Coretta Scott King Award

Giovanni, Nikki. (2005). Rosa. (1st. ed.). Henry Holt and Co. New York, N.Y.

Rosa, also a Caldecott Honor book, is a short biography of one of the bravest civil rights activist who ever lived. I loved Rosa. This book left me wanting to find out more about Mrs. Rosa Parks. I've read several stories about the civil rights movement. Yet, this book helped me to relate to how it feels to do a hard day's work and how I would feel if this had happened to me. I learned things about Mrs. Parks that I did not know before.

This book is full of history and information. The illustrations were rich and powerful. The flat geometric shapes helped to push the three dimensional figures and objects foward and emphasize their importance within the story.

Image retreived from www.amazon.com on October 2, 2009.

Author, Yoshiko Uchida

Uchida, Yoshiko. (1975). The Birthday Visitor. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, N.Y.



When I first began to read this book, I wasn't sure that I would like it. I tried to imagine myself as a child reading this book and how I could relate to the story. The story revolves around a little girl and her birthday and how she doesn't want the visitor to spoil it. What I like about the story is that it helps young readers to understand that we shouldn't stereotype people as we sometimes do. Emi had the minister stereotyped as boring and dull when, in fact, he was just the opposite. Upon his arrival is when this story actually starts to become interesting.



Uchida has written similar stories with her character, "Sumi" who is a little girl in Japan. Uchida was also very interested in the problems of the Japanese-American and some of her books, Journey to Topaz and Samurai of Gold Hill reflect this concern.

Author, Laurence Yep

Yep, Laurence. (1995). Hiroshima. Scholastic. New York, N.Y.

Dedicated to the memory of Yoshiko Uchida, this heartwrenching story is one that will put chills up and down your spine. It tells the story of the children that witnessed this horrific event in history. A child, Sachi, who is terribly burnt loses not only her sister but also her father. The sufferings that these poor people had to endure is like a horrid nightmare. This is a wonderful book and well worth the time to read.

Image available at www.amazon.com. Retreived on October 1, 2009.

Other books by Yep include: The Ghost Fox, selected as a Children's Book of the Year by Child Study Children's Book Committee, and two Newbery Honor Books, Dragon's Gate and Dragon Wings.