Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award 2022

2022 Winner
The 1619 Project: Born on the Water written by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renée Watson, illustrated by Nikkolas Smith, and published by Kokila, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group.
Celebratory Event with Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renée Watson
Recorded: March 29th, 2023
- Click here to watch! -
Judges' Comments
An American origin story filled with happiness, despair, then hope, and it explores the topic, "Where did I come from?" through a student's class assignment. Readers will feel raw emotions from the poems, both joy and heartbreak.
A series of lyrical poems that skillfully combine to provide a powerful historical narrative and an origin story important to today’s youth and to American history.