2026 Youth Media Awards!

John Newbery Medal

Winner:

All the blues in the sky by Renée Watson

Newbery Honor Books:

The nine moons of Han Yu and Luli by Karina Yan Glaser A Sea of Lemon Trees by María Dolores Águila The Teacher of Nomad Land by Daniel Nayeri The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman

Randolph Caldecott Medal

Winner:

Fireworks, illustrated by Cátia Chien, written by Matthew Burgess

Caldecott Honor Books:

Every Monday Mabel by Jashar Awan Our Lake by Angie Kang / Stalactite and Stalagmite : a big tale from a little cave by Drew Beckmeyer / Sundust by Zeke Peña

Coretta Scott King Book Awards

King Author Award Book:

Will’s Race for Home by Jewell Parker Rhodes

King Author Honor Books:

The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze by Derrick Barnes / The Library in the Woods by Calvin Alexander Ramsey, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie /Split the Sky by Marie Arnold

King Illustrator Award Book

The Library in the Woods by Calvin Alexander Ramsey, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

King Illustrator Honor Books:

André :André Leon Talley-a fabulously fashionable fairy tale, illustrated by Lamont O’Neal / City summer, country summer, illustrated by Alexis Franklin

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award

Under the Neon Lights by Arriel Vinson

Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement

Kadir Nelson 

Michael L. Printz Award

Winner:

Legendary frybread drive-in : intertribal stories, edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Printz Honor Books:

Cope Field by T.L. Simpson /The House That No One Sees by Adina King /Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley / Song of a Blackbird by Maria van Lieshout

Schneider Family Book Award

Schneider Younger Children’s Award:

Wanda Hears the Stars: A Blind Astronomer Listens to the Universe by Amy S. Hansen with Wanda Díaz Merced

Schneider Younger Children Honor Books:

Bat and the Business of Ferrets by Elana K. Arnold / I hear the snow, I feel the sea by Janice Milusich

Schneider Middle Grade Award:

Where only storms grow by Alyssa Colman

Schneider Middle Grade Honor Books:

Octopus moon by Bobbie Pyron  The Strongest Heart by Saadia Faruqi

Schneider Young Adult Award:

Whale eyes : a memoir about seeing and being seen by James Robinson

Schneider Young Adult Honor Books:

The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar by Sonora Reyes The Poetry of Car Mechanics by Heidi E.Y. Stemple

Children’s Literature Lecture Award

Kwame Alexander

Children’s Literature Legacy Award

Candace Fleming

Margaret A. Edwards Award

Candace Fleming

Mildred L. Batchelder Award

Winner:

Croco by Azul López

Batchelder Honor Books:

The Adventures of Cipollino  by Gianni Rodari, illustrated by Dasha Tolstikova  / From Memen to Mori by Shinsuke Yoshitake / Picking Tea with Baba by Xu Bin, illustrated by Yu Yin  / Pilgrim Codex by Vivian Mansour, illustrated by Emmanuel Valtierra

Odyssey Award

Odyssey Award for Children:

Clack, Clack! Smack! A Cherokee Stickball Story by Traci Sorell

Odyssey Award for Young Adults:

Trans History: From Ancient Times to the Present Day by Alex L. Combs

Odyssey Honor Audiobooks:

The Dead of Summer by Ryan La Sala / Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith  / Soundtrack by Jason Reynolds  / Whale Eyes: A Memoir About Seeing and Being Seen by James Robinson

Pura Belpré Awards

Youth Illustrator Award:

Popo the Xolo, illustrated by Abraham Matia

Honor Books:

A-Ztec: A Bilingual Alphabet Book, illustrated and written by Emmanuel Valtierra / The Invisible Parade, illustrated by John Picacio

Children’s Author Award:

The Pecan Sheller by Lupe Ruiz-Flores

Children’s Author Honor Books:

A Hero’s Guide to summer Vacation by Pablo Cartaya / The Island of Forgotten Gods by Victor Piñeiro / A Sea of Lemon Trees by María Dolores Águila

Young Adult Author Award:

On the Wings of la Noche by Vanessa L. Torres

Young Adult Author Honor Books:

Rosa by Any Other Name by Hailey Alcaraz Silenced Voices by Pablo Leon / The Story of My Anger by Jasminne Mendez

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal

Winner: 

Alberto Salas Plays Paka Paka con la Papa by Sara Andrea Fajardo

Sibert Honor Books:

At Last She Stood: How Joey Guerrero Spied, Survived, and Fought for Freedom by Erin Entrada Kelly  / Go Tell It: How James Baldwin Became a Writer by Quartez Harris, illustrated by Gordon C. James / The History of We by Nikkolas Smith / Silenced Voices by Pablo Leon/ A World Without Summer: A Volcano Erupts, A Creature Awakens, and the Sun Goes Out by Nicholas Day, illustrated by Yas Imamura 

Stonewall Book Award

Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s Literature Award:

Halfway to Somewhere by Jose Pimienta

Stonewall Honor Books for Children’s Literature:

Call Me Gray by Andrew Larsen and Bells Larsen / The Ink Witch by Steph Cherrywell /Ollie in Between by Jess Callans / Woods & Words :the story of poet Mary Oliver by by Sara Holly Ackerman ; illustrated by Naoko Stoop

Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Young Adult Literature Award:

One of the boys by Victoria Zeller

Stonewall Honor Books for Young Adult Literature:

Devils Like Us by L. T. Thompson  / He’s so possessed with me by Corey Liu / Hick: The Trailblazing Journalist Who Captured Eleanor Roosevelt’s Heart by Sarah Miller  / Sometimes the Girl by Jennifer Mason-Black 

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award

Winner:

Stop that mop! by Jonathan Fenske

Geisel Honor Books:

The Big Mess and Other Stories by Greg Pizzoli / The Tunneler Tunnels in the Tunnel by Michael Rex

William C. Morris Award

All the Noise at Once by DeAndra Davis

William C. Morris Award Finalists

First love language by Stefany ValentineLove, Misha by Askel Aden/ Red Flags and Butterflies by Sheryl Azzam/You and Me on Repeat by Mary Shyne

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults

Winner:

Death in the jungle : murder, betrayal, and the lost dream of Jonestown by Candace Fleming

Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Finalists

American spirits : the famous Fox sisters and the mysterious fad that haunted a nation by Barb Rosenstock/ White House Secrets: Medical Lies and Cover-Ups  by Gail Jarrow/ White Lies: How the South Lost the Civil War, then Rewrote the History by Ann Bausum/  A World Without Summer: A Volcano Erupts, A Creature Awakens, and the Sun Goes Out by Nicholas Day, illustrated by Yas Imamura 

American Indian Youth Literature Award

Best Picture Book:

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

Picture Book Honor Books:

Braided roots by Pasha Westbrook ; illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight / Fierce Aunties! by Laurel Goodluck, illustrated by Steph Littlebird / For a Girl Becoming by Joy Harjo ; illustrated by Adriana Garcia/ Raven’s Ribbons by Tasha Spillett, illustrated by Daniel Ramirez / We Weave by Daniel W. Vandever, illustrated by Deonoveigh Mitchell

Best Middle Grade Book:

Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan

Middle Grade Honor Books:

Jo Jo Makoons: The Super-Scary Sleepover by Dawn Quigley, illustrated by Tara Audibert / Lost at Windy River by Trina Rathgeber / Outfoxed by Elise McMullen-Ciotti  /Red Bird danced by Dawn Quigley The Ribbon Skirt by Cameron Mukwa

Best Young Adult Book:

Legendary frybread drive-in : intertribal stories, edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Young Adult Honor Books:

Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley  /  Super Indian, Volume Three by Arigon Starr / The Unfinished by Cheryl Isaacs Where Wolves Don’t Die by Anton Treuer

Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature

Pasifika Picture Book:

Kahoʻolawe :the true story of an island and her people by Kamalani Hurley; illustrated by Harinani Orme

Honor Titles for Pasifika Picture Book:

Filo’s Butterflies by Litea Fuata, illustrated by Myo Yim / White Sunday by Litea Fuata, illustrated by Myo Yim

Asian American Picture Book:

Many Things at Once by Veera Hiranandani ; illustrated by Nadia Alam

Honor Titles for Asian American Picture Book:

Every Peach Is a Story by David Mas Masumoto and Nikiko Masumoto, illustrated by Lauren Tamaki / A Vaisakhi to Remember by Simran Jeet Singh ; illustrated by Japneet Kaur

Asian/Pacific American Award for Children’s Literature:

Hungry Bones by Louise Hung

Honor Title for Children’s Literature:

The Queen Bees of Tybee County by Kyle Casey Chu /  Fresh Start by Gale Galligan

Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature:

The Red Car to Hollywood by Jennie Liu

Honor Title for Young Adult Literature:

Tall Water by SJ Sindu ; Dion MBD 

Sydney Taylor Book Award

Gold Medalist for Picture Book:

Shabbat Shalom: Let’s Rest and Reset by Suzy Ultman

Silver Medalists for Picture Book:

 The book of candles : eight poems for Hanukkah by Laurel Snyder ; illustrated by Leanne Hatch / The Keeper of Stories by Caroline Kusin Pritchard / My Body Can by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Alexandra Colombo

Gold Medalist for Middle Grade Book:

Neshama by Marcella Pixley

Silver Medalist for Middle Grade Book:

Beinoni by Mari Lowe

Gold Medalist for Young Adult Book:

D.J. Rosenblum becomes the G.O.A.T.* by Abby White

Silver Medalist for Young Adult Book:

The Rebel Girls of Rome by Jordyn Taylor

 Sydney Taylor Body-of-Work Award

Uri Shulevitz 

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Spooky Picture Books for Halloween

Ghost cat / Eve Bunting ; and illustrated by Kevin M. Barry

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After his death, Sailor Boy decided to stay at Port Carrick lighthouse with his friend, the lighthouse keeper, and when disaster strikes, he is there to help.

Put on hold

Bonaparte falls apart / Margery Cuyler ; illustrated by Will Terry

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Bonaparte the skeleton is literally falling to pieces and needs help from his friends to pull himself together before the first day of school.

Put on hold

John the skeleton / Triinu Laan ; illustrated by Marja-Liisa Plats

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Everyone deserves a quiet, restful retirement. But for John, a newly retired classroom skeleton, life is just beginning. When John is adopted by Grams and Gramps and leaves the classroom to live on their farm, every day is an exciting new adventure: John rides in the car for the first time, makes a snow angel, scares away crooks, and becomes a source of comfort for Grams, Gramps, and their grandkids. With delightful illustrations and a charming cast of characters, John the Skeleton is a quirky, touching, and unforgettable book. Triinu Laan thoughtfully weaves aging and death into the fabric of life, crafting a tender portrait of what it means to care for one another, grow old together, and appreciate the little things

Put on hold

A spoonful of frogs /  Casey Lyall ; illustrated by Vera Brosgol

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Young readers will have a hopping good time in this hilarious story about a witch who is having a hard time wrangling a bunch of frogs into her frog soup until she comes up with a surprising solution.

Put on hold

A wee boo / Jessica Boyd, Brooke Kerrigan

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A humorous picture book about a ghost who is too cute to be scary and who realizes that she might have a more important future as an imaginary friend.

Put on hold

Vampire vacation /Laura Lavoie ; art by Micah Player

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The last thing Fang wants is another vacation in Transylvania. He’s toured Dracula’s castle and the coffin museum enough for an eternal lifetime. Why can’t he spend the summer swimming and surfing like his other friends? When his parents refuse, Fang decides to convince them that fun at the beach is possible, even for a family of vampires.

Put on hold

I am not a vampire / Miles McKenna ; illustrated by Riley Samuels

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Arlo navigates his desire to be a vampire like his family and learns to become his true self.

Put on hold

Cat nights / by Jane Manning

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Felicity the witch begins turning herself into a cat as soon as she is old enough, and even though the rules say that she can only turn back into a witch eight times, she does it again on the ninth night.

Put on hold

Zoom Broom / Margie Palatini ; illustrated by Howard Fine

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When her broom breaks down, Gritch the Witch visits a foxy salesman in search of a new Zoom Broom but ends up with something unexpected.

Put on hold

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