Choosing Brave
Caldecott Honor
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Walter Winner
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Sibert Honor
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Orbis Pictus Honor
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Jane Addams Winner
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Flora Stieglitz Straus Award
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Coretta Scott King Award
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Cybils Award Winner
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Horn Book-Boston Globe Honor
Caldecott Honor • Walter Winner • Sibert Honor • Orbis Pictus Honor • Jane Addams Winner • Flora Stieglitz Straus Award • Coretta Scott King Award • Cybils Award Winner • Horn Book-Boston Globe Honor
Honor: The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
Honor: The Sibert Award is presented annually to the author, author/illustrator, co-authors, or author and illustrator named on the title page of the most distinguished informational book for children published in the United States in English during the preceding year.
Winner/illustration: The Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe Award for New Talent is established to affirm new talent and to offer visibility to excellence in writing and/or illustration which otherwise might be formally unacknowledged within a given year within the structure of the two awards given annually by the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Committee.
The Walter
The Walter Dean Myers Award, also known as “The Walter,” is named for prolific children’s and young adult author Walter Dean Myers (1937-2014). Myers was the third National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, appointed in 2012 by the Library of Congress. He was a champion of diversity in children’s books. The Walter Awards commemorate Myers’ memory and his literary legacy, as well as celebrate diversity in children’s literature.
Jane Addams Children’s Book Award
The Jane Addams Children’s Book Award annually recognizes children’s books of literary and aesthetic excellence that effectively engage children in thinking about peace, social justice, global community, and equity for all people. A national committee of members with passion for and expertise in children’s literature and social justice is responsible for making the choices each year.
CHOOSING BRAVE - How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
Mamie Till-Mobley became a voice for change when her fourteen-year-old son, Emmett Till, was brutally murdered while visiting the South in 1955. His death became a rallying point for the Civil Rights Movement, a movement ignited when his mother propelled his name to the forefront of history.
Her story is a testament to the power of love and one woman’s unwavering pursuit for justice. Mamie fearlessly refused to allow America to turn away from what happened to her only child. She turned pain into a legacy that ensured her son’s life mattered.
As the original Mother of the Movement, Mamie Till-Mobley forever reminds us—even during the ugliest days—to choose dignity, to choose voice, and most of all, to choose brave.
In The News
P&P Live! Angela Joy and Janelle Washington discuss their book, CHOOSING BRAVE.
Choosing Brave Media
A Shelf Awareness Best YA and Middle Grade Selection of 2022
A Publishers Weekly Best Picture Book Selection of 2022
An Evanston Public Library 101 Great Books for Kids Selection, 2022
The Horn Book Fanfare Best Books of 2022
Rise: A Feminist Book Project 2023 Booklist Selection
Chicago Public Library Best Books of the Year
Cybils 2022 Award Winner for Middle School Nonfiction
2022 Blue Ribbon List
Manhattan Country School Martin Luther King "Living the Dream" Book Award, 2022/2023
"In an extraordinary volume, Joy’s cadenced prose and Washington’s dimensional cut-paper artwork portray Mamie Till-Mobley’s (1921–2003) life." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
"[T]old with hauntingly lyrical language... [and] powerful expressionistic art crafted from cut paper and silhouettes. A devastating, uniquely told story that will resonate." —Kirkus, starred review
"Washington’s dramatic paper-cut art, featuring bold black-and-white silhouettes and figures on brown backgrounds with blue, brown, and red tissue-paper accents, perfectly captures the courage and dignity of the subject." —Horn Book, starred review
"[A] forceful, strikingly illustrated nonfiction picture book." —Shelf Awareness, starred review
“By placing Emmett’s murder in the context of [Mamie Till-Mobley's] life, the narrative brings a deep intimacy to the portrayal of a woman mourning her son, not a symbol."
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review
“In the hands of lesser artists, Emmett’s murder and its aftermath could be portrayed in a graphic or sensational fashion inappropriate for a younger audience. That is not the case here. Joy and Washington respect not only Mamie’s life and legacy but also the children who will read and listen to this picture book.” — Calling Caldecott, The Horn Book
"A moving, memorable picture book." —Booklist, starred review
"The heartbreaking story of Emmett Till is shared with great emotional depth... An essential purchase." —School Library Journal, starred review
The Artist
Janelle Washington is a self-taught paper cut artist from Virginia. She has permanent silhouettes housed at the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, DC, and Downing-Gross Community Arts Center in Newport News, Virginia. She is also a member of The Guild of American Papercutters. Choosing Brave is her first picture book.