This post was originally published in Nick Glass’ monthly column for Curriculum Connections, an e-newsletter published by School Library Journal in partnership with TeachingBooks.net. Subscribe to this free newsletter here.
In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards, TeachingBooks.net has launched the Coretta Scott King Book Award Curriculum Resource Center, a free, multimedia, online database for educators and families, featuring more than 250 original recordings with the award-winning authors and illustrators, and hundreds of lesson plans.
Forty years ago, two librarians and a publisher at the American Library Association conference lamented that no African-American author or illustrator had yet been honored with a Newbery or Caldecott medal. In response to that conversation, they decided to establish an award that would acknowledge the achievements of African-American writers and artists in the field of children’s literature.
Since then, the prestigious Coretta Scott King Book Award has honored a total of 231 distinguished titles that reflect the African-American experience for children and youth. The award has served as a powerful launching pad for increasing the presence and appreciation of African-American writers and illustrators in the book community.
The Coretta Scott King Book Award Curriculum Resource Center contains more than nine hours of original audios with award recipients in accessible, two to three-minute clips. Search the online center by author, illustrator, title, grade level, and curricular area, or by the year or specific award citation.
Browse the book covers (and teaching materials) for the two hundred-plus books that have been cited by the Coretta Scott King Book Award committees.
In addition to free, online primary source materials (audio recordings and book readings), the collection also features lesson plans, videos filmed in the studios of some of the award-winners, and original recordings by authors and illustrators pronouncing their monikers. Can you say Baba Wagué Diakité?
Listen to Jerry Pinkney, the only artist to win five Coretta Scott King Book Award medals. Enjoy resources for his 13 books that have received this commendation.
We hope that this multimedia curriculum resource center makes teaching these books fun, informative, and exciting. We believe that these online resources support the vision that librarians Glyndon Greer and Mabel McKissick had 40 years ago when they established the award.
The Coretta Scott King Book Award Curriculum Resource Center, created by TeachingBooks.net with the support of the Coretta Scott King Book Award 40th Anniversary Public Awareness Campaign Committee, is found at: http://teachingbooks.net/csk.
Posted by Nick Glass, Founder & Principal of TeachingBooks.net