Book Awards & Distinctions
for Kadir Nelson
99 Total Book Awards
The Undefeated (22)

ALSC Notable Children's Books, 1995-2025
Commended, 2020

CCBC Choices
Selection, 2020

Carter G. Woodson Book Award, 1974-2024
Winner, 2020

Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature Best Books, 2013-2024
Selection, 2019

Children’s Favorites Award, 2015-2024
Selection, 2020

Coretta Scott King Book Awards, 1970-2025
Illustrator Winner, 2020

Golden Kite Awards, 1974-2025
Picture Book Text Honor, 2020

Horn Book Fanfare, 2001-2024
Selection, 2019

John Newbery Medal, 1922-2025
Honor, 2020

Junior Library Guild Selections, 2012-2025
Character Building Selection, 2019

Kids’ Book Choice Awards, 2008-2022
Winner, 2020

Notable Books for a Global Society, 1996-2025
Selection, 2020

Notable Poetry and Verse Novels, 2011-2025
Selection, 2020

Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 2015-2025
Contemporary Concerns Selection, 2020

Publishers Weekly Best Books, 2010-2024
Picture Book Selection, 2019

Randolph Caldecott Medal, 1938-2025
Winner, 2020
Read for Empathy Collections, 2017-2025
Selection, 2021

SLJ Best Books of the Year, 2010 - 2024
Selection, 2019

Teacher Favorites Award, 2015-2024
Selection, 2020
Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans (14)

ALSC Notable Children's Books, 1995-2025
Commended, 2012

CCBC Choices
Selection, 2012

Coretta Scott King Book Awards, 1970-2025
Illustrator Honor, 2012

Coretta Scott King Book Awards, 1970-2025
Illustrator Honor, 2012

Jane Addams Children's Book Awards, 1953-2025
Books for Older Children Honor, 2012

Lasting Connections, 2000 - 2020
Selection, 2011

Notable Books for a Global Society, 1996-2025
Selection, 2012

Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts Award, 1997-2025
Selection, 2012

Orbis Pictus Award, 2000-2025
Commended, 2012

Original Art Medal, 2002-2024
Silver Winner, 2011

Publishers Weekly Best Books, 2010-2024
Picture Book Selection, 2011

SLJ Best Books of the Year, 2010 - 2024
Selection, 2011
We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball (11)

ALSC Notable Children's Books, 1995-2025
Commended, 2009

CCBC Choices
Selection, 2009

Coretta Scott King Book Awards, 1970-2025
Illustrator Honor, 2009

Coretta Scott King Book Awards, 1970-2025
Illustrator Honor, 2009

Horn Book Fanfare, 2001-2024
Selection, 2008

NYT Best Illustrated Children’s Books, 1952-2024
Selection, 2008

Notable Books for a Global Society, 1996-2025
Selection, 2009

Odyssey Award, 2008-2025
Honor, 2010

Orbis Pictus Award, 2000-2025
Honor, 2009

Original Art Medal, 2002-2024
Gold Winner, 2009
Ellington Was Not a Street (7)

ALSC Notable Children's Books, 1995-2025
Commended, 2005

CCBC Choices
Selection, 2005

Coretta Scott King Book Awards, 1970-2025
Illustrator Winner, 2005

Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts Award, 1997-2025
Selection, 2005

Original Art Medal, 2002-2024
Gold Winner, 2005
Henry's Freedom Box (5)

ALSC Notable Children's Books, 1995-2025
Commended, 2008

CCBC Choices
Selection, 2008

Notable Books for a Global Society, 1996-2025
Selection, 2008

Original Art Medal, 2002-2024
Silver Winner, 2008

Randolph Caldecott Medal, 1938-2025
Honor, 2008
I Have a Dream (5)

Coretta Scott King Book Awards, 1970-2025
Illustrator Honor, 2013

Indies Choice Book Awards, 2009-2019
Picture Book Hall of Fame Selection, 2018

Junior Library Guild Selections, 2012-2025
Emergent Selection, 2012

Publishers Weekly Best Books, 2010-2024
Picture Book Selection, 2012

SLJ Best Books of the Year, 2010 - 2024
Selection, 2012
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom (5)

ALSC Notable Children's Books, 1995-2025
Commended, 2007

Coretta Scott King Book Awards, 1970-2025
Illustrator Winner, 2007

Horn Book Fanfare, 2001-2024
Selection, 2006

Notable Books for a Global Society, 1996-2025
Selection, 2007

Randolph Caldecott Medal, 1938-2025
Honor, 2007
A Nation's Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis (5)

CCBC Choices
Selection, 2012

NYT Best Illustrated Children’s Books, 1952-2024
Selection, 2011

SLJ Best Books of the Year, 2010 - 2024
Selection, 2011
Nelson Mandela (5)

ALSC Notable Children's Books, 1995-2025
Commended, 2014

Coretta Scott King Book Awards, 1970-2025
Illustrator Honor, 2014

NYT Best Illustrated Children’s Books, 1952-2024
Selection, 2013

Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 2015-2025
Biography Selection, 2014

Publishers Weekly Best Books, 2010-2024
Nonfiction Selection, 2013
Blue Sky White Stars (4)

ALSC Notable Children's Books, 1995-2025
Commended, 2018

CCBC Choices
Selection, 2018

Notable Poetry and Verse Novels, 2011-2025
Selection, 2018

Teacher Favorites Award, 2015-2024
Selection, 2018
Miles Morales: Spider-Man (2)
Thunder Rose (2)

Coretta Scott King Book Awards, 1970-2025
Illustrator Honor, 2004

Phoenix Award, 1986-2024
Honor, 2023
The Village That Vanished (2)

Jane Addams Children's Book Awards, 1953-2025
Books for Younger Children Honor, 2003

Notable Books for a Global Society, 1996-2025
Selection, 2003
Abe's Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln (1)
Brothers of the Knight (1)

CCBC Choices
Selection, 2000
Coretta Scott (1)

CCBC Choices
Selection, 2010
If You Plant a Seed (1)
Just the Two of Us (1)

Original Art Medal, 2002-2024
Silver Winner, 2002
Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya (1)
The Real Slam Dunk (1)
Testing the Ice: A True Story about Jackie Robinson (1)
Under the Christmas Tree (1)

CCBC Choices
Selection, 2003
Zack (1)

Notable Books for a Global Society, 1996-2025
Selection, 2000