This week’s threads will highlight the works of black children’s authors and illustrators that you should know.
Kadir Nelson (born May 15, 1974) is an African-American artist, illustrator and author. His work is focused on African-American culture and history. Nelson graduated from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.
Nelson has had exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the United States and the world, including the Museum of Tolerance, and the Society of Illustrators. Nelson is a two-time Caldecott Honor Award winner. He received an NAACP Image Award for the book Just the Two of Us. For his book, We Are The Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, he received the 2008 CASEY Award for best baseball book, the 2009 Coretta Scott King Author Award, and the 2009 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award. His book, Nelson Mandela, was a Coretta Scott King honor book in 2014. Nelson created the mural used as cover art for Michael Jackson’s posthumous 2010 album Michael.
On Friday, December 10, 2010, a 29,070-square-foot (2,701 m2) poster depicting the Michael album artwork was erected at the Rectory Farm in Middlesex, England, which broke a Guinness World Record for the largest poster in the world. On Wednesday, August 21, 2013, it was announced that Nelson had created the work of art used for Drake’s 2013 album Nothing Was the Same.
Nelson designed the pair of 44-cent U.S. postage stamps that were issued by the U.S. Postal Service in 2010, to honor Negro Leagues baseball, and a pair that honored basketball star Wilt Chamberlain in 2014.
Partnering with authors including celebrities such as famed filmmaker Spike Lee, Kadir Nelson has brought us some gorgeous illustrations of black children and families. In addition to original stories, Nelson has illustrated well known speeches and songs, making them perfect for introductions to little ones. His talent has been recognized with 4 Coretta Scott King Book Award wins and 5 honors.
Here are some selections of his most notable books:
- Nelson Mandela by Kadir Nelson (Coretta Scott King Honor Book)
- Ellington Was Not a Street by Ntozake Shange and Kadir Nelson (Coretta Scott King Book Award Winner)
- Please, Baby, Please by Spike Lee, Tonya Lewis Lee and Kadir Nelson
- Please, Puppy, Please by Spike Lee Tonya Lewis Lee and Kadir Nelson
- Salt in His Shoes: Michael Jordan in Pursuit of a Dream by Deloris Jordan, Roslyn M. Jordan and Kadir Nelson
- Just the Two of Us (Scholastic Bookshelf) by Will Smith and Kadir Nelson
- Dancing in the Wings by Debbie Allen and Kadir Nelson
- He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands by Kadir Nelson (Coretta Scott King Honor Book)
- I Have a Dream (Book & CD) by Martin Luther King Jr. and Kadir Nelson
- Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford and Kadir Nelson (Caldecott Honor Book and Coretta Scott King Book Award Winner)