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.
Small Shoes, Great Strides
Illustrations by Alex Bostic
Carolrhoda Books, November 7, 2023
Ready? Set. Rides!
Illustrations by Derek Anderson
Random House, 2023
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," Charlotte Zolotow Award Committee, 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