ALA’s 2025 Youth Media Awards

This morning, the American Library Association announced the Youth Media Awards. The most popular being the Caldecott and Newbery Awards. But, in actuality, there are over 20 award announcements this morning! Today, I’m sharing the winners and honors and a little note about what each award is for and what it all means. While most people are talking about the Emmy’s and the Oscar’s, I’m anxiously awaiting this Monday morning to see all the news about kids’ books.

But, as a reminder, and one I give every year, this is just the smallest sample of titles that were published over the course of last year. If your book never gets on an award list or acknowledged in any way, but a child connects with it, then it’s a winner in my book! For more information or to view the awards announcements, visit the ALA website.

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John Newbery Medal Winner:

“The Newbery Medal honors the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.”

Winner

The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly

Honors

• Across So Many Seas by Ruth Behar
• Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller
• One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome
• Wrong Way Home by by Kate O’Shaughnessy

Randolph Caldecott Medal

“The Caldecott Medal honors the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.”

Winner

Chooch Helped by Andrea L. Rogers, illustrated by Rebecca Lee Kunz

Honors

• Home In a Lunchbox by Cherry Mo
• My Daddy Is a Cowboy by Stephanie Seales, illustrated by C. G. Esperanza
• Noodles On a Bicycle by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Gracey Zhang
• Up, Up, Ever Up! Junko Tabei: A Life in the Mountains by Anita Yasuda, illustrated by Yuko Shimizu

Alex Awards

“The Alex Awards are given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.”

• Beautiful People: My Thirteen Truths About Disability by Melissa Blake
• Big Jim and the White Boy by David F. Walker and Marcus Kwame Anderson
• Daughters of Shandong by Eve J. Chung
• Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark
• How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin
• I Feel Awful, Thanks by Lara Pickle
• I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones
• The Witch of Colchis by Rosie Hewlett
• The Witchstone by Henry H. Neff
• Women, Life, Freedom by Marjane Satrapi

ALSC Children’s Literature Lecture

“The ALSC Children’s Literature Lecture is an annual event featuring an author, critic, librarian, historian, or teacher of children’s literature, of any country, who shall prepare a paper considered to be a significant contribution to the field of children’s literature.”

Winner –Cynthia Leitich Smith

American Indian Youth Literature Awards (2024 Winners)

“The American Indian Youth Literature Awards are presented every two years (even years).  The awards were established as a way to identify and honor the very best writing and illustrations by and about American Indians.  Books selected to receive the award will present American Indians in the fullness of their humanity in the present and past contexts.” 

Picture Book Winner

• Forever Cousins by Laurel Goodluck (Mandan & Hidatsa and Tsimshian), illustrated by Jonathan Nelson (Navajo/Diné)
• A Letter for Bob by Kim Rogers (Wichita & Affiliated Tribes), illustrated by Jonathan Nelson (Navajo/Diné)

Honor Books

• Celebration by Lily Hope (Tlingit), illustrated by Kelsey Mata Foote (Tlingit)
• Contenders by Traci Sorell (Cherokee Nation), illustrated by Arigon Starr (Kickapoo Tribe)
• Berry Song by Michaela Goade (Tlingit Nation)
• Remember by Joy Harjo (Mvskoke Nation), illustrated by Michaela Goade (Tlingit Nation)
• Rock Your Mocs by Laurel Goodluck (Mandan & Hidatsa and Tsimshian), illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight (Chickasaw Nation)

Middle Grade Winner

We Still Belong by Christine Day (Upper Skagit), cover art by Madelyn Goodnight (Chickasaw Nation)

Honor Books

• Eagle Drums by Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson (Iñupiaq)
• Mascot by Traci Sorell (Cherokee Nation) and Charles Waters, jacket illustration by Nicole Neidhardt (Navajo)
• Jo Jo Makoons: Fancy Pants by Dawn Quigley (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe), illustrated by Tara Audibert (Wolastoqey)
• Jo Jo Makoons: Snow Day by Dawn Quigley (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe), illustrated by Tara Audibert (Wolastoqey
• She Persisted: Maria Tallchief by Christine Day (Upper Skagit), illustrated by Alexandra Boiger and Gillian Flint
• She Persisted: Wilma Mankiller by Traci Sorell (Cherokee Nation), illustrated by Alexandra Boiger and Gillian Flint
• She Persisted: Deb Haaland by Laurel Goodluck (Mandan & Hidatsa and Tsimshian), illustrated by Alexandra Boiger and Gillian Flint

Young Adult Winner

Rez Ball by Byron Graves (Ojibwe), jacket art by Natasha Donovan (Métis)

Honor Books

• Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians), jacket illustrations by Michaela Goade (Tlingit Nation)
• Funeral Songs for Dying Girls by Cherie Dimaline (Métis)
• Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers (Cherokee Nation), illustrated by Jeff Edwards (Cherokee Nation)
• Running with Changing Woman by Lorinda Martinez (Diné), cover design by Brittany Gene (Navajo)
• Heroes of the Water Monster by Brian Young (Navajo Nation), jacket art by Shonto Begay (Diné)

Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature

“The goal of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature is to honor and recognize individual work about Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage, based on literary and artistic merit.”

Picture Book Winner

Aloha Everything by Kaylin Melia George, illustrated by Mae Waite

Honor Books

The Rock In My Throat by Kao Kalia Yang, illustrated by Jiemei Lin

Children’s Literature Winner

Continental Drifter by Kathy MacLeod

Honor Books

• Mabuhay! by Zachary Sterling
• Clairboyance by Kristiana Kahakauwila

Youth Literature Winner

Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay

Honor Books

• Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham
• Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier

Children’s Literature Legacy Award

“The Legacy Award honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.”

Winner – Carole Boston Weatherford

Coretta Scott King Award

“The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values.”

Author Award

Winner

Twenty-four Seconds from Now by Jason Reynolds

Honor Books

• Black Girl You Are Atlas by Renée Watson and Ekua Holmes
• Black Star by Kwame Alexander
• One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome

Illustrator Award

Winner

My Daddy Is a Cowboy by Stephanie Seales, illustrated by C. G. Esperanza

Honor Books

• Coretta: The Autobiography of Mrs. Coretta Scott King by Coretta Scott King, illustrated by Ekua Holmes
• Everywhere Beauty Is Harlem: The Vision of Photographer Roy DeCarava by Gary Golio, illustrated by E. B. Lewis
• Go Forth and Tell: The Life of Augusta Baker, Librarian and Master Storyteller by Breanna J. McDaniel, illustrated by April Harrison

Coretta Scott King – John Steptoe New Talent Author Award

“The John Steptoe New Talent Award is established to affirm new talent and to offer visibility to excellence in writing and/or illustration which otherwise might be formally unacknowledged within a given year within the structure of the two awards given annually by the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Committee.”

Author Award Winner – Craig Kofi Farmer, Kwame Crashes the Underworld

Illustrator Award Winner – Jamiel Law – Jimmy’s Rhythm & Blues: The Extraordinary Life of James Baldwin

Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement

“The Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement is named in memory of beloved children’s author Virginia Hamilton. The annual award is presented in even years to an African American author, illustrator or author/illustrator for a body of his or her published books for children and/or young adults, and who has made a significant and lasting literary contribution.”

Winner – Carolyn L. Garnes

Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media Award

Honor

• Lyla In the Loop
• The Plate Show

Winner

Carl the Collector

Margaret A. Edwards Award

“The Margaret A. Edwards Award, established in 1988, honors an author, as well as a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature”

Winner – Tiffany D. Jackson

Michael L. Printz Award

“The Michael L. Printz Award annually honors the best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit, each year.”

Winner

Brownstone by Samuel Teer, illustrated by Mar Julia

Honor Books

• Bright Red Fruit by Safia Elhillo
• Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White
• The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag
• Road Home by Rex Ogle

Mildred L. Batchelder Award

“The Batchelder Award is given to an American publisher for a children’s book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English and published in the United States.”

Winner

John the Skeleton by Triinu Laan, illustrated by Marja-Liisa Plats, translated by Adam Cullen

Honor Book

• Home by Isabelle Simler, illustrated by Vineet Lal
• Johnny, the Sea, and Me by Melba Escobar, illustrated by Elizabeth Builes, translated by Sara Lissa Paulson
• Mr. Lepron’s Mystery Soup by Giovanna Zoboli, illustrated by Mariachiara Di Giorgio
• A Sleepless Night by Micaela Chirif, illustrated by Joaquín Camp, translated by Jordan Landsman

Odyssey Award

“The Odyssey Award will be awarded annually to the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States.”

Winner

• Children’s (0-14) – A Plate of Hope by Erin Frankel, illustrated by Paola Escobar, narrated by Luis Carlos de La Lombana
• Young Adult (12-18) – How the Boogeyman Became a Poet by Tony Keith Jr.

Honor Books

• Black Girl You Are Atlas by Renée Watson and Ekua Holmes
• Dispatches from Parts Unknown by Bryan Bliss, narrated by Joy Nash
• Girls Like Her by Melanie Sumrow (Author, Narrator), narrated by January LaVoy
• You Are Brave by Sofia Sanchez (Author, Narrator), narrated by Margaret O’Hair

Pura Belpré Awards

The Belpré Award honors a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose works best portray, affirm, and celebrate the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.”

Illustrator Awards

Winner

The Dream Catcher by Marcelo Verdad

Honor Books

• Abuelo, the Sea, and Me by Ismée Williams, illustrated by Tatiana Gardel
• A Maleta Full of Treasures by Natalia Sylvester, illustrated by Juana Medina

Children’s Author Awards

Winner

Lola by Karla Arenas Valenti

Honor Books

• Cruzita and the Mariacheros by Ashley Granillo
• Ultraviolet by Aida Salazar

Young Adult Award

Winner

Shut Up, This Is Serious by Carolina Ixta

Honor Books

• Libertad by Bessie Flores Zaldívar
• Wild Dreamers by Margarita Engle

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award

“The Sibert Medal honors the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished informational book published during the preceding year.”

Winner

Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall by Lynn Brunelle, illustrated by Jason Chin

Honor Books

• Call Me Roberto!: Roberto Clemente Goes to Bat for Latinos by Nathalie Alonso, illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez
• The Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II by Candace Fleming
• The Girl Who Sang: A Holocaust Memoir of Hope and Survival by Estelle Nadel and Sammy Savos
• Wings of an Eagle: The Gold Medal Dreams of Billy Mills by Billy Mills and Donna Janell Bowman, illustrated by S. D. Nelson

Schneider Family Book Award

“The Schneider Family Book Awards honor an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.”

Winners

• A Little Like Magic by Sarah Kurpiel (ages 0 to 8)
• Popcorn by Rob Harrell (ages 9-12)
• Chronically Dolores by Maya Van Wagenen (ages 13-18)

Honor books for Young Children

• Monster Hands by Karen Kane and Jonaz McMillan, illustrated by Dion MBD
• You’re SO Amazing by James Catchpole and Lucy Catchpole, illustrated by Karen George

Honor books for Middle Grades

• Louder Than Hunger by John Schu
• Shark Teeth by Sherri Winston

Honor books for Teens

• Light Enough to Float by Lauren Seal
• On the Bright Side by Anna Sortino

Stonewall Book Award

“The Stonewall Book Awards are presented to English language books that have exceptional merit relating to the LGBTQIA+ experience.”

Mike Morgan and Larry Romans Children’s Award

Winner

The Flicker by H.E. Edgmon

Honor Books

• Marley’s Pride by Joëlle Retener, illustrated by DeAnn Wiley
• Murray Out of Water by Taylor Tracy
• What I Must Tell the World: How Lorraine Hansberry Found Her Voice by Jay Leslie, illustrated by Loveis Wise

Mike Morgan and Larry Romans Young Adult Literature Award

Winner

Most Ardently: A Pride & Prejudice Remix by Gabe Cole Novoa

Honor Books

• Navigating With You by Jeremy Whitley, illustrated by Cassio Ribeiro
• Road Home by Rex Ogle
• Time and Time Again by Chatham Greenfield

Sydney Taylor Book Award

“The Sydney Taylor Book Award is presented annually to outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience.”

Picture Book Winner

An Etrog from Across the Sea by Deborah Bodin Cohen and Kerry Olitzky, illustrated by Stacey Dressen McQueen

Picture Book Honors

• Amazing Abe: How Abraham Cahan’s Newspaper Gave a Voice to Jewish Immigrants by Norman H. Finkelstein, illustrated by Vesper Stamper
• Joyful Song: A Naming Story by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Susan Gal
• Rising by Sidura Ludwig, illustrated by Sophia Vincent Guy
• The Tree of Life: How a Holocaust Sapling Inspired the World by Elisa Boxer, illustrated by Alianna Rozentsveig

Middle Grade Winner

The Girl Who Sang: A Holocaust Memoir of Hope and Survival by Estelle Nadel and Sammy Savos

Middle Grade Honors

• Across So Many Seas by Ruth Behar
• Finn & Ezra’s Bar Mitzvah Time Loop by Joshua S. Levy
• Just Shy of Ordinary by A. J. Sass

Young Adult Winner

Night Owls by A. R. Vishny

Young Adult Honors

• The Forbidden Book by Sacha Lamb
• Trajectory by Cambria Gordon

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award

“The Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal honors the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished contribution to the body of American children’s literature known as beginning reader books published in the United States during the preceding year.”

Winner

Vacation by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Mark Teague

Honor Books

• Fox Vs. Fox by Corey R. Tabor
• Towed by Toad by Jashar Awan

William C. Morris Award

“The William C. Morris YA Debut Award, first given in 2009, honors a book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature.”

Winner

Not Like Other Girls by Meredith Adamo

Finalists:

• Aisle Nine by Ian X. Cho
• Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear by Robin Wasley
• Shut Up, This Is Serious by Carolina Ixta
• The Wilderness of Girls by Madeline Claire Franklin

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults

“YALSA’s Award for Excellence in Nonfiction honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during a Nov. 1 – Oct. 31 publishing year.”

Winner

Rising from the Ashes: Los Angeles, 1992. Edward Jae Song Lee, Latasha Harlins, Rodney King, and a City on Fire by Paula Yoo

Honor Books

• A Greater Goal: The Epic Battle for Equal Pay in Women’s Soccer-and Beyond by Elizabeth Rusch
• Homebody by Theo Parish
• Shackled: A Tale of Wronged Kids, Rogue Judges, and a Town that Looked Away by Candy J. Cooper
• Unboxing a Black Girl by Angela Shanté