Confession: this was my first Coretta Scott King Book Awards Breakfast. I am now mad at myself that I never went before. This was a celebration of black excellence that was boisterous, somber, joyful, thoughtful and unabashed. My seatmate and I were driven to tears by Kwame Alexander’s recitation of his forebears both enslaved and free from the shore of Virginia in the mid 1700’s. C. G Esperanza gave us an entertaining turn as the host of his very own Black History with Horses game show – complete with lovely parting gifts. Craig Kofi Farmer tugged our hearts with his declaration of how children are able to say ‘that superhero looks like me’, which he couldn’t say as a child.
Jamiel Law did the illustrations for his FIRST picture book while learning to be a father and working a full time job. We know that Lesa Cline-Ransome did NOT know Harriet Tubman – but she told the story of the Exodusters with heart and poetry. Ekua Holmes merged the Southern magnolia with Coretta Scott King, the co-creator of Martin Luther King Jr.’s grand vision of equality. It can be ‘dangerous’ to create a biography of a legendary librarian and storyteller, and April Harrison aced the task. E.B. Lewis may be the other E.B., but his dreamy illustrations of photographer Roy DeCarava shows he is the only E.B. Lewis.
Poetry was there – in the words sung in ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ and in the invocation offered by Dr. Gregory Person. It was in the speech of Renée Watson, who sounded like her book only alive and speaking to all of us. And lastly, it was in the speech of Jason Reynolds, as he shared with us his search on why does love sometime look so violent? What do male romantic thoughts look like? And how can we show young people that it’s okay to feel vulnerable with themselves and each other.
Yes, CSKBART Breakfast is a celebration of black excellence in children’s literature. It is also a celebration of every reader that loves children’s literature and works tirelessly to get it into the hands of all children – because they too, deserve the best that we have to offer.
Kelly Depin is a member of the 2025 Newbery committee and is looking forward to giving you a look at some of the invited events attached to the award winning authors. She has been a librarian for over 20 years and looks forward to being found someday as part of some unique children’s or adult programming.
Please note that as a guest post, the views expressed here do not represent the official position of ALA or ALSC.
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The post CSKBART 2025 Breakfast Reflections #alaac25 appeared first on ALSC Blog.
Confession: this was my first Coretta Scott King Book Awards Breakfast. I am now mad at myself that I never went before. This was a celebration of black excellence that was boisterous, somber, joyful, thoughtful and unabashed. My seatmate and I were driven to tears by Kwame Alexander’s recitation of his forebears both enslaved and free from the shore of Virginia in the mid 1700’s. C. G Esperanza gave us an entertaining turn as the host of his very own Black History with Horses game show – complete with lovely parting gifts. Craig Kofi Farmer tugged our hearts with his declaration of how children are able to say ‘that superhero looks like me’, which he couldn’t say as a child. Jamiel Law did the illustrations for his FIRST picture book while learning to be a father and working a full time job. We know that Lesa Cline-Ransome did NOT know…
The post CSKBART 2025 Breakfast Reflections #alaac25 appeared first on ALSC Blog. Read More
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