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Author | Vaunda Micheaux Nelson |
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Illustrator | R. Gregory Christie |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Children's literature |
Publisher | Lerner Publishing Group |
Publication date | 2009 |
Awards | 2010 Coretta Scott King Author Award |
ISBN | 9780822567646 |
Bad News for Outlaws is a 2009 children's book written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, originally published by Lerner Publishing Group. It chronicles the life of Bass Reeves, a 19th-century black deputy marshal for the United States government who worked in the Arkansas and Oklahoma Territories.
Bad News for Outlaws chronicles the life of Bass Reeves, a black deputy marshal for the United States government who worked in the Arkansas and Oklahoma Territories for 32 years. [1] Each page tells a different story about him, ranging from his youth in slavery to clever ways he brought wanted outlaws into custody, through the day he stopped working as a peace officer (when the territory reached statehood). The story ends with his death from Bright's disease.
Nelson first heard about Bass Reeves through a documentary on blacks in the West that her husband Drew had found. The documentary made a small reference to Reeves, and Nelson researched his story. She consulted with Art T. Burton, a historian who has published on Reeves. Nelson reviewed drafts of illustrations for historical accuracy. [2] In one case, the draft of the illustration of Reeves pulling a steer out of the mud showed him fully clothed, pulling the steer with a rope. [2] Nelson gave the additional information that he went into the mud with the steer without his clothes, a fact which the final illustration reflects. [2]
Bad News for Outlaws was one of Lerner's best-selling books. [3] Kirkus Reviews called it "a narrative that hits the bull's-eye". [4] Publishers Weekly 's starred review congratulates Nelson for "chronicl[ing] the life of African-American lawman Bass Reeves in a biography that elevates him to folk hero". [5] Junior Library Guild praised the "dramatic" artwork and treatment of gun violence. [6]
At Booklist, Ian Chipman described how the book described Reeves's life "with narrative panache and visual swagger". [7] Abby McGanney Nolan at The Washington Post wrote that the book "seamlessly blends moral uplift (he used his gun only when he was forced to), entertaining anecdotes (he used disguises to catch fleeing criminals), an appealing design (the paper looks like weathered 19th-century parchment) and spare but spirited language". [8]
The book appeared on the National Endowment for the Humanities Nonfiction Booklist for Young Readers in 2014, [9] and was an ALA Notable Children's Book in 2010. [10] It won the 2010 Coretta Scott King Author Award, [11] the New Mexico-Arizona Book Award, [12] and the Once Upon a World Children's Book Award, both in 2010. [13]
The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the attorney general, but serves as the enforcement arm of the U.S. federal courts to ensure the effective operation of the judiciary and integrity of the Constitution. It is the oldest U.S. federal law enforcement agency, created by the Judiciary Act of 1789 during the presidency of George Washington as the "Office of the United States Marshal". The USMS as it stands today was established in 1969 to provide guidance and assistance to U.S. Marshals throughout the federal judicial districts.
Bass Reeves was a former enslaved person turned American lawman. He was among the first Black deputy U.S. Marshals, and the first west of the Mississippi River. He worked mostly in the Indian Territory.
Kadir Nelson is a Los Angeles–based painter, illustrator, and author who is best known for his paintings often featured on the covers of The New Yorker magazine, and album covers for Michael Jackson and Drake. His work is focused on African-American culture and history. The New York Times describes his work as: "sumptuous, deeply affecting work. Nelson’s paintings are drenched in ambience, and often overt symbolism. He has twice been a Caldecott honor recipient and won the 2020 Caldecott Medal for his book The Undefeated.
Ashley Frederick Bryan was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. Most of his subjects are from the African-American experience. He was U.S. nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2006 and he won the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for his contribution to American children's literature in 2009. His picture book Freedom Over Me was short-listed for the 2016 Kirkus Prize and received a Newbery Honor.
Vaunda Micheaux Nelson is an American writer known for her fiction and nonfiction books for children and young adults. She was the winner of the 2010 Coretta Scott King Award and Gelett Burgess Children's Book Honor for her non-fiction book Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal about the life of Bass Reeves. Nelson is also the author of The Book Itch: Freedom,Truth & Harlem's Greatest Bookstore. Her book Who Will I Be, Lord? received a Charlotte Zolotow Award Commendation in 2010.
Kwame Alexander is an American writer of poetry and children's fiction.
Randy DuBurke is an American artist best known as the author and illustrator of the Steptoe Award winning book The Moon Ring (2003) and as the illustrator of Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty (2010). He previously worked as a comic book artist in the 1980s and 1990s.
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I See the Rhythm, illustrated by Michele Wood with text by Toyomi Igus, was published in 1998 by Lee & Low Books. It won the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustrator in 1999.
Before She Was Harriet is a 2017 children's picture book written by Lesa Cline-Ransome and illustrated by James E. Ransome, first published by Holiday House. It was awarded an honorary Coretta Scott King Award in 2018.
Let the Children March is a 2018 children's picture book written by Monica Clark-Robinson and illustrated by Frank Morrison, originally published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The historical fiction work is set during the Birmingham Children's Crusade in 1963. The book was named a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book in 2019.
The Great Migration: Journey to the North is a 2011 children's poetry book. Written by Eloise Greenfield and illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist, the poems depict the experiences and feelings of African-American families that participated in the Great Migration in the United States in the 20th century. It was first published by Amistad.
Richard Gregory Christie is an American author and illustrator of picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, and album covers best known for his Coretta Scott King Award-winning books No Crystal Stair: A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem Bookseller, Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U. S. Marshal, and Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan, Only Passing Through, and the NAACP Image Award-winning Our Children Can Soar: A Celebration of Rosa, Barack, and the Pioneers of Change.
The Undefeatedis a 2019 poem by Kwame Alexander and illustrated by Kadir Nelson. The poem's purpose is to inspire and encourage black communities, while also delivering a tribute to black Americans of all occupations in past years. The poem describes the toughness black Americans faced during times such as slavery, and segregation in America. Nelson's illustrations also provide a visual for the meaning of the poem. The book was well received and won the 2020 Caldecott Medal and a Newbery Honor. Kadir Nelson's artwork also earned it a Coretta Scott King Award.
The Harder They Fall is a 2021 American Western film directed by Jeymes Samuel, who co-wrote the screenplay with Boaz Yakin. The film stars Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King, Delroy Lindo, Lakeith Stanfield, RJ Cyler, Danielle Deadwyler, Edi Gathegi, and Deon Cole. It is one of few Westerns whose principal cast members are all black. Its characters are based on real cowboys, lawmen, and outlaws of the nineteenth-century American West.
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