The American Library Association (ALA) today announced the top books, video, and audio books for children and young adults—including the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Newbery, and Printz awards—at its Midwinter Meeting in Seattle, Washington.
A list of all the 2019 award winners follows:
John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature:
Merci Suárez Changes Gears, written by Meg Medina, is the 2019 Newbery Medal winner. The book is published by Candlewick Press.
Two Newbery honor books also were named: The Night Diary, written by Veera Hiranandani and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, Penguin Young Readers Group, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC; and The Book of Boy, written by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, illustrated by Ian Schoenherr and published by Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children:
Hello Lighthouse, illustrated and written by Sophie Blackall, is the 2019 Caldecott Medal winner. The book was published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
Four Caldecott honor books also were named: Alma and How She Got Her Name, illustrated and written by Juana Martinez-Neal and published by Candlewick Press; A Big Mooncake for Little Star, illustrated and written by Grace Lin and published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.; The Rough Patch, illustrated and written by Brian Lies and published by Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers; and Thank You, Omu! illustrated and written by Oge Mora and published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults:
A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919, written by Claire Hartfield, is the King Author Book winner. The book is published by Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Three King Author honor books were selected: Finding Langston, written by Lesa Cline-Ransome and published by Holiday House; The Parker Inheritance, written by Varian Johnson and published by Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.; and The Season of Styx Malone, written by Kekla Magoon and published by Wendy Lamb Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award:
The Stuff of Stars, illustrated by Ekua Holmes, is the King Illustrator Book winner. The book is written by Marion Dane Bauer and published by Candlewick Press.
Three King Illustrator honor books were selected: Hidden Figures, illustrated by Laura Freeman, written by Margot Lee Shetterly and published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers; Let the Children March, illustrated by Frank Morrison, written by Monica Clark-Robinson and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company; and Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, written by Alice Faye Duncan and published by Calkins Creek, an imprint of Highlights.
Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award:
Monday’s Not Coming, written by Tiffany D. Jackson, is the Steptoe author award winner. The book is published by Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award:
Thank You, Omu!, illustrated and written by Oge Mora and published by Little, Brown Young Readers.
Coretta Scott King—Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement:
Dr. Pauletta Brown Bracy is the winner of the Coretta Scott King—Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. The award pays tribute to the quality and magnitude of beloved children’s author Virginia Hamilton.
Bracy is professor of library science and director of the Office of University Accreditation at North Carolina Central University (NCCU). She has successfully merged scholarship and service with publications such as Libraries, Literacy, and African American Youth (coedited with Sandra Hughes Hassell and Casey H. Rawson) as well as her work with the Coretta Scott King Book Awards and with workshops and conferences dedicated to promoting African American books for children and teens. She recently served as co-organizer for the Celebrating Our Voices: Black Children’s Literature Symposium and Book Festival held at NCCU.
Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults:
The Poet X, written by Elizabeth Acevedo, is the 2019 Printz Award winner. The book is published by HarperTeen, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Three Printz honor books also were named: Damsel, written by Elana K. Arnold and published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers; A Heart in a Body in the World, written by Deb Caletti and published by Simon Pulse, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing; and I, Claudia, written by Mary McCoy and published by Carolrhoda Lab, an imprint of Carolrhoda Books, a division of Lerner Publishing Group.
Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience:
Rescue & Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship, written by Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes, illustrated by Scott Magoon and published by Candlewick Press, wins the award for young children (ages 0–10).
One honor book for young children was selected: The Remember Balloons, written by Jessie Oliveros, illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte and published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Children.
The Truth As Told by Mason Buttle, written by Leslie Connor and published by Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, is the winner for middle grades (ages 11–13).
One honor book for middle grades was selected:
The Collectors, written by Jacqueline West and published by Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Anger Is a Gift, written by Mark Oshiro and published by A Tor Teen Book, Tom Doherty Associates, is the winner for teens (ages 13–18).
One honor book for teens was selected: (Don’t) Call Me Crazy: 33 Voices Start the Conversation about Mental Health, edited by Kelly Jensen and published by Algonquin Young Readers, an imprint of Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, a division of Workman Publishing.
Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences:
The Black God’s Drums, by P. Djèlí Clark, published by Tor.com, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, a division of Macmillan.
The Book of Essie, by Meghan MacLean Weir, published by Knopf, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House.
Circe, by Madeline Miller, published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group.
Educated: A Memoir, by Tara Westover, published by Random House, a division of Penguin Random House.
The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After, by Clemantine Wamariya and Elizabeth Weil, published by Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House.
Green, by Sam Graham-Felsen, published by Random House, a division of Penguin Random House.
Home After Dark, by David Small, illustrated by the author, published by Liveright, an imprint of W. W. Norton & Company.
How Long ’Til Black Future Month? By N. K. Jemisin, Published by Orbit, an imprint of Hachette Book Group.
Lawn Boy, by Jonathan Evison, published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, a division of Workman Publishing.
Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik, published by Del Rey, a division of Penguin Random House.
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 through books that demonstrate integrity and respect for all children’s lives and experiences.
The 2019 winner is Walter Dean Myers, whose award-winning works include Somewhere in the Darkness, a 1993 Newbery Honor Book, and Monster, recipient of a 2000 Coretta Scott King Author honor book. In addition, Myers received the first Coretta Scott King—Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2010.
Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults:
The 2019 winner is M. T. Anderson. His books include: Feed, The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party, and The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves, all published by Candlewick Press.
2020 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award recognizing an author, critic, librarian, historian, or teacher of children’s literature, who then presents a lecture at a winning host site.
Neil Gaiman will deliver the 2020 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture. Born in England, Gaiman is a United States resident. His work has been honored with many awards internationally, including the Newbery Medal. He is credited with being one of the creators of modern comics, as well as an author whose work crosses genres and reaches audiences of all ages. Gaiman is a prolific creator of works of prose, poetry, film, journalism, comics, song lyrics, and drama and a vocal defender of the freedom to read.
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:
The Fox on the Swing is the 2019 Batchelder Award winner. Originally published in Lithuanian as Laimė Yra Lapė, the book was written by Evelina Daciūtė, illustrated by Aušra Kiudulaitė, translated by The Translation Bureau and published by Thames & Hudson, Inc.
Four honor books also were selected:
Run for Your Life, published by Yonder, an imprint of Restless Books, Inc., written by Silvana Gandolfi and translated from the Italian by Lynne Sharon Schwartz; My Beijing: Four Stories of Everyday Wonder, published by Graphic Universe, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., written and illustrated by Nie Jun, originally published in Mandarin and translated from the French by Edward Gauvin; Edison: The Mystery of the Missing Mouse Treasure, published by NorthSouth Books, Inc., written and illustrated by Torben Kuhlmann and translated from the German by David Henry Wilson; and Jerome by Heart, published by Enchanted Lion Books, written by Thomas Scotto, illustrated by Olivier Tallec and translated from the French by Claudia Zoe Bedrick and Karin Snelson.
Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States:
Sadie, produced by Macmillan Audio from Wednesday Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press, is the 2019 Odyssey Award winner. The book is written by Courtney Summers and narrated by Rebecca Soler, Fred Berman, Dan Bittner, Gabra Zackman, and more.
Four books Odyssey honor audiobooks also were selected:
Du Iz Tak produced by Weston Woods Studio, a division of Scholastic, written by Carson Ellis and narrated by Eli D’Amico, Sebastian D’Amico, Burton Fott, Galen Fott, Laura Fott, Sarah Hart, Bella Higginbotham, Evelyn Hipp, and Brian Hull; Esquivel! Space-Age Sound Artist, produced by Live Oak Media, written by Susan Wood and narrated by Brian Amador; The Parker Inheritance, produced by Scholastic Audiobooks, written by Varian Johnson and narrated by Cherise Booth; and The Poet X, produced by HarperAudio, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, and written and narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo.
Pura Belpré Awards honoring a Latinx writer and illustrator whose children’s books best portray, affirm, and celebrate the Latino cultural experience:
Dreamers, illustrated and written by Yuyi Morales, is the Belpré Illustrator Award winner. The book was published by Neal Porter Books, Holiday House Publishing, Inc.
Two Belpré Illustrator honor books were named:
Islandborn, illustrated by Leo Espinosa, written by Junot Díaz and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, Penguin Young Readers Group, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC; and When Angels Sing: The Story of Rock Legend Carlos Santana, illustrated by Jose Ramirez, written by Michael Mahin and published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division.
The Poet X, written by Elizabeth Acevedo, is the Pura Belpré Author Award winner. The book is published by HarperTeen, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
One Belpré Author honor book was named: They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid’s Poems, written by David Bowles and published by Cinco Puntos Press.
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children:
The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian’s Art Changed Science, written by Joyce Sidman, is the Sibert Award winner. The book is published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Five Sibert honor books were named:
Camp Panda: Helping Cubs Return to the Wild, written by Catherine Thimmesh and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Spooked!: How a Radio Broadcast and The War of the Worlds Sparked the 1938 Invasion of America, written by Gail Jarrow and published by Calkins Creek, an imprint of Highlights; The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees, written and illustrated by Don Brown and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, written by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Frané Lessac, and published by Charlesbridge; and When Angels Sing: The Story of Rock Legend Carlos Santana, written Michael Mahin, illustrated by Jose Ramirez, and published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division.
The inaugural Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media Award is being given in 2019 to a digital media producer that has created distinguished digital media for an early learning audience.
The 2019 in Early Learning Digital Media Award winner is Play and Learn Science, produced by PBS Kids.
The committee selected two honor recipients including Coral Reef, produced by Tinybop Inc., and Lexi’s World, produced by Pop Pop Pop LLC.
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:
Julián Is a Mermaid, written by Jessica Love and published by Candlewick Press, and Hurricane Child, written by Kheryn Callender and published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., are the 2019 recipients of the Stonewall Book Awards—Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award, respectively.
Two honor books were selected:
Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World, written by Ashley Herring Blake and published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.; and Picture Us in the Light, written by Kelly Loy Gilbert and published by Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Book Group.
Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book is:
Fox the Tiger, written and illustrated by Corey R. Tabor. The book is published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Four Geisel honor books were named: The Adventures of Otto: See Pip Flap, written and illustrated by David Milgrim and published by Simon Spotlight, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division; Fox + Chick: The Party and Other Stories, written and illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier and published by Chronicle Books LLC; King & Kayla and the Case of the Lost Tooth, written by Dori Hillestad Butler, illustrated by Nancy Meyers, and published by Peachtree Publishers; and Tiger vs. Nightmare, written and illustrated by Emily Tetri and published by First Second, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership.
William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens:
Darius the Great Is Not Okay, written by Adib Khorram, is the 2019 Morris Award winner. The book is published by Dial Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House.
Four other books were finalists for the award: Blood Water Paint, written by Joy McCullough and published by Dutton Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House; Check, Please!: #Hockey, written and illustrated by Ngozi Ukazu and published by First Second, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group; Children of Blood and Bone, written by Tomi Adeyemi and published by Henry Holt Books, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group; and What the Night Sings, written and illustrated by Vesper Stamper and published by Knopf Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House.
YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults:
The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees, written and illustrated by Don Brown, is the 2019 Excellence winner. The book is published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Four other books were finalists for the award: The Beloved World of Sonia Sotomayor, written by Sonia Sotomayor and published by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House; Boots on the Ground: America’s War in Vietnam, written by Elizabeth Partridge and published by Viking Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House; The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler, written and illustrated by John Hendrix and published by Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams; and Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction, written and illustrated by Jarrett J. Krosoczka and published by Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic.
Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature. The award promotes Asian/Pacific American culture and heritage and is awarded based on literary and artistic merit. The award offers three youth categories including Picture Book, Children’s Literature, and Young Adult Literature. The award is administered by the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA), an affiliate of ALA. This year’s winners include: Picture Book winner Drawn Together, written by Minh Lê, illustrated by Dan Santat, and published by Disney Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Book Group; Children’s Literature Category winner Front Desk, written by Kelly Yang and published by Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.; and Young Adult Literature winner Darius the Great is Not Okay, written by Adib Khorram and published by Dial Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
The Sydney Taylor Book Award is presented annually to outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience. Presented by the Association of Jewish Libraries since 1968, the award encourages the publication and widespread use of quality Judaic literature. This year’s winners include: Younger Readers winner All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah, by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky, published by Schwartz & Wade, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books; Older Readers category winner Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster, by Jonathan Auxier, published by Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams; and Teen Readers winner What the Night Sings, by Vesper Stamper, illustrated by the author, published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books.
The American Indian Youth Literature award announcements also will be added to the ALA Youth Media Awards Announcement beginning in 2020. The award is announced in even years and established to identify and honor the very best writing and illustrations by and about American Indians. The award is administered by the American Indian Library Association (AILA), an affiliate of the American Library Association. Additional information regarding the American Indian Youth Literature Award is available at ailanet.org.
Recognized worldwide for the high quality they represent, ALA awards guide parents, educators, librarians, and others in selecting the best materials for youth. Selected by judging committees of librarians and other children’s experts, the awards encourage original and creative work. For more information on the ALA youth media awards and notables, visit www.ala.org/yma.
Newbery, Caldecott Announced at Youth Media Awards
