NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Children

This article lists the winners and nominees for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in the children's literature category.

Winners and finalists

1990s

Award winners and finalists, 1996, 1999

Year	Book	Author	Illustrator	Result	Template:Abbreviation
1996	Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales and True Tales	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Winner	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1999	Let My People Go: Bible Stories Told by a Freeman of Color	Template:Sortname and Fredrick L. McKissack Jr.	Template:Sortname	Winner	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Better source needed

2000s

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Year	Book	Author	Illustrator	Result	Template:Abbreviation
2000	If a Bus Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks	Template:Sortname		Winner
	God Inside of Me	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Finalist
	Happy to Be Nappy	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Template:Sort	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Through My Eyes	Template:Sortname
2001	Shades of Black: A Celebration of Our Children	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname (photos)	Winner
	Dancing in the Wings	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Finalist
	Nikki Giovanni: Poet of the People	Template:Sortname
	Teens Can Make It Happen	Template:Sortname
	Template:Sort	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
2002	Just the Two of Us	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Winner	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Better source needed
2003	Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales	Template:Sortname		Winner	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Better source needed
2004	My Brother Martin: A Sister Remembers Growing Up with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Winner
	The Montgomery Bus Boycott (Events that Shaped America)	Template:Sortname and Frank Walsh		Finalist
	God Created	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Li'l Dan, the Drummer Boy: A Civil War Story	Template:Sortname
	Who's Got Game? The Ant or the Grasshopper?	Template:Sort	Template:Sortname
2005	Template:Sort	Template:Sortname		Winner
	African Princess: The Amazing Lives of Africa's Royal Women	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Finalist
	Ellington Was Not a Street	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Langston's Train Ride	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Maya's World: Angelina of Italy	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
2006	Girls Hold Up This World	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname (photos)	Winner
	I Can Make a Difference	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Finalist
	Template:Sort	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Honey Baby Sugar Child	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Please, Puppy, Please	Template:Sortname and Tonya Lewis Lee	Template:Sortname
2007	Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Winner	<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Dear Mr. Rosenwald	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Finalist	<ref name=":0" /><ref name="2007 Image Awards2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	I Like You But I Love Me	Common	Template:Sortname
	Nobody Gonna Turn Me 'Round	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Whoopi's Big Book of Manners	Template:Sortname	Olo
2008	Nothing but Trouble: The Story of Althea Gibson	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Winner	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Friendship for Today	Template:Sortname		Finalist	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Elijah of Buxton	Template:Sortname
	Let It Shine	Template:Sortname
	Young Pele	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
2009	Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Winner
	Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem	Template:Sortname		Finalist	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Say a Little Prayer	Template:Sortname, David Freeman Wooley, and Tonya Bolden
	We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball	Template:Sortname
	You Can Do It!	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname

2010s

Award winners and finalists, 2010-2019<ref name=":5" />

Year	Book	Author	Illustrator	Result	Template:Abbreviation
2010	Our Children Can Soar	Template:Sortname		Winner	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Template:Sort	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Finalist	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Peeny Butter Fudge	Template:Sort	Template:Sortname
	Sugar Plum Ballerinas: Toeshoe Trouble	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Child of the Civil Rights Movement	Template:Sortname and Raul Colon
2011	My Brother Charlie	Holly Robinson Peete and Ryan Elizabeth Peete	Template:Sortname	Winner	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Grandma’s Gift	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Finalist
	Mama Miti: Wangai Maathai and the Tree of Kenya	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Side by Side/Lado a Lado: The Story of Delores Huerta and Cesar Chavez	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Template:Sort	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
2012	You Can Be a Friend	Template:Sortname		Winner	<ref name="2012 Image Award Winners2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Finalist	<ref name="2012 Image Award Winners2" />
	Before There Was Mozart	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Heart and Soul	Template:Sortname
	White Water	Template:Sortname and Eric Stein	Template:Sortname
2013	What Color is My World	Template:Sortname, with Raymond Obstfeld	Template:Sortname and Ben Boos	Winner	<ref name="2013 Image Award Winners">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Fifty Cents and a Dream	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Finalist	<ref name="2013 Image Award Winners" />
	Harlem's Little Blackbird: The Story of Florence Mills	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	In the Land of Milk and Honey	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Indigo Blume and the Garden City	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
2014	Nelson Mandela	Template:Sortname		Winner	<ref name="2014 Image Award Winners">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	I'm A Pretty Little Black Girl!	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Finalist	<ref name="2014 Image Award Winners" />
	Knock Knock: My Dad's Dream for Me	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Martin & Mahalia: His Words, Her Song	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	You Never Heard of Willie Mays?!	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
2015	Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Happily Ever After	Template:Sortname		Winner	<ref name="2015 Image Award Winners">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Beautiful Moon: A Child's Prayer	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Finalist	<ref name="2015 Image Award Winners" />
	Little Melba and Her Big Trombone	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up To Become Malcolm X	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Searching for Sarah Rector	Template:Sortname
2016	Gordon Parks: How the Photographer Captured Black and White America	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Winner	<ref name="2016 Image Award Winners2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Chasing Freedom: The Life Journeys of Harriet Tubman and Susan B. Anthony, Inspired by Historical Facts	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Finalist	<ref name="2016 Image Award Winners2" />
	Granddaddy’s Turn: A Journey to the Ballot Box	Template:Sortname and Eric Stein	Template:Sortname
	If You Plant a Seed	Template:Sortname
	New Shoes	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
2017	Tiny Stitches: The Life of Medical Pioneer Vivien Thomas	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Winner	<ref name="2017 Image Award Winners">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Template:Sort	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname and Lou Fancher	Finalist	<ref name="2017 Image Award Winners" />
	Daddy’s Little Girl	Template:Sortname
	Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat	Template:Sortname
	Template:Sort	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
2018	Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History	Template:Sortname		Winner	<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Becoming Kareem: Growing Up On and Off the Court	Template:Sortname, with Raymond Obstfeld		Finalist	<ref name=":1" />
	Before She Was Harriet	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Take a Picture of Me, James VanDerZee!	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Template:Sort	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
2019	Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Winner	<ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Facing Frederick: The Life of Frederick Douglass, A Monumental American Man	Template:Sortname		Finalist	<ref name=":2" />
	I Can Be Anything! Don’t Tell Me I Can't	Diane Dillon
	Template:Sort	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Template:Sort	Peter H. Reynolds

2020s

Award winners and finalists, 2020-present<ref name=":5" />

Year	Book	Author	Illustrator	Result	Template:Abbreviation
2020	Sulwe	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Winner	<ref name=":7">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech That Inspired a Nation	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Finalist	<ref name=":7" />
	Hair Love	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Parker Looks Up: An Extraordinary Moment	Template:Sortname and Jessica Curry	Template:Sortname
	Ruby Finds a Worry	Template:Sortname
2021	She Was the First!: The Trailblazing Life of Shirley Chisholm	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Winner	<ref name=":4">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	I Promise	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Finalist	<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Just Like a Mama	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Kamala Harris: Rooted in Justice	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
2022	Stacey’s Extraordinary Words	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Winner	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":12">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Black Ballerinas: My Journey to Our Legacy	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Finalist	<ref name=":02">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Change Sings	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Time for Bed, Old House	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	When Langston Dances	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
2023	Stacey’s Remarkable Books	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Winner	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Black Gold	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Finalist	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Template:Sort	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Blue: A History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
2024	Crowned: Magical Folk and Fairy Tales from the Diaspora	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Winner	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	How Do You Spell Unfair?: MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname	Finalist	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	I Absolutely, Positively Love My Spots	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Is This Love?	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname
	Like Lava In My Veins	Template:Sortname	Template:Sortname

Multiple wins and nominations

Template:Col-begin Template:Col-break The following individuals received two or more Outstanding Literary Work, Children's Awards:

Wins	Author
2	Carole Boston Weatherford
2	Vashti Harrison

The following individuals received two or more Outstanding Literary Work, Children's nominations:

Nominations	Author
4	Kadir Nelson
	Carole Boston Weatherford
3	Nikki Grimes
	Vashti Harrison
2	Kwame Alexander
	Maya Angelou
	Michael S. Bandy
	Tonya Bolden
	Alice Faye Duncan
	Tony Dungy
	Whoopi Goldberg
	Patricia McKissack
	Andrea Davis Pinkney
	Lesa Cline-Ransome
	Doreen Rappaport
	Katheryn Russell-Brown