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

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

CCBC Choices
Selection, 2020

Carter G. Woodson Book Award, 1974-2025
Winner, 2020

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

Children's Favorites Award, 2015-2025
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, 2015-2025
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, 2015-2025
Selection, 2018
Miles Morales: Spider-Man (2)
Thunder Rose (2)

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

Phoenix Award, 1986-2026
Picture Book 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
Hewitt Anderson's Great Big Life (1)

Phoenix Award, 1986-2026
Picture Book Honor, 2025
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