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American Library Association Youth Media Awards

American Library Association Youth Media Awards

In January, the ALA announced its 2020 awards to the top books and audiobooks for children and young adults.  Many of these books are already in the Jefferson Library.  We will be adding most of the rest of the books once they have been ordered.  Many of the titles will also be available as e-books or e-audiobooks.

John Newbery Medal winner (for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature):

New kid by Jerry Craft

Newbery honor books:

  • Undefeated by Kwame Alexander
  • Scary stories for young foxes by Christian McKay Heidicker
  • Other words for home by Jasmine Warga
  • Genesis begins again by Alicia D. Williams

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

Undefeated, illustrated by Kadir Nelson and written by Kwame Alexander

Caldecott honor books:

  • Bear came along, illustrated by LeUyen Pham, written by Richard T. Morris
  • Double bass blues, illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez, written by Andrea J. Loney
  • Going down home with Daddy, illustrated by Daniel Minter, written by Kelly Starling Lyons

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

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award:

New kid, written by Jerry Craft

King Author Honor Books:

  • Stars and the blackness between them, by Junauda Petrus
  • Tristan Strong punches a hole in the sky, by Kwame Mbalia
  • Look both ways: a tale told in ten blocks, by Jason Reynolds

Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award:

Undefeated, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Kwame Alexander

King Illustrator Honor Books:

  • Bell rang, illustrated and written by James E. Ransome
  • Infinite hope: a Black artist’s journey from World War II to peace, illustrated and written by Ashley Bryan
  • Sulwe, illustrated by Vashti Harrison, written by Lupita Nyong’o

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award:

Genesis begins again by Alicia D. Williams

Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement:

Mildred D. Taylor, author of Roll of thunder, hear my cry and many, many more books 

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

Dig by A. S. King

Printz honor books include:

  • Beast player by Nahoko Uehashi
  • Laura Dean keeps breaking up with me by Mariko Tamaki
  • Ordinary hazards: a memoir by Nikki Grimes

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

  • Just ask! Be different, be brave, be you, written by Sonia Sotomayor wins the award for young children (ages 0 to 10).
  • Song for a whale by Lynne Kelly is the winner for middle grades (ages 11-13).
  • Each tiny spark by Pablo Cartaya is the honor book for middle grades.

 Children’s Literature 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.

The 2020 winner is Kevin Henkey, whose award-winning works include Kitten’s first full moon and Year of Billy Miller

Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults:

The 2020 winner is Steve Sheinkin. His books include: Bomb: the race to build–and steal–the world’s most dangerous weapon; Port Chicago 50: disaster, mutiny, and the fight for civil rights; Notorious Benedict Arnold: a true story of adventure, heroism & treachery; and Lincoln’s grave robbers

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 US:

Brown by Håkon Øvreås, originally published in Norwegian as Brune

Batchelder Honor Books:

  • Beast player by Nahoko Uehashi and translated from the Japanese
  • Distance between me and the cherry tree by Paola Peretti and translated from Italian
  • Do fish sleep? by Jens Raschke and translated from German
  • When spring comes to the DMZ by Uk-Bae Lee and translated from Korean

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

Odyssey Honor Audiobooks:

  • Redwood and Ponytail by A. Holt
  • Song for a whale by Lynne Kelly
  • We are grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell
  • We’re not from here by Geoff Rodkey

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

Belpré Illustrator Award winner:

Dancing hands: How Teresa Carreño played the piano for President Lincoln by Margarita Engle and illustrated by Rafael López

Pura Belpré Author Award winner:  Sal and Gabi break the universe by Carlos Hernandez

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

Fry bread: a Native American family story by Kevin Noble Maillard

Sibert Honor Books:

  • All in a drop: how Antony van Leeuwenhoek discovered an invisible world by Lori Alexander
  • This promise of change: one girl’s story in the fight for school equality by Jo Ann Allen Boyce and Debbie Levy
  • Ordinary hazards: a memoir by Nikki Grimes
  • Hey, water! by Antoinette Portis

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:

Children’s Literature Award:  When Aidan became a brother by Kyle Lukoff

Young Adult Literature Award: Black flamingo by Dean Atta

Honor Books:

  • Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
  • Like a love story by Abdi Nazemian
  • Best at it by Maulik Pancholy

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults:

Free lunch by Rex Ogle

Other finalists for the award:

  • Great Nijinsky: god of dance by Lynn Curlee
  • Light in the darkness: Janusz Korczak, his orphans, and the Holocaust by Albert Marrin
  • Thousand sisters: the heroic airwomen of the Soviet Union in World War II by Elizabeth Wein
  • Torpedoed: the true story of the World War II sinking of ‘The Children’s Ship,’ by Deborah Heiligman

Asian/Pacific Award for Literature promotes an Asian/Pacific American culture and heritage and is awarded based on literary and artistic merit:

Picture Book Award: Queen of physics: how Wu Chien Shiung helped unlock the secrets of the atom, illustrated by Rebecca Huang and written by Teresa Robeson

Children’s Literature Award: Stargazing, written by Jen WangChildren’s Literature Honor Award:I’m Ok, written by Patti Kim

Young Adult Literature Award: They called us enemy, written by George Takei

Young Adult Literature Honor Award: Frankly in love, written by David Yoon

Sydney Taylor Book Award, presented annually to outstanding books that authentically portray the Jewish experience:

Picture Book winner: Book rescuer: how a mensch from Massachusetts saved Yiddish literature for generations to come, illustrated by Stacy Innerst and written by Sue Macy

Middle Grade winner: White Bird: a Wonder story, written by R.J. Palacio

Middle Grade honor books:

  • Anya and the dragon, written by Sofiya Pasternack
  • Games of deception: the true story of the first U.S. Olympic basketball team at the 1936 Olympics in Hitler’s Germany, written by Andrew Maraniss

Young Adult winner:Someday we will fly, written by Rachel DeWoskin

Young Adult honor books:

  • Dissenter on the bench: Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s life and work, written by Victoria Ortiz
  • Sick kids in love, written by Hannah Moskowitz