elijah's story we visit the community of Buxton, a refuge for freed slaves established in 1849 in Canada West, close to the American border. Eleven-year-old Elijah, the first child to be born free in the settlement, is an irresistible character. Ebullient and compassionate, he is a talker who can torture a metaphor until it begs for mercy. Opening chapters lull and delight us with small-town pranks and tall tales. The mood gets chillier when a new family of fugitives arrives. Elijah relates how his Pa explains their fragility: "Don't no one get out of America without paying some terrible cost, without having something bad done permanent to 'em, without having something cut off of 'em or burnt into 'em or et up inside of 'em." When a con man takes off with the funds Elijah's friend Mr. Leroy saved to buy his family out of slavery, Elijah and Mr. Leroy pursue the thief across the border to Michigan; and there, while hiding out in a barn, Elijah discovers a small group of captured slaves, shackled to the wall, barely alive. There is no easy happy ending here, but, in a heart-rending scene, Elijah reacts with courtesy, courage, and respect, according the wretched their dignity and giving them the one gift of freedom in his power. This arresting, surprising novel of reluctant heroism is about nothing less than nobility. SARAH ELLIS

Ashley Bryan  Let It Shine: Three Favorite Spirituals, illus. by the author
          Atheneum
          Reviewed 1/07
Using only cut-paper and clamorous, swirling, out-of-sight colors (lilacs and magentas, pale and deep and olive greens, tangerine and cafe au lait), Bryan sets three spirituals to pictures that might be projected across the back of a performance stage, they are that dynamic, that monumental and stirring. The selections are universal favorites, something Bryan emphasizes by making his figures — children and adults of all shapes and sizes — a mix of vibrant hues. In "This Little Light of Mine" the children of the world circle 'round with candles, flashlights, strings of lights. "Oh, When the Saints Go Marching In" presents a darkened Klee-esque city ("when the sun refuse to shine") where two lone figures turn on a single light; opposite, the absent sun is represented, eerily, by three thin concentric circles. Throughout, the imagery is brilliant. Bryan has long been known for his exuberant decorative motifs — which explode here when "they crown Him Lord of Lords." But in this instance, with three sets of lyrics that themselves are all imagery, all metaphor, his scope widens. In the climactic "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands," familiar, well-loved images emerge and spiral and surge across the pages, in a fusion of color and form, until the quiet, intimate touch at the close: the "little bitty baby" perched on a little finger. With words and music appended: exciting, absorbing, immensely moving. BARBARA BADER

Sundee T. Frazier  Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything in It
      Delacorte
      Reviewed spring 2008
Biracial Brendan, a budding geologist, wonders about many "Big Questions." He gets to know his white grandfather, a "rock hound" with whom he has much in common, hoping to find answers. Despite the books heavvy-handed message about prejudice and tolerance, Brendan's winning nature is engaging enough to overcome the story's predictable resolution. S.H.

Sharon Draper  November Blues
      Atheneum
      Reviewed sping 2008
Sixteen-year0old November Nelson discovers she's pregnant only weeks after the tragic death of her boyfriend Josh. His parents mount a campaign to adopt the baby, and November must decide whether to give up custody. The story alternates between November and Josh's cousin Jericho (Battle of Jericho). Some stilted dialogue and oversimplification of issues dilute the drama. H.R.B.

Charles R. Smith, Jr.  Twelve Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali; illus. by Bryan Collier
      Candlewick
      Reviewed 1/08
Any biography of Ali runs the risk of allowing his status as American icon to subsume his complex and significant achievements. Twelve Rounds to Glory definitely showcases the myth over the man; but it also provides insight into the nuances of Ali's personality and the racism he fought with words and fists. Like a medieval epic, Smith's extensive rhyming text extols the greatness of the Greatest from his babyhood — "Bathed in a beautiful light / from parental love, / brown skin shimmers / with a glow from above" — through his poignant lighting of the 1996 Olympic flame in Atlanta. Of course it's fitting to tell this story in verse that mimics the cadence of the boxer's own poetic bravado; and, overall, Smith manages to sustain momentum, aided by oversize quotes interspersed with the main text and onomatopoeia during scenes in the ring. Collier's glowing, dignified mixed-media art captures the intensity of Ali's facial expressions and the explosive athleticism of the fighters pictured. The text repeatedly highlights Ali's principled refusal to fight in Vietnam for religious reasons; but it also points out when Ali crossed the line, as when he called Joe Frazier an Uncle Tom. Even the Greatest wasn't perfect, but, as his ongoing battle with Parkinson's indicates, he is, says Smith, "the champ who never quit." Timeline appended. C.M.H.

Leo Dillon and Diane Dillon  Jazz on a Saturday Night; illus. by the authors
     Scholastic
     Reviewed 9/07
The Dillons bring their love of jazz to the page, putting together a fictional gathering of jazz greats. The talented imaginary octet of Miles Davis, Max Roach, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Stanley Clarke, Ella Fitzgerald, and an unnamed guest guitarist tune up and take their places for a toe-tapping performance. The enthusiastic African American audience (spiffed up in coats and ties, fancy hats, and best dresses) revels in the joy that is jazz. Music, in the visual form of patterns resembling African textile art, pours out of the soloing instrumentalists and singer. In the end, the audience — from the little girl in her puffy dress to older folks carrying their hats — exits dancing, hands raised, as if they have been blessed. Though the authors' note provides a brief biography of each musician, this is not an academic introduction to the musical form but a celebration of jazz, people who make music, and the audience who appreciates it. A CD features the rhyming text set to music, but the singer takes small liberties with the words, making it difficult for young readers to read or sing along. A quick dip into the deep pool of jazz. ROBIN SMITH

2008 ALA awards