Vaunda's Books
To obtain multiple copies at discounted prices for author events contact Lerner Publishing Group at 1-800-328-4929 or Penguin Random House at 1-800-726-0600.
Ready? Set. Birthday!
Illustrations by Derek Anderson
Random House, 2022
- Chicago Public LIbrary Best of the Best list for Fiction for Younger Readers
- reviewed in School Library Journal
Let ’er Buck! George Fletcher, the People’s Champion
Illustrations by Gordon C. James
Carolrhoda Books, 2019
- 2020 American Library Association (ALA) Notable Children's Book
- Booklist's Top 10 Biographies for Youth 2019
Dream March: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the March on Washington
Illustrations by Sally Wern Comport
Random House Children’s Books, 2017
- School Library Journal
Don’t Call Me Grandma
Illustrations by Elizabeth Zunon
Carolrhoda Books, 2016
- A Best Book of 2016, National Public Radio
The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Harlem’s Greatest Bookstore
Illustrations by R. Gregory Christie
Carolrhoda Books, 2015
- 2016 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award
- 2016 Jane Addams Children’s Book Honor
- Starred reviews in Booklist and Kirkus Reviews
No Crystal Stair: A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem Bookseller
Illustrations by R. Gregory Christie
Carolrhoda Lab, 2012
• 2012 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction
• 2013 Coretta Scott King Author Honor
• Best of Show, 2012 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards
• Starred reviews in The Horn Book Magazine, Kirkus Reviews Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal
- 2012 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction
- 2013 Coretta Scott King Author Honor
- Best of Show, 2012 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards
- Starred reviews in The Horn Book Magazine, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal
Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U. S. Marshal
Illustrations by R. Gregory Christie
Carolrhoda Books, 2009
• 2010 Coretta Scott King Author Award
• 2010 Simon Weisenthal “Once Upon a World” Children’s Book Award
• Carter G. Woodson Honor Book
• 2010 Western Writers of America Spur Finalist
• A Washington Post and Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
• Starred reviews in The Horn Book Magazine, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal
- 2012 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction
- 2013 Coretta Scott King Author Honor
- Best of Show, 2012 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards
- Starred reviews in The Horn Book Magazine, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal
Juneteenth
Co-author: Drew Nelson
Illustrations by Mark Schroder
Millbrook Press, 2006
• Children’s Book Committee at Bank Street College Best Children’s Book of the Year
- 2012 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction
- 2013 Coretta Scott King Author Honor
- Best of Show, 2012 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards
- Starred reviews in The Horn Book Magazine, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal
Almost to Freedom
Illustrations by Colin Bootman
Carolrhoda Books, 2003
• 2004 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor
- 2012 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction
- 2013 Coretta Scott King Author Honor
- Best of Show, 2012 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards
- Starred reviews in The Horn Book Magazine, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal
Ready? Set. Raymond!
Illustrations by Derek Anderson
Random House, 2002
- 2012 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction
- 2013 Coretta Scott King Author Honor
- Best of Show, 2012 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards
- Starred reviews in The Horn Book Magazine, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal
Other Books
Who Will I Be, Lord?
Illustrations by Sean Qualls
Random House, 2009 (o.p.)
- "Highly Commended" by the Charlotte Zolotow Award Committee of the Cooperative Children's Book Center (CBC)
Beyond Mayfield
G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1999 (o.p.)
- 1999 Parents' Choice Gold Award
Possibles
G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1995 (o.p.)
Mayfield Crossing
G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1993 (o.p.)
- 27th Georgia Children's Book Award
- Starred review in Booklist
Always Gramma
Illustrations by Kimanne Uhler
G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1988 (o.p.)
- Children's Book Council (CBC) Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies
Poetry
“What Am I?” Cricket, February 2005
“Family,” Cricket, June 2001
“Snow White,” Cicada, May/June 1999