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Celebrating the Year’s Best Literature for Children and Young Adults

ALA Youth Media Awards

This morning, the American Library Association (ALA) announced the top books, digital media, video, and audio books for children and young adults—including the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Newbery, and Printz awards—at the Youth Media Awards, which took place virtually during LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience. Selected by librarians and other literature and media experts, the awards encourage original and creative work in the field of children’s and young adult literature and media.

The 2022 winners are:

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature

The Last Cuentista (Levine Querido), written by Donna Barba Higuera

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

Watercress, (Neal Porter Books, Holiday House), illustrated by Jason Chin and written by Andrea Wang

Coretta Scott King Book Awards recognizing an African American literature for children and young adults

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre (Carolrhoda Books, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.), written by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Floyd Cooper

Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre (Carolrhoda Books, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.), illustrated by Floyd Cooper and written by Carole Boston Weatherford

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award

Me (Moth) (Feiwell and Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Publishing Group), written by Amber McBride

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award

The Me I Choose to Be (Little, Brown, and Company), illustrated by Regis and Kahran Bethencourt and written by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley

Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement

The winner is Nikki Grimes, author of Bronx Masquerade, Jazmin's NotebookTalkin' About BessieDark SonsThe Road to Paris, Words with Wings, and Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope

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

Firekeeper’s Daughter (Henry Holt and Company, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group), written by Angeline Boulley

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

Schneider Family Book Award for Young Children

My City Speaks (Kids Can Press Ltd.), written by Darren Lebeuf and illustrated by Ashley Barron

Schneider Family Book Award for Middle Grade

A Bird Will Soar (Dutton Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House), written by Alison Green Myers

Schneider Family Book Award for Teens

Words in My Hands (Annick Press, Ltd.), written and illustrated by Asphyxia

Alex Awards for adult books that appeal to teen audiences

Light from Uncommon Stars (Tor Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, a division of Macmillan Publishing Group), by Ryka Aoki

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot (Harper Perennial, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers), by Marianne Cronin

The Witch’s Heart (ACE, published by Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House), by Genevieve Gornichec

The Library of the Dead (Tor Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, a division of Macmillan Publishing Group), by T.L Huchu

How Lucky (Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers), by Will Leitch

Winter’s Orbit (Tor Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, a division of Macmillan Publishing Group), by Everina Maxwell

The Rose Code (William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers) by Kate Quinn

Crossing the Line: A Fearless Team of Brothers and the Sport That Changed Their Lives Forever (St. Martin’s Press, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing, a division of Macmillan Publishing Group), by Kareem Rosser

Lore Olympus, Vol. 1 (Del Rey, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House), by Rachel Smythe

Malice (Del Rey, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House), by Heather Walter

Children’s Literature Legacy Award

The winner is Grace Lin, author/illustrator of more than 40 books for children, including Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same, and A Big Mooncake for Little Star

The Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media Award

Alma’s Way (Fred Rogers Productions)

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

The winner is A.S. King whose books include SW/TCH, Still Life with Tornado, Ask the Passengers, Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future and Please Ignore Vera Dietz

Mildred L. Batchelder Award for an outstanding children’s book in translation:

Temple Alley Summer (Yonder: Restless Books for Young Readers), originally published in Japanese as Kimyōji Yokochō no Natsu, written by Sachiko Kashiwaba, illustrated by Miho Satake, and translated by Avery Fischer Udagawa

Odyssey Award for best audiobook

Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children

Boogie Boogie, Y'all, produced by HarperAudio/Katherine Tegen Books and written and narrated by C. G. Esperanza

Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for young adults

When You Look Like Us, produced by HarperAudio/Quill Tree Books, written by Pamela N. Harris and narrated by Preston Butler III

Pura Belpré Awards for Latinx literature

Pura Belpré Youth Illustration Award

¡Vamos! Let's Cross the Bridge (Versify, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers), illustrated and written by Raúl Gonzalez

Pura Belpré Children’s Author Award

The Last Cuentista (Levine Querido), written by Donna Barba Higuera

Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Award

How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division), written by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award

The People’s Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought for Justice with Art (Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS), written by Cynthia Levinson and illustrated by Evan Turk

Stonewall Book Award–Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award for LGBTQ books

Stonewall Book Awards–Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s Literature Award

Too Bright to See (Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Random House), written by Kyle Lukoff

Stonewall Book Awards–Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Young Adult Literature Award

Last Night at the Telegraph Club (Dutton Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House), written by Malinda Lo

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for beginning reader books

Fox at Night (Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers), written and illustrated by Corey R. Tabor

William C. Morris Award for a debut book for teens

Firekeeper’s Daughter (Henry Holt and Company, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group), written by Angeline Boulley

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults

Ambushed!: The Assassination Plot Against President Garfield (Calkins Creek, an imprint of Astra Books for Young Readers), written by Gail Jarrow

American Indian Youth Literature Awards

American Indian Youth Literature Awards–Picture Book

Herizon (South of Sunrise Creative), written by Daniel W. Vandever [Diné] and illustrated by Corey Begay [Diné]

American Indian Youth Literature Awards–Middle Grade Book

Healer of the Water Monster (Heartdrum, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers), written by Brian Young [Diné] with cover art by Shonto Begay [Diné]

American Indian Youth Literature Awards–Young Adult Book

Apple (Skin to the Core) (Levine Querido), written by Eric Gansworth [Onondaga] with cover art by Filip Peraić

Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature

Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature–Picture Books

Watercress (Neal Porter Books), written by Andrea Wang and illustrated by Jason Chin

Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature–Children’s Literature

Amina’s Song (Salaam Reads/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing), written by Hena Khan

Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature–Youth Literature

Last Night at the Telegraph Club (Dutton Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House), written by Malinda Lo

The Sydney Taylor Book Award for literature about the Jewish experience

Sydney Taylor Book Award–Picture Books

The Passover Guest (Neal Porter Books, Holiday House), by Susan Kusel and illustrated by Sean Rubin

Sydney Taylor Book Award–Middle Grade

How to Find What You’re Not Looking For (Kokila, an imprint of Penguin Random House), by Veera Hiranandani

Sydney Taylor Book Award–Young Adult

The City Beautiful (Inkyard Press), by Aden Polydoros

The Sydney Taylor Body-of-Work Award recognizes an author or entity who has made a substantial contribution over time to the genre of Jewish children’s literature.

This year's winner is Jane Yolen, author of more than 400 books for children and adults

Read more about the 2022 winners and honor books at American LibrariesFind these books and more at your local library!

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