Javaka Steptoe is an award-winning artist, illustrator, and children’s author. His latest book, which he wrote and illustrated, Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, won the 2017 Caldecott Medal and the 2017 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award. In Radiant Child, Steptoe created vibrantly colored collages out of paint and found materials, among other media, to tell the story of a young boy discovering the power of art. His debut work as an illustrator, released two decades earlier, In Daddy’s Arms I Am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers (1997), also won a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award. He has illustrated many other authors’ books for children, including Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow: A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix by Gary Golio (2010) and What’s Special about Me, Mama? by Kristina Evans (2011), as well as his own The Jones Family Express (2005). In addition to his work in books, Steptoe’s art has also been the subject of exhibitions at venues such as the Chicago Institute of Art and the Society of Illustrators.

Publishers Weekly on 2017 Caldecott Win

ALA Announces Caldecott Winner