James Ransome

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * • Cline-Ransome, Lesa. Germs: Sickness, Bad Breath, and Pizza (Henry Holt, 2017) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * • Eli and the Swamp Man, text by Charlotte Sherman (HarperCollins Publishers, 1996) * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ransome's The Bell Rang (2019) is Junior Library Guild book. Additionally, 13 of the books Ransome has illustrated are Junior Library Guild books: Bimmi Finds a Cat (1997); The Christmas Tugboat (2012); Light in the Darkness (2013); Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio (2014); My Story, My Dance (2016); Before She Was Harriet (2018); Game Changers (2018); The Creation (2019); Gridiron (2020); Overground Railroad (2020); Hardcourt (2022); Sonny Rollins Plays the Bridge (2022); and The Story of the Saxophone (2023). Before She Was Harriet was named one of the best books of 2017 by Booklist, the Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature, the Chicago Public Library, and Kirkus Reviews. The following year, Booklist included it on their lists of the year's "Top 10 Diverse Picture Books" and "Top 10 Biographies for Youth". The Bell Rang was named one of the best books of 2019 by the Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature, Chicago Public Library, The Horn Book Magazine, and Kirkus Reviews. The following year, the National Council of Teachers of English included it on their Notable Poetry List. In 2023, he was awarded the Children's Literature Legacy Award for his "significant and lasting contribution to literature for children." Awards for books Ransome illustrated • Year — Title — Award — Result — Reference • 1994 — Uncle Jed's Barbershop — Coretta Scott King Award for Illustrator — Honor • 1995 — The Creation — Coretta Scott King Award for Illustrator — Winner • 1999 — Let My People Go — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Children — Winner • 2008 — Young Pele — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Children — Finalist • 2012 — Before There Was Mozart — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Children — Finalist • 2014 — This is the Rope — Charlotte Zolotow Award — Honor • 2016 — Granddaddy’s Turn — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Children — Finalist • 2016 — My Story, My Dance — Orbis Pictus Award — Recommended • 2018 — Before She Was Harriet — Charlotte Zolotow Award — Honor • Christopher Award for Books for Children Ages 6 and up — Winner • Coretta Scott King Award for Illustrator — Honor • Jane Addams Children's Book Award for Younger Reader — Honor — • Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Award for Transitional Nonfiction — Honor • NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Children — Finalist • 2019 — Game Changers — Orbis Pictus Award — Recommended • 2020 — The Bell Rang — Coretta Scott King Award for Illustrator — Honor • 2023 — Hardcourt — Orbis Pictus Award — Honor • 2023 — Children's Literature Legacy Award — Winner