Kadir Nelson
Kadir Nelson creates bold, beautiful paintings to illustrate books. He is especially interested in books that bring African-American history and stories to life. His illustrations truly make these stories memorable and special.
Kadir Nelson believes that to be an artist, you have to "wish upon a star, but do your homework, too." He was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in New Jersey and San Diego. He started drawing at age 3 and began painting when he was 10 years old. After he graduated from art school, he worked for Dreamworks, the movie company, and then began to illustrate books. Now he lives in San Diego with his wife and two children. His advice for young people who want to become artists is to practice drawing every day and to "say it out loud" so that you believe in yourself.
Visit the artist’s own website for information about himself, his books, and his art, or you can watch this video interview to find out his own thoughts about his paintings.
Here are some of the books with Kadir Nelson’s beautiful pictures which you can find at your library.
Abe's Honest Words : The Life of Abraham Lincoln
by Doreen Rappaport, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Ages 8-12
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Told in simple, absorbing words, and brought to life in powerful illustrations, this portrait of a great American president shines a light on the passion for people that defined Lincoln's life.
Dancing in the Wings
by Debbie Allen
Ages 5 - 8
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Sassy loves to dance, but is she too tall and gangly to be a ballerina? Sassy means to follow her dreams!
Ellington Was Not a Street
by Ntozake Shange
Ages 5 - 8
Get the kit with CD
The illustrations for this poem show some famous African-Americans as if they were all friends meeting at a party. (2005 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award winner)
Henry's Freedom Box
by Ellen Levine
Ages 6 - 9
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This picture book tells the true story of a slave, Henry Brown, who escaped to freedom in a daring way--by mailing himself in a box to abolitionists in Philadelphia. (2008 Caldecott Honor book)
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom
by Carole Boston Weatherford
Ages 6 - 8
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Harriet Tubman’s faith in God helps her to rescue others from slavery in this story greatly enhanced by its dramatic illustrations, for which Kadir Nelson won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award. (2007 Caldecott Honor book)
Please, Puppy, Please
by Spike Lee & Tonya Lewis Lee
Ages baby to preschool
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Two children take their puppy outside to play but find the puppy's wild behavior a real challenge in this warm and funny book.
We Are the Ship
by Kadir Nelson
Ages 4 - 10
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For baseball lovers of all ages. The story of the Negro Baseball League--from its beginnings in the 1920s through its decline after Jackie Robinson crossed over to the majors in 1947.
Watch the review
