Bryan Collier
As a child he had a great collection of quality children's books that his mom, a Head Start teacher, would bring home.While in high school he won first place in a Congressional Competition and his painting was displayed in the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. for a year.Collier received a scholarship through a national talent competition through the Pratt Institute in New York City, one of the leading art schools in the United States.Collier is a four-time recipient of a Caldecott Honor: Martin's Big Words, Rosa, Dave the Potter, and Trombone Shorty.The annual Coretta Scott King Awards, one for an illustrator and one for a writer, recognize the year's "most distinguished portrayal of African American experience in literature for children or teens".