Lifetime Achievement Awards: Nikki Grimes and Grace Lin

Unlike the Newbery or Caldecott, given for an author’s or illustrator’s work on a particular book, lifetime awards look at the author’s or illustrator’s work over the course of an entire career. Nikki Grimes and Grace Lin each were awarded a lifetime achievement award at the 2022 ALA Youth Media Awards, and they are deserving recipients!

Nikki Grimes: 2022 Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award

The Redeemed Reader team got to watch the awards with one another in person—but still via a livestream—this year at our recent staff retreat. When the introduction for the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award was in process, I commented to the team that “someone like Nikki Grimes” should win.

To our delighted surprise, she did! Hooray! We’re fans of many of Nikki Grimes’s books. According to the ALA website:

In even years (i.e., 2022, 2024, 2026…), the award is presented to an African American author, illustrator or author/illustrator for a body of his or her published books for children and/or young adults, and who has made a significant and lasting literary contribution. 

Nikki Grimes is certainly worthy of distinction; her notable career spans 4 decades, and she’s still going strong. She’s a poet, and she’s written for all ages from picture books to a deeply moving memoir for older teens and adults. Some of her most recent works include:

Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance. Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2021. 144 pages.

Like her One Last Word collection, Grimes takes a poem from a Harlem Renaissance poet (all women in the Legacy volume), reproduces it in full, and uses a line or selection of lines from which she then writes a Golden Shovel poem. The Golden Shovel technique is intricate and difficult, and it’s hard to explain without seeing it in person. I reproduced a small sample in my review of One Last Word. Frankly, Legacy leans more on the Black power/feminist side than I’m comfortable with, but there are some gems in the small volume. I prefer One Last Word, but Legacy is an important companion volume. Both are lavishly illustrated by contemporary Black illustrators and artists. Definitely look at a print version over an audio! Ages 12+.

Bedtime for Sweet Creatures. Illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon. Sourcebooks, 2020. 32 pages.

Off to See the Sea. Illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon. Sourcebooks, 2021. 32 pages.

These sweet picture books are pitch perfect for toddlers—and their parents. As every parent or caregiver knows, putting a toddler to bed or giving one a bath is code for an often lengthy process. Grimes writes of both of these processes with delight and gentleness; Zunon’s mixed-media illustrations picture the child alongside imaginative illustrations. They’d make great presents for your next toddler birthday party event.

Other Books by Nikki Grimes Reviewed on Redeemed Reader:

The Watcher. Illustrated by Brian Collier. Picture Book. Ages 8-12. (one of our favorites!)

*Voices of Christmas. Illustrated by Eric Velasquez. Picture book. Ages 8-12.

Garvey’s Choice. Novel in verse. Ages 8-12.

One Last Word: Wisdom From the Harlem Renaissance. Poetry anthology. Ages 10 and up.

Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir. Ages 16+ (note considerations in review)

Grace Lin: 2022 Children’s Literature Legacy Award

Formerly known as the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, the Children’s Literature Legacy Award:

honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children through books that demonstrate integrity and respect for all children’s lives and experiences. 

~from the ALA website

As with Nikki Grimes, the Redeemed Reader team was delighted to hear about Grace Lin’s award. Her writing and illustration are both excellent, and we’ve been recommending many of her works for years. One of our earliest summer reading programs featured Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, and several of us were big fans of A Big Mooncake for Little Star.

Books by Grace Lin Reviewed on Redeemed Reader:

Ling and Ting books. Early chapter books. Ages 6-10.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. Ages 8-12.

Starry River of the Sky. Ages 8-12.

*When the Sea Turned to Silver. Ages 8-12.

Mulan: Before the Sword. Ages 10+.

Also recommended are these books by Grace Lin:

A Big Mooncake for Little Star. Picture book. Ages 4-8.

Dim Sum for Everyone. Picture book. Ages 4-8.

The Year of the Dog. A PacyLin chapter book. Ages 7-11.