2018 Ezra Jack Keats Award
Writer Award
Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut, Derrick Barnes, Agate Bolden/Denene Millner Books
In a tribute both stylish and timeless, Derrick Barnes’s exuberant text, along with Gordon C. James’s vivid illustrations, celebrate a cultural institution for African-American men and boys: the barber shop.
Derrick Barnes
“It’s remarkable that the first literary award I win would be the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award. The first story I wrote was in 1985, the first year the award was given. It was about stray dogs looking for an imaginary bone, and my fifth-grade class was mesmerized when I read it out loud. That day, I became aware of the power of words.”
Illustrator Award
Muddy: The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters, Evan Turk, Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Muddy Waters was an American icon, a musical innovator who melded Mississippi Delta blues with an electric, urban sound. Evan Turk’s bold, colorful art complements the music and Michael Mahin's text.
Evan Turk
“It is such an honor to receive the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award! Keats’s work inspires me as an illustrator and as an artist trying to create work in a conscientious way that reflects our multicultural world. His work allowed kids to see themselves, and I hope that I can embrace that same spirit.”
2018 Ezra Jack Keats Award Committee
- KT Horning, Chair
- Angela Johnson
- Dr. Claudette S. McLinn
- Sean Qualls
- Don Tate
- Lettycia Terrones
- Caroline Ward
- Junko Yokota
- Paul O. Zelinsky
Ex Officio Members
Deborah Pope, Executive Director, Ezra Jack Keats Foundation
Ellen Ruffin, Curator, de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection
Dr. John Eye, Dean, University Libraries