Shadra Strickland studied design, writing, and illustration at Syracuse University, and completed her M.F.A. at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She won the Ezra Jack Keats Award and Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent in 2009 for her work in her first picture book, Bird, written by Zetta Elliott. Shadra is passionate about promoting positivity through her work, and her ultimate goal as a picture book author and illustrator is to teach children how to live their dreams. Her style is a whimsical blend of reality and imagination, and she loves to create stories that children can see themselves in. Shadra travels the country conducting workshops and sharing her work with children, teachers, and librarians. She currently teaches illustration at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.
Awards / Honors
- 2024 Bank Street Best of the Year – Jump In!
- 2023 Kirkus Best of 2023 – Jump In!
- 2022 Starred Reviews (Kirkus, Publishers Weekly) – Jump In
- 2022 Booklist from Rise: A Feminist Book Project- Legacy
- Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books 2017 – One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance
- NYPL’s Best Books for Kids, 2017 – One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance
- Bank Street’s Best Children’s Books of the Year, 2016 – Sunday Shopping
- Ezra Jack Keats Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature, 2009
- Coretta Scott King, John Steptoe Award, New Talent, 2009
- Society of Illustrators’ The Original Art Show, 2014
- NAACP Award for Our Children Can Soar
- NAACP Image Award Nominations for White Water and Eliza’s Freedom Road
- Oppenheim Toy Portfolio “Best Book” Award for White Water
