Every year, one of the highlights of the American Library Associations's Midwinter meeting is the announcement of the Youth Media Award winners which recognize the top childrens and young adult titles of the year and the people who made them. You can explore the full list (including all of the honor books) on the ALA's website and, better yet, find them on the Library's shelves or place a hold through the Library catalog.

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature: 

New Kid by Jerry Craft

Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade.

As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds and not really fitting into either one.

 

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children: 

The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander

This poem is a love letter to black life in the United States. It highlights the unspeakable trauma of slavery, the faith and fire of the civil rights movement, and the grit, passion, and perseverance of some of the world's greatest heroes. The text is also peppered with references to the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, and others, offering deeper insights into the accomplishments of the past, while bringing stark attention to the endurance and spirit of those surviving and thriving in the present.

Coretta Scott King Book Award recognizing an African-American author of outstanding books for children and young adults:  

New Kid by Jerry Craft

Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade.

As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds and not really fitting into either one.

Coretta Scott King Book Award recognizing an African-American illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults: 

The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander

This poem is a love letter to black life in the United States. It highlights the unspeakable trauma of slavery, the faith and fire of the civil rights movement, and the grit, passion, and perseverance of some of the world's greatest heroes. The text is also peppered with references to the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, and others, offering deeper insights into the accomplishments of the past, while bringing stark attention to the endurance and spirit of those surviving and thriving in the present.

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults: 

Dig by A.S. King

When their rags-to-riches grandparents decide against bequeathing the family fortune to their descendants, five teens confront difficult secrets and the realities of their disadvantages before uniting in the face of a terrible choice to save the family name.

 

 

 

 

Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience: 

Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You by Sonia Sotomayor, illustrated by Rafael López

In Just Ask, United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor celebrates the different abilities kids (and people of all ages) have. Using her own experience as a child who was diagnosed with diabetes, Justice Sotomayor writes about children with all sorts of challenges—and looks at the special powers those kids have as well. 

Mildred L. Batchelder Award for an outstanding children’s book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States: 

Brown by Håkon Øvreås

New in the neighborhood and hounded by fort-wrecking bullies, Rusty is looking glum. And to top it all off, his grandfather has just died. Rusty is stuck sorting out his emotions while the adults are busy sorting out the “practicalities” with the hospital. But one dark night, after watching a superhero movie on TV, Rusty gets an idea…

 

 

 

Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States: 

Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction by Jarrett J. Krosoczka and narrated by the author, Jeanne Birdsall, Jenna Lamia, Richard Ferrone and a full cast. 

In kindergarten, Jarrett Krosoczka's teacher asks him to draw his family, with a mommy and a daddy. But Jarrett's family is much more complicated than that. His mom is an addict, in and out of rehab, and in and out of Jarrett's life. His father is a mystery—Jarrett doesn't know where to find him, or even what his name is. Jarrett lives with his grandparents—two very loud, very loving, very opinionated people who had thought they were through with raising children until Jarrett came along.
 

Pura Belpré Awards honoring a Latino illustrator whose children's books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience: 

Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño played the piano for President Lincoln  illustrated by Rafael Lópezby, written by Margarita Engle

As a little girl, Teresa Carreño loved to let her hands dance across the beautiful keys of the piano. Soon she was writing her own songs and performing in grand cathedrals. Then a revolution in Venezuela forced her family to flee to the United States. Teresa felt lonely in this unfamiliar place, where few of the people she met spoke Spanish. Worst of all, there was fighting in her new home, too—the Civil War. Still, Teresa kept playing, and soon she grew famous as the talented Piano Girl who could play anything from a folk song to a sonata. So famous, in fact, that President Abraham Lincoln wanted her to play at the White House! 

Pura Belpré Awards honoring a Latino author whose children's books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience: 

Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez

In order to heal after his mother's death, thirteen-year-old Sal learns to reach into time and space to retrieve things—and people—from other universes.

 

 

 

 

 

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children: 

Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard, illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal

A celebration of the long-cherished Seminole Nation tradition of sharing fry bread during family meals.

 

 

Stonewall Book Award - Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award given annually to English-language children’s and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience: 

When Aidan Became a Brother by Kyle Lukoff, illustrated by Kaylani Juanita

When Aidan was born, everyone thought he was a girl. His parents gave him a pretty name, his room looked like a girl's room, and he wore clothes that other girls liked wearing. After he realized he was a trans boy, Aidan and his parents fixed the parts of life that didn’t fit anymore. Then Mom and Dad announce that they’re going to have another baby, and Aidan wants to do everything he can to make things right for his new sibling from the beginning—but what does "making things right" actually mean?

The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

Michael is a mixed-race gay teen growing up in London. All his life, he’s navigated what it means to be Greek-Cypriot and Jamaican—but never quite feeling Greek or Black enough. As he gets older, Michael’s coming out is only the start of learning who he is and where he fits in. When he discovers the Drag Society, he finally finds where he belongs—and the Black Flamingo is born.

 

 

 

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book:

Stop! Bot! by James Yang

A little boy out for a walk with his family stops to show a building doorman his new "bot": "I have a bot!" Only he doesn't have it for long, because it floats up out of his hands like an escaped balloon. "Stop! Bot!" Springing to action, the kind doorman runs up to each floor of the building to try and catch it—along with the help of each floor's resident. But while everything looks normal at first, every floor (and resident) is a little more wacky and unusual than the last! 

 

 

 

 

William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens: 

The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Phillipe

Uprooted from his native Montreal to Austin, Texas, a black French-Canadian teen navigates the joys and clichés of the American high school experience, including falling in love, before challenging himself to accept friendship into his life. 

 

 

 

 

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults:  

Free Lunch by Rex Ogle

Free Lunch is the story of Rex Ogle's first semester in sixth grade. Rex and his baby brother often went hungry, wore secondhand clothes, and were short of school supplies, and Rex was on his school's free lunch program. Grounded in the immediacy of physical hunger and the humiliation of having to announce it every day in the school lunch line, Rex's is a compelling story of a more profound hunger— that of a child for his parents' love and care.

 

 

 

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Book summaries provided via NYPL’s catalog, which draws from multiple sources. Click through to each book’s title for more.