Youth Media Awards 2021
John Newbery Medal
John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature:
When You Trap a Tiger by ISBN: 9781524715700Publication Date: 2020-01-28When Lily, her sister Sam, and their mother move in with her sick grandmother, Lily traps a tiger and makes a deal with him to heal Halmoni.
Five Newbery Honor Books also were named:
All Thirteen: the Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team by ISBN: 9781536209457Publication Date: 2020-10-13A unique account of the amazing Thai cave rescue told in a heart-racing, you-are-there style that blends suspense, science, and cultural insight.
BOX: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom by Call Number: Juvenile Biography Brown HenryISBN: 9780763691561Publication Date: 2020-04-14Publisher Annotation: In a moving, lyrical tale about the cost and fragility of freedom, a New York Times best-selling author and an acclaimed artist follow the life of a man who courageously shipped himself out of slavery.
Fighting Words by ISBN: 9781984815682Publication Date: 2020-08-11In this powerful novel that explodes the stigma around child sexual abuse and leavens an intense tale with compassion and humor, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley tells a story about two sisters, linked by love and trauma, who must find their own voices before they can find their way back to each other.
We Dream of Space by ISBN: 9780062747303Publication Date: 2020-05-05Cash, Fitch, and Bird Thomas are three siblings in seventh grade together in Park, Delaware. In 1986, as the country waits expectantly for the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger, they each struggle with their own personal anxieties. Cash, who loves basketball but has a newly broken wrist, is in danger of failing seventh grade for the second time. Fitch spends every afternoon playing Major Havoc at the arcade on Main. And Bird, his twelve-year-old twin, dreams of being NASA's first female shuttle commander. The Thomas children exist in their own orbits, circling a tense and unpredictable household, with little in common except an enthusiastic science teacher named Ms. Salonga. As the launch of the Challenger approaches, Ms. Salonga gives her students a project; they are separated into spacecraft crews and must create and complete a mission. When the fated day finally arrives, it changes all of their lives and brings them together in unexpected ways.
Michael L. Printz Award
Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults:
Four Printz Honor Books also were named:
Dragon Hoops by ISBN: 9781626720794Publication Date: 2020-03-17In his latest graphic novel, Dragon Hoops, New York Times bestselling author Gene Luen Yang turns the spotlight on his life, his family, and the high school where he teaches.
We Are Not Free by ISBN: 9780358131434Publication Date: 2020-09-01For fourteen-year-old budding artist Minoru Ito, her two brothers, her friends, and the other members of the Japanese-American community in southern California, the three months since Pearl Harbor was attacked have become a waking nightmare: attacked, spat on, and abused with no way to retaliate--and now things are about to get worse, their lives forever changed by the mass incarcerations in the relocation camps.
Schneider Family Book Award
Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience.
Schneider Family Book Award for young children (ages 0 to 10):
I Talk Like a River by ISBN: 9780823445592Publication Date: 2020-09-01When a child has a "bad speech day" at school, his father gives him a new perspective on his stuttering.
Two honor books for young children were selected:
Schneider Family Book Award for middle grades (ages 11 to 13):
Show Me a Sign by ISBN: 9781338255812Publication Date: 2020-03-03It is 1805 and Mary Lambert has always felt safe among the deaf community of Chilmark on Martha's Vineyard where practically everyone communicates in a shared sign language, but recent events have shattered her life; her brother George has died, land disputes between English settlers and the Wampanoag people are becoming increasingly bitter, and a "scientist" determined to discover the origins of the islands' widespread deafness has decided she makes the perfect "live specimen"--and kidnapped her.
Two honor books for middle grades were selected:
Schneider Family Book Award for middle grades (ages 13 to 18):
Robert F. Sibert Award
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children:
Three Sibert Honor Books were named:
Exquisite by Call Number: Juvenile Biography Brooks GwendolyISBN: 9781419734113Publication Date: 2020-04-07- All Thirteen: the Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team by ISBN: 9781536209457Publication Date: 2020-10-13A unique account of the amazing Thai cave rescue told in a heart-racing, you-are-there style that blends suspense, science, and cultural insight.
Stonewall Book Award
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:
We Are Little Feminists by ISBN: 9781734182422Publication Date: 2020-03-08
Four Honor Books were selected:
Darius the Great Deserves Better by ISBN: 9780593108239Publication Date: 2020-08-25"Darius Kellner has everything he thought he wanted--a new boyfriend, a new internship, and a spot on the soccer team--but growing up makes him question everything"-- Provided by publisher.
Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature
Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature. The award promotes Asian/Pacific American culture and heritage and is awarded based on literary and artistic merit.
Picture Book winner:
Paper Son: the Inspiring Story of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant and Artist by ISBN: 9781524771874Publication Date: 2019-09-24
Picture Book honor title:
Children’s Literature winner:
- When You Trap a Tiger by ISBN: 9781524715700Publication Date: 2020-01-28When Lily, her sister Sam, and their mother move in with her sick grandmother, Lily traps a tiger and makes a deal with him to heal Halmoni.
Children’s Literature honor title:
Youth Literature winner:
Youth Literature honor title:
Randolph Caldecott Medal
Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children:
We Are Water Protectors by ISBN: 9781250203557Publication Date: 2020-03-17Inspired by the many Indigenous-led movements across North America, We Are Water Protectors issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth’s water from harm and corruption―a bold and lyrical picture book written by Carole Lindstrom and vibrantly illustrated by Michaela Goade.
Four Caldecott Honor Books also were named:
Coretta Scott King Book Awards
Coretta Scott King Book Awards recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults.
Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award:
Before the Ever After by ISBN: 9780399545436Publication Date: 2020-09-01ZJ's friends Ollie, Darry and Daniel help him cope when his father, a beloved professional football player, suffers severe headaches and memory loss that spell the end of his career.
Three King Author Honor Books were selected:
King of the Dragonflies by ISBN: 9781338129335Publication Date: 2020-02-04"In a small but turbulent Louisiana town, one boy's grief takes him beyond the bayous of his backyard, to learn that there is no right way to be yourself"-- Provided by publisher.
Lifting As We Climb by ISBN: 9780451481542Publication Date: 2020-04-21For African American women, the fight for the right to vote was only one battle. An eye-opening book that tells the important, overlooked story of black women as a force in the suffrage movement--when fellow suffragists did not accept them as equal partners in the struggle.
Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award:
Respect by ISBN: 9781534452282Publication Date: 2020-08-25"Aretha Franklin was born to sing. The daughter of a pastor and a gospel singer, her musical talent was clear from her earliest days in her father's Detroit church. Aretha sang with a soaring voice that spanned more than three octaves. Her incredible talent and string of hit songs earned her the title "the Queen of Soul." This Queen was a multi-Grammy winner and the first female inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And there was even more to Aretha than being a singer, songwriter, and pianist: she was an activist, too. Her song "Respect" was an anthem for people fighting for civil rights and women's rights. With words that sing and art that shines, this vibrant portrait of Aretha Franklin pays her the R-E-S-P-E-C-T this Queen of Soul deserves"-- Provided by publisher.
Three King Illustrator Honor Books were selected:
Magnificent Homespun Brown by ISBN: 9780884487975Publication Date: 2020-01-07Publisher Annotation: If Walt Whitman were reborn as a vibrant young woman of color, this is the book he might write. America, we hear you singing! With vivid illustrations by Kaylani Juanita, Samara Cole Doyon sings a carol for the plenitude that surrounds us and the self each of us is meant to inhabit.- Exquisite by Call Number: Juvenile Biography Brooks GwendolyISBN: 9781419734113Publication Date: 2020-04-07
Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award:
Legendborn by ISBN: 9781534441606Publication Date: 2020-09-15"To discover the truth behind her mother's mysterious death, a teen girl infiltrates a magical secret society claiming to be the descendants of King Arthur and his knights"-- Provided by publisher
Pura Belpré Awards
Pura Belpré Awards honoring a Latinx writer and illustrator whose children's books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience.
Belpré Illustrator Award winner:
¡Vamos! Let's Go Eat by ISBN: 9781328557049Publication Date: 2020-03-24
One Belpré Illustrator Honor Book was named:
Belpré Children’s Author Award winner:
Efrén Divided by ISBN: 9780062881687Publication Date: 2020-03-31While his father works two jobs, seventh-grader Efrén Nava must take care of his twin siblings, kindergartners Max and Mia, after their mother is deported to Mexico. Includes glossary of Spanish words.
Two Belpré Children’s Author Honor Books were named:
Lupe Wong Won't Dance by ISBN: 9781646140039Publication Date: 2020-09-08My gym shorts burrow into my butt crack like a frightened groundhog. Don't you want to read a book that starts like that?? Lupe Wong is going to be the first female pitcher in the Major Leagues. She's also championed causes her whole young life. Some worthylike expanding the options for race on school tests beyond just a few bubbles. And some not so muchlike complaining to the BBC about the length between Doctor Who seasons. Lupe needs an A in all her classes in order to meet her favorite pitcher, Fu Li Hernandez, who's Chinacan/Mexinese just like her. So when the horror that is square dancing rears its head in gym? Obviously she's not gonna let that slide. Not since Millicent Min, Girl Genius has a debut novel introduced a character so memorably, with such humor and emotional insight. Even square dancing fans will agree.
Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Award winner.
Two Belpré Young Adult Author Honor Books were named:
Theodore Seuss Geisel Award
Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book:
Four Geisel Honor Books were named:
What about Worms!? (Elephant & Piggie Like Reading!) by ISBN: 9781368045735Publication Date: 2020-05-19
William C. Morris Award
William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens:
Four other books were finalists for the award:
Black Girl Unlimited by ISBN: 9781250309853Publication Date: 2020-01-14From age six through her high school valedictory speech, believing she and her mother are wizards helps young Echo cope with poverty, hunger, her mother's drug abuse, and much more.
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 Category
Gold Medalist:
Silver Medalists:
I am the Tree of Life: My Jewish Yoga Book by ISBN: 9781681155524
Middle Grades Category
Gold Medalist:
Silver Medalists:
Young Adult Category
Gold Medalist:
Dancing at the Pity Party by ISBN: 9780525553021Publication Date: 2020-04-14"Tyler Feder shares her story of her mother's first oncology appointment to facing reality as a motherless daughter in this frank and refreshingly funny graphic memoir"-- Provided by publisher.
