Kadir Nelson (Illustrator)

Kadir Nelson

Even though he graduated from the prestigious Pratt Institute and has been illustrating children's books since 1999, Kadir Nelson credits his uncle for teaching him the importance of perspective, different mediums, and color-mixing that are signature throughout his illustrations and paintings.

Son of  motivational speaker and author, Emily Diane Gunter, and father of two daughters, Nelson self-illustrated two books, We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro Baseball (2008) and Change Has Come: An Artist Celebrates Our American Spirit (2009), as well as illustrated several other books for a variety of publishers. Ntozake Shange's picture book, Ellington Was Not a Street, earned Nelson the 2004 Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration and the 2005 Simon Wiesenthal Center's Once Upon a World Children's Books Award. Nelson was also awarded the Caldecott Honor designation in 2007 for the illustrations in Carole Boston Weatherford's Moses.


Nelson has described his work as being "all about healing and giving people a sense of hope and nobility". He explained to School Library Journal contributor, Rick Margolis, "When you see people who look like you and your family presented in a positive way, it helps you feel more pride. If you have an example in front of you, perhaps you start to think, 'I can do that, too.' That really opens children's eyes, and that's what I hope my work does."


Self-Illustrated: 
Nelson, K. Ill. (2008). We are the ship: The story of negro league 
     baseball. Forward by Hank Aaron. Jump at the Sun/Hyperion
     Books for Children: New York, NY.
Nelson, K. Ill. (2009). Change has come: An artist celebrates our 
     American spirit. Simon & Schuster: New York, NY.

Illustrated: 
Allen, D. (1999). Brother of the knight. Dial Books: New York, NY.
Allen, D. (2000). Dancing in the wings. Dial Books: New York, NY.
Jordan, D. and Jordan, R.M. (2000). Salt in his shoes: Michael Jordan 
     in pursuit of a dream. Simon & Schuster: New York, NY.
Nolen, J. (2000). Big Jabe. HarperCollins: New York, NY.
Smith, Will. (2001). Just the two of us. Scholastic, Inc.: New York,
     NY.
Grifalconi, Ann. (2002). The village that vanished. Dial Books: New
     York, NY.
Grimes, N. (2002). Under the Christmas tree. HarperCollins: New York,
     NY.
Lee, S. and Lee, T.L. (2002). Please, baby, please. Simon & Schuster:
     New York, NY.
Nolen, J. (2003). Thunder rose. Harcourt: San Diego, CA.
Shange, N. (2004). Ellington was not a street. Simon & Schuster: New
     York, NY.
Packer, T., et al. (2004). Tales from Shakespeare. Scholastic, Inc.: New
     York, NY.
Nolen, J. (2005). Hewitt Anderson's great big life. Simon & Schuster:
     New York, NY.
Richardson, C.K. (2005). The real slam dunk. Puffin Books: New York,
     NY.
Lee, S. and Lee, T.L. (2005). Please, puppy, please. Simon & Schuster:
     New York, NY.
Dial Books for Young Readers. (2005).  He's got the whole world in his 
     hands. New York, NY.
Jordan, D. and Jordan, R.M. (2006). Michael's golden rules. Simon &
     Schuster: New York, NY.
Weatherford, C. B. (2006). Moses: When Harriet Tubman led her 
     people to freedom. Hyperion: New York, NY.
Levine, E. (2007). Henry's freedom box. Scholastic Press: New York, NY.
Rappaport, D. (2008). Abe's honest words: The life of Abraham Lincoln.
     Hyperion Books for Children: New York, NY.
Staines, B. (2009). All God's Critters. Simon & Schuster: New York, NY.
Shange, N. (2009). Coretta Scott. Katherine Tegen Books: New York, NY.
Robinson, S. (2009). Testing the ice: A true story about Jackie Robinson.
     Scholastic Press: New York, NY.
Napoli, D.J. (2010). Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the trees of 
     Kenya. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers: New York, NY.


Awards:
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, a Caldecott Honor and an NAACP Image Award for MOSES: When Harriet Tubman Led her People to Freedom
2001 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Image Award, Just the Two of Us
2002 Silver Medal for original art, Society of Illustrators, Under the Christmas Tree
2004 Coretta Scott King Honor Book designations, ALA, Thunder Rose
2004 Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration, Ellington Was Not a Street
2005 Simon Wiesenthal Center, Once Upon a World Children's Book Award,  Ellington Was Not a Street
2007 Caldecott Honor designation, Moses
2008 Union Bank of California/KPBS Local Hero of the Year Award
2009 Coretta Scott King Author Award & Illustration Honor designation, We Are the Ship
2009 Robert F. Sibert Information Book Award, We Are the Ship


For further information about Kadir Nelson's work:
The Art of Kadir Nelson
Kadir Nelson Official Publisher Page
Reading Rockets Video Interview with Kadir Nelson
PLA Blog: Luncheon with Kadir Nelson
Henry's Freedom Box reviews
WE ARE THE SHIP: The Story of Negro Baseball


Activities for Kadir Nelson Books:
WE ARE THE SHIP: The Story of Negro Baseball (See sidebar post)

Brothers of the Knight (audio/video book activity) 
      (Grade 2: 4. Applying English Language Conventions:  Students apply the conventions of standard English in oral, written and visual communication. 4.1 Students use knowledge of their language and culture to improve competency in English.)


Ellington Was Not a Street (use book instead of movie for lesson) Grades 3-4 
      (Grade 4: 1. Reading and Responding: Students read, comprehend and respond in individual, literal, critical and evaluative ways to literary, informational and persuasive texts in multimedia formats. 1.3 Students select and apply strategies to facilitate word recognition and develop vocabulary in order to comprehend text.

Hewitt Anderson's Great Big Life Vocabulary Lesson

Moses: When Harriet Tubman led her People to Freedom (See sidebar post)




Common Core CT Standards