The American Library Association on January 11 announced the top books, videos, and audiobooks for children and young adults—including the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Newbery, and Printz awards—at its Midwinter Meeting and Exhibits in Boston.
A list of all the 2016 youth media award winners follows:
John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature:
Last Stop on Market Street, written by Matt de la Peña, is the 2016 Newbery Medal winner. The book is illustrated by Christian Robinson and published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.
Three Newbery Honor Books also were named: The War that Saved My Life, written by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC; Roller Girl, written and illustrated by Victoria Jamieson and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC; and Echo, written by Pam Muñoz Ryan and published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.
Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children:
Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear, illustrated by Sophie Blackall, is the 2016 Caldecott Medal winner. The book was written by Lindsay Mattick and published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
Four Caldecott Honor Books also were named: Trombone Shorty, illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Troy Andrews and published by Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS; Waiting, illustrated and written by Kevin Henkes, published by Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers; Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement, illustrated by Ekua Holmes, written by Carole Boston Weatherford and published by Candlewick Press; and Last Stop on Market Street, illustrated by Christian Robinson, written by Matt de le Peña and published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.
Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award, recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults:
Gone Crazy in Alabama, written by Rita Williams-Garcia, is the King Author Book winner. The book is published by Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Three King Author Honor Books were selected: All American Boys, by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely and published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division; The Boy in the Black Suit, by Jason Reynolds and published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division; and X: A Novel, by Ilyasah Shabazz with Kekla Magoon and published by Candlewick Press.
Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award:
Trombone Shorty, illustrated by Bryan Collier, is the King Illustrator Book winner. The book was written by Troy Andrews and Bill Taylor and published by Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS.
Two King Illustrator Honor Books were selected: The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Harlem’s Greatest Bookstore, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and published by Carolrhoda Books, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.; and Last Stop on Market Street, illustrated by Christian Robinson, written by Matt de la Peña and published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin Group USA.
Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award:
Hoodoo, written by Ronald L. Smith, is the Steptoe author award winner. The book is published by Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award:
Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement, illustrated by Ekua Holmes, is the Steptoe illustrator award winner. The book is written by Carole Boston Weatherford and published by Candlewick Press.
Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement:
Jerry Pinkney 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.
Jerry Pinkney’s illustrations detail a world that resonates with readers long after the pages of a book have been turned. His five decades of work offer compelling artistic insights into the legacy of African American storytelling and experience. Beyond Pinkney’s technical brilliance, his support of differentiated learning through art and of young illustrators sets him apart as both artist and educator. His powerful illustrations have redefined the scope of the sophisticated picture book and its use with multiple levels of learners.
Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults:
Bone Gap, written by Laura Ruby, is the 2016 Printz Award winner. The book is published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Two Printz Honor Books also were named: Out of Darkness, by Ashley Hope Pérez and published by Carolrhoda Lab™, an imprint of Carolrhoda Books, a division of Lerner Publishing Group; and The Ghosts of Heaven, by Marcus Sedgwick and published by Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.
Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience:
Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, written by Laurie Ann Thompson, illustrated by Sean Qualls and published by Schwartz & Wade Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York, wins the award for children ages 0 to 10.
Fish in a Tree, written by Lynda Mullaly Hunt and published by Penguin Group, Nancy Paulsen Books; and The War that Saved My Life, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, are the winners of the middle-school (ages 11–13).
The teen (ages 13–18) award winner is The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B, written by Teresa Toten and published by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.
Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences:
All Involved, by Ryan Gattis, published by Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates, published by Spiegel & Grau, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
Bones & All, by Camille DeAngelis, published by St. Martin’s Press.
Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits, by David Wong, published by Thomas Dunne Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press.
Girl at War, by Sara Nović, published by Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC.
Half the World, by Joe Abercrombie, published by Del Rey, an imprint of Random House, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company.
Humans of New York: Stories, by Brandon Stanton, published by St. Martin’s Press.
Sacred Heart, by Liz Suburbia, published by Fantagraphics Books Inc.
Undocumented: A Dominican Boy’s Odyssey from a Homeless Shelter to the Ivy League, by Dan-el Padilla Peralta, published by Penguin Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
The Unraveling of Mercy Louis, by Keija Parssinen, published by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in children’s video:
Weston Woods Studios, Inc., producer of That Is NOT a Good Idea, is the Carnegie Medal winner. In an innovative adaptation of this read-aloud favorite, Goose accepts an invitation to accompany Fox on a simple stroll—or is it? Watch along with a comical chorus of goslings as they react to this cautionary tale.
Laura Ingalls Wilder 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 2016 winner is Jerry Pinkney, whose award-winning works include The Lion and the Mouse, recipient of the Caldecott Award in 2010. In addition, Pinkney has received five Caldecott Honor Awards, five Coretta Scott King Illustrator Awards, and four Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honors.
Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults:
David Levithan is the 2016 Edwards Award winner. His books include: The Realm of Possibility, Boy Meets Boy, Love is the Higher Law, How They Met, and Other Stories, Wide Awake, and Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, all published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
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.
Jacqueline Woodson will deliver the 2017 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture. Woodson is the 2014 National Book Award winner for her New York Times bestselling memoir, Brown Girl Dreaming. The author of more than two dozen books for young readers, she is a four-time Newbery Honor winner, a recipient of the NAACP Image Award, a two-time Coretta Scott King Award winner, and was recently named the Young People’s Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation.
Mildred L. Batchelder Award for an outstanding children’s book translated from a foreign language and subsequently published in the United States:
The Wonderful Fluffy Little Squishy is the 2016 Batchelder Award winner. Originally published in French in 2014 as Le merveilleux Dodu-Velu-Petit, the book was written and illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna, translated by Claudia Zoe Bedrick, and published by Enchanted Lion Books.
Three Batchelder Honor Books also were selected: Adam and Thomas, published by Seven Stories Press, written by Aharon Appelfeld, iIllustrated by Philippe Dumas, and translated from the Hebrew by Jeffrey M. Green; Grandma Lives in a Perfume Village, published by NorthSouth Books, an imprint of Nordsüd Verlag AG, written by Fang Suzhen, illustrated by Sonja Danowski, and translated from the Chinese by Huang Xiumin; and Written and Drawn by Henrietta, published by TOON Books, an imprint of RAW Junior, LLC and written, illustrated, and translated from the Spanish by Liniers.
Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States:
The War that Saved My Life, produced by Listening Library, an imprint of the Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group, is the 2016 Odyssey Award winner. The book is written by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley and narrated by Jayne Entwistle.
One Odyssey Honor Recording also was selected: Echo, produced by Scholastic Audio/Paul R. Gagne, written by Pam Muñoz Ryan and narrated by Mark Bramhall, David de Vries, MacLeod Andrews, and Rebecca Soler.
Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award honoring a Latino writer and illustrator whose children’s books best portray, affirm, and celebrate the Latino cultural experience:
The Drum Dream Girl, illustrated by Rafael López, is the Belpré Illustrator Award winner. The book was written by Margarita Engle and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Three Belpré Illustrator Honor Books for illustration were selected: My Tata’s Remedies = Los remedios de mi tata, illustrated by Antonio Castro L., written by Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford, and published by Cinco Puntos Press; Mango, Abuela, and Me, illustrated by Angela Dominguez, written by Meg Medina, and published by Candlewick Press: and Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras, illustrated and written by Duncan Tonatiuh, and published by Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS.
Pura Belpré (Author) Award:
Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir, written by Margarita Engle, is the Belpré Author Award winner. The book is published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division.
Two Belpré Author Honor Books were named: The Smoking Mirror, written by David Bowles and published by IFWG Publishing, Inc.; and Mango, Abuela, and Me, written by Meg Medina, illustrated by Angela Dominguez and published by Candlewick Press.
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children:
Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras, written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh, is the Sibert Award winner. The book is published by Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS.
Four Sibert Honor Books were named: Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans, written and illustrated by Don Brown and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club, by Phillip Hoose and published by Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers; Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March, written by Lynda Blackmon Lowery as told to Elspeth Leacock and Susan Buckley, illustrated by PJ Loughran, and published by Dial Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC; and Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement, written by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Ekua Holmes, and published by Candlewick Press.
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:
George, written by Alex Gino and published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.; and The Porcupine of Truth, written by Bill Konigsberg and published by Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., are the winners of the 2016 Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult Literature Awards respectively.
Two honor books were selected: Wonders of the Invisible World, written by Christopher Barzak and published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC; and Sex is a Funny Word: A Book about Bodies, Feelings, and YOU, written by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth, illustrated by Fiona Smyth, and published by Seven Stories Press.
Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book:
Don’t Throw It to Mo!, written by David A. Adler and illustrated by Sam Ricks, is the Seuss Award winner. The book is published by Penguin Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA), LLC.
Three Geisel Honor Books were named: A Pig, a Fox, and a Box, written and illustrated by Jonathan Fenske and published by Penguin Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC; Supertruck, written and illustrated by Stephen Savage and published by A Neal Porter Book published by Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership; and Waiting, written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes, and published by Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens:
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, written by Becky Albertalli, is the 2016 Morris Award winner. The book is published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publisher.
Four other books were finalists for the award: Because You’ll Never Meet Me, written by Leah Thomas and published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books; Conviction, written by Kelly Loy Gilbert and published by Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Book Group; The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly, written by Stephanie Oakes and published by Dial Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers; and The Weight of Feathers, written by Anna-Marie McLemore and published by Thomas Dunne Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press.
YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults:
Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War, written by Steve Sheinkin, is the 2016 Excellence winner. The book is published by Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of Macmillan’s Children’s Publishing Group.
Four other books were finalists for the award: Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir, written by Margarita Engle and published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing; First Flight Around the World: The Adventures of the American Fliers Who Won the Race, written by Tim Grove and published by Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS; Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad, written by M.T. Anderson and published by Candlewick Press; and This Strange Wilderness: The Life and Art of John James Audubon, written by Nancy Plain and published by University of Nebraska Press.
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, please visit www.ilovelibraries.org/yma .
