Pinkney Wins Dual ALA Awards in 2016

"I truly believe dyslexia made me the achiever I am in my art, and it made me who I am as a person," said children's book illustrator Jerry Pinkney to Jane Wallace for an article for the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity. Pinkney won two prestigious awards at the 2016 Youth Media Awards on Jan. 11 in Boston. They are the:

• Coretta Scott King - Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement
  The award pays tribute to the quality and magnitude of beloved children's author Virginia Hamilton, according to the American Library Association, and the
• Laura Ingalls Wilder Award
  This honor goes to an author or illustrator for books, published in the United States, that have made a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children over a period of years.

His works include the award-winning The Lion and the Mouse that won an ALA Caldecott Award in 2010. He also has received five Caldecott Honor Awards, five Coretta Scott King Illustrator Awards, and four Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honors.

Lifetime Achievement

"Jerry Pinkney's illustrations detail a world that resonates with readers long after the pages of a book have been turned. His five decades of work offer compelling artistic insights into the legacy of African American storytelling and experience," wrote the awards committee. "Beyond Pinkney's technical brilliance, his support of differentiated learning through art and of young illustrators sets him apart as both artist and educator. His powerful illustrations have redefined the scope of the sophisticated picture book and its use with multiple levels of learners."

Jerry Pinkney Resources

• "Jerry Pinkney, Artist & Children’s Book Illustrator" on the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity website
• "A Video Interview with Jerry Pinkney" on the Reading Rockets website
• "Witness: The Art of Jerry Pinkney" video from the Norman Rockwell Museum on YouTube
• Jerry Pinkney Studio, for personal insights into learning differences, as well as artworks, awards, merchandise and more
• Philadelphia Museum of Art Videos describe in under two minutes Pinkney's takes on nine storybooks that could support learning projects, Black History Month activities, an author study and more
• For special education students with print disabilities, accessible versions of Pinkney's books are found on AIM-VA's partner websites Bookshare (5 titles) and Learning Ally (5 titles)