Each year the American Library Association (ALA) honors the books and authors that represent the highest quality in outstanding literature for children and teens via the ALA Youth Media Awards (YMA).
The 2022 Youth Media Awards were announced on January 24. These awards honor excellent works in a variety of formats and for a variety of audiences, and are selected by committees composed of librarians and other experts so that readers and parents alike can be confident in the quality of the recommendations.
Below, we've compiled a list of this year's prestigious winners and honorees for your browsing pleasure*.
* Please note that some titles are not yet available at your local libraries, but you may suggest a purchase online.
- John Newbery Medal
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The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.
2022 Newbery Medal Winner:
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The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
There lived a girl named Petra Peña, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita. But Petra's world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children – among them Petra and her family – have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race.
Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet – and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard – or purged them altogether.Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again?
2022 Newbery Medal Honors:
Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca
A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger
Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff
Watercress written by Andrea Wang & illustrated by Jason Chin
- Randolph Caldecott Medal
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The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
2022 Caldecott Medal Winner:
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Watercress illustrated by Jason Chin & written by Andrea Wang
Driving through Ohio in an old Pontiac, a young girl's parents stop suddenly when they spot watercress growing wild in a ditch by the side of the road. Grabbing an old paper bag and some rusty scissors, the whole family wades into the muck to collect as much of the muddy, snail covered watercress as they can.
At first, she's embarrassed. Why can't her family get food from the grocery store? But when her mother shares a story of her family's time in China, the girl learns to appreciate the fresh food they foraged. Together, they make a new memory of watercress.2022 Caldecott Medal Honors:
- Theodor Seuss Geisel Award
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The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award is given annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished American book for beginning readers published in English in the United States during the preceding year. The winner is recognized for their literary and artistic achievements that demonstrate creativity and imagination to engage children in reading. The award is named for the world-renowned children’s author, Theodor Geisel a.k.a. Dr. Seuss.
2022 Geisel Award Winner:
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Fox at Night by Corey R. Tabor
Fox is up late in the night. There are shadows and noises everywhere.
Fox is sure the night is full of monsters! Then he meets the real creatures of the night and realizes they are not so scary after all.
2022 Geisel Award Honors:
- Children’s Literature Legacy Award
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The 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 children's literature through books that demonstrate integrity and respect for all children's lives and experiences.
2022 Children's Literature Legacy Award Winner:
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The 2022 Children's Literature Legacy Award winner is Grace Lin.
Since the publication of her first book, “The Ugly Vegetables,” in 1999, Lin has written and/or illustrated more than 40 books for children, including collaborations with other authors.
Her many awards include a 2010 Newbery Honor for “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon,” a 2011 Geisel Honor for “Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same,” and a 2019 Caldecott Honor for “A Big Mooncake for Little Star."
- Michael L. Printz Award
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The Michael L. Printz Award annually honors the best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit, each year. In addition, the Printz Committee names up to four honor books, which also represent the best writing in young adult literature. The award's namesake was a school librarian in Topeka, Kansas, and a marketing consultant for Econo-Clad, as well an active member of YALSA. He had a passion for books and reading.
2022 Printz Award Winner:
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Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
As a biracial, unenrolled tribal member and the product of a scandal, eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. Daunis dreams of studying medicine, but when her family is struck by tragedy, she puts her future on hold to care for her fragile mother.
The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi’s hockey team. Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, certain details don’t add up and she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into the heart of a criminal investigation.2022 Printz Award Honors:
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon
- The Margaret A. Edwards Award & The Alex Awards
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The Margaret A. Edwards Award, established in 1988, honors an author, as well as a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature. The annual award is administered by YALSA and sponsored by School Library Journal magazine. It recognizes an author's work in helping adolescents become aware of themselves and addressing questions about their role and importance in relationships, society, and in the world.
2022 Margaret A. Edwards Award Winner:
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The 2022 Margaret A. Edwards Award Winner is A.S. King.
King is the author of highly-acclaimed novels including 2021's SW/TCH, 2020 Michael L. Printz Award winner and LA Times Book Prize finalist DIG, 2016's Still Life with Tornado, 2015’s surrealist I Crawl Through It, Glory O'Brien's History of the Future, Reality Boy, the 2012 Los Angeles Times Book Prize winner Ask the Passengers, Everybody Sees the Ants, 2011 Michael L. Printz Honor Book Please Ignore Vera Dietz among others. She also writes Middle Grade fiction as Amy Sarig King.
Check out our collection of titles by A.S. King.
The Alex Awards are given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18. The Alex Awards were first given annually beginning in 1998 and became an official ALA award in 2002.The award is sponsored by the Margaret A. Edwards Trust. Edwards pioneered young adult library services and worked for many years at the Enoch Pratt Library in Baltimore. The Alex Awards are named after Edwards, who was called “Alex” by her friends.
2022 Alex Award Winners:
Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin
The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec
The Library of the Dead by T.L Huchu
Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell
- William C. Morris Award
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The William C. Morris YA Debut Award, first given in 2009, honors a book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature. The award's namesake is William C. Morris, an influential innovator in the publishing world and an advocate for marketing books for children and young adults.
2022 William C. Morris Award Winner:
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Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
As a biracial, unenrolled tribal member and the product of a scandal, eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. Daunis dreams of studying medicine, but when her family is struck by tragedy, she puts her future on hold to care for her fragile mother.
The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi’s hockey team. Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, certain details don’t add up and she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into the heart of a criminal investigation.2022 William C. Morris Award Finalists:
Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké- Íyímídé
- Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal
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The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal is awarded annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished informational book published in the United States in English during the preceding year. The award is named in honor of Robert F. Sibert, the long-time President of Bound to Stay Bound Books, Inc. of Jacksonville, Illinois. ALSC administers the award.
2022 Sibert Medal Winner:
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""The first thing I can remember," Ben said, "I drew." As an observant young child growing up in Lithuania, Ben Shahn yearns to draw everything he sees-and, after seeing his father banished by the Czar for demanding workers' rights, he develops a keen sense of justice, too.
So when Ben and the rest of his family make their way to America, Ben brings with him both his sharp artistic eye and his desire to fight for what's right.
As he grows, he speaks for justice through his art-from challenging classmates who bully him for being Jewish, to resisting his teachers' calls to paint beautiful landscapes in favor of painting stories true to life, to using his work to urge the US government to pass Depression-era laws that help people find food and security.
2022 Sibert Medal Honors:
Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown by Steve Sheinkin
- YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults
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YALSA's Award for Excellence in Nonfiction honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during a Nov. 1 – Oct. 31 publishing year.
2022 Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Winner:
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Ambushed!: The Assassination Plot Against President Garfield by Gail Jarrow
James Abram Garfield, the 20th President of the United States, was assassinated when he was shot by Charles Guiteau in July 1881, less than four months after he was elected president. But Garfield didn't actually die until 80 days later.
In this page-turner, award-winning author Gail Jarrow delves into the fascinating story of the relationship between Garfield and Guiteau, and relates the gruesome details of Garfield's slow and agonizing death. She reveals medical mistakes made in the aftermath of Garfield's assassination, including the faulty diagnoses and outdated treatments that led to the president's demise.
2022 Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Finalists:
Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre by Brandy Colbert
- Coretta Scott King & John Steptoe Book Awards
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The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values. The award commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and honors his wife, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace and world brotherhood.
2022 Coretta Scott King Book Award Winner (Author & Illustrator):
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A look at the Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the worst incidents of racial violence in US history. The book traces the history of African Americans in Tulsa's Greenwood district and chronicles the devastation that occurred in 1921 when a white mob attacked the Black community.
News of what happened was largely suppressed, and no official investigation occurred for seventy-five years.2022 Coretta Scott King Book Award Honors (Author):
Home Is Not a Country by Safia Elhillo
Revolution in Our Time by Kekla Magoon
The People Remember written by Ibi Zoboi and illustrated by Loveis Wise
2022 Coretta Scott King Book Award Honors (Illustrator):
Nina: A Story of Nina Simone illustrated by Christian Robinson and written by Traci N. Todd
Soul Food Sunday illustrated by C.G. Esperanza and written by Winsome Bingham
2022 Coretta Scott King - Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement (Author/Illustrator):
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Nikki Grimes is the recipient of the 2022 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.
Nikki Grimes has been widely recognized for her distinguished contribution to children’s and young adult literature, winning major awards including: 2020 ALAN Award, 2017 Children’s Legacy Award, The Virginia Hamilton Award at Kent State, a Coretta Scott King author award and five Coretta Scott King author honors. After more than 77 books, she has sealed her legacy by weaving poetry and novels in verse into an impressive body of work. Grimes currently resides in Corona, California, where she continues her powerful writing.
Check out our collection of titles by Nikki Grimes.
The John Steptoe New Talent Award is established to affirm new talent and to offer visibility to excellence in writing and/or illustration which otherwise might be formally unacknowledged within a given year within the structure of the two awards given annually by the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Committee. The criteria for eligibility is the same as those for the writing and illustration awards, with the exception that the winner(s)' published works cannot exceed three in number. An author or illustrator who has already received or has just been selected to win one of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards in the current year is not eligible for the John Steptoe Award for New Talent. An author may receive this award one time.
2022 John Steptoe Award for New Talent (Author):
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Moth has lost her family in an accident. Though she lives with her aunt, she feels alone and uprooted.
Until she meets Sani, a boy who is also searching for his roots. If he knows more about where he comes from, maybe he’ll be able to understand his ongoing depression. And if Moth can help him feel grounded, then perhaps she too will discover the history she carries in her bones.
Moth and Sani take a road trip that has them chasing ghosts and searching for ancestors. The way each moves forward is surprising, powerful, and unforgettable.2022 John Steptoe Award for New Talent (Illustrator):
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What will you choose to be?
A free spirit?
A weaver of words?
A star dancing across the night sky?
A limitless galaxy?
The possibilities are endless in this uplifting ode to the power of potential. With lyrical text by bestselling author Natasha Anastasia Tarpley and images by Regis and Kahran Bethencourt, each page of The Me I Choose To Be is an immersive call for self-love and highlights the inherent beauty of all Black and brown children.
- Pura Belpré Awards
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This award is named after Pura Belpré, the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, is presented annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth. It is co-sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), divisions of the American Library Association (ALA), and REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking, an ALA affiliate.
2022 Pura Belpré Youth Illustration Award Winner:
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¡Vamos! Let's Cross the Bridge by Raúl Gonzalez
People are always crossing the bridge for work, to visit family, or for play. Some going this way; others going that way. Back and forth they go. With friends on foot and in bicycles, in cars and trucks, the bridge is an incredibly busy place with many different types of vehicles.
Little Lobo and his dog Bernabé have a new truck and they are using it to carry party supplies over the bridge with their pals El Toro and La Oink Oink. The line is long and everyone on the bridge is stuck. How will they pass the time?2022 Pura Belpré Youth Illustration Award Honors:
Boogie Boogie, Y’all by C. G. Esperanza
De Aquí Como El Coquí by Nomar Perez (Translated by Farah Perez)
May Your Life Be Deliciosa illustrated by Loris Lora and written by Michael Genhart
2022 Pura Belpré Children’s Author Award Winner:
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The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
There lived a girl named Petra Peña, who wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita. But Petra's world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children – among them Petra and her family – have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race.
Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet – and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard – or purged them altogether.Petra alone now carries the stories of our past, and with them, any hope for our future. Can she make them live again?
2022 Pura Belpré Children’s Author Award Honors:
Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna by Alda P. Dobbs
De Aquí Como El Coquí by Nomar Perez (Translated by Farah Perez)
2022 Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Award Winner:
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How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
When her twin sister reaches social media stardom, Moon Fuentez accepts her fate as the ugly, unwanted sister hidden in the background, destined to be nothing more than her sister’s camerawoman. But this summer, Moon also takes a job as the “merch girl” on a tour bus full of beautiful influencers and her fate begins to shift in the best way possible.
Most notable is her bunkmate and new nemesis, Santiago Phillips, who is grumpy, combative, and also the hottest guy Moon has ever seen.2022 Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Award Honors:
Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun written by Jonny Garza Villa
- American Indian Youth Literature Awards
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The first AILA American Indian Youth Literature Awards were presented during the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color in 2006. Awarded biennially, the AIYLA identifies and honors the very best writing and illustrations by Native Americans and Indigenous peoples of North America. Books selected to receive the award present Indigenous North American peoples in the fullness of their humanity.
2022 American Indian Youth Literature Award Winner - Picture Book:
Herizon written by Daniel W. Vandever [Diné] and illustrated by Corey Begay [Diné]
2022 American Indian Youth Literature Award Honors - Picture Book:
Diné Bich’eekę Yishłeeh/Becoming Miss Navajo written by Jolyana Begay-Kroupa [Diné] and designed by Corey Begay [Diné]
Learning My Rights with Mousewoman by Morgan Asoyuf [Ts’msyen]
2022 American Indian Youth Literature Award Winner - Middle Grade:
Image![Healer of the Water Monster by Brian Young [Diné] with cover art by Shonto Begay [Diné]](/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_embedded/public/2022-01/Image%20%28Ver%29_BlogTemplate_Fall2021%20%285%29_0.png?itok=_dvLQJPi)
Healer of the Water Monster by Brian Young [Diné] with cover art by Shonto Begay [Diné]
When Nathan goes to visit his grandma, Nali, at her mobile summer home on the Navajo reservation, he knows he’s in for a pretty uneventful summer. Still, he loves spending time with Nali, and with his uncle Jet—though it’s clear when Jet arrives that he brings his problems with him.
One night, while lost in the nearby desert, Nathan finds something extraordinary. A Holy Being from the Navajo Creation Story—a Water Monster—in need of help. Now Nathan must summon all his courage to save his new friend. With the help of other Navajo Holy Beings, Nathan is determined to save the Water Monster, and to help Uncle Jet heal from his own pain.2022 American Indian Youth Literature Award Honors - Middle Grade:
Ella Cara Deloria: Dakota Language Protector by Diane Wilson [Dakota] and illustrated by Tashia Hart [Red Lake Anishinaabe]
Peggy Flanagan: Ogimaa Kwe, Lieutenant Governor by Jessica Engelking [White Earth Band of Ojibwe] and illustrated by Tashia Hart [Red Lake Anishinaabe]
2022 American Indian Youth Literature Award Winner - Young Adult:
Image![Apple (Skin to the Core) written by Eric Gansworth [Onondaga] with cover art by Filip Peraić](/sites/default/files/styles/full_width_embedded/public/2022-01/Image%20%28Ver%29_BlogTemplate_Fall2021%20%286%29_0.png?itok=QVw1r5qn)
Apple (Skin to the Core) written by Eric Gansworth [Onondaga] with cover art by Filip Peraić
The term "Apple" is a slur in Native communities across the country. It's for someone supposedly "red on the outside, white on the inside." Eric Gansworth is telling his story in Apple (Skin to the Core).
The story of his family, of Onondaga among Tuscaroras, of Native folks everywhere. From the horrible legacy of the government boarding schools, to a boy watching his siblings leave and return and leave again, to a young man fighting to be an artist who balances multiple worlds. Eric shatters that slur and reclaims it in verse and prose and imagery that truly lives up to the word heartbreaking.
2022 American Indian Youth Literature Award Honors - Young Adult:
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger [Lipan Apache Tribe] with cover art and illustrations by Rovina Cai
- Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature
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The Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature 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 Youth Literature. The award is administered by the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA), an affiliate of the American Library Association.
2020 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Winner - Picture Book:
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Watercress written by Andrea Wang, illustrated by Jason Chin
Driving through Ohio in an old Pontiac, a young girl's parents stop suddenly when they spot watercress growing wild in a ditch by the side of the road. Grabbing an old paper bag and some rusty scissors, the whole family wades into the muck to collect as much of the muddy, snail covered watercress as they can.
At first, she's embarrassed. Why can't her family get food from the grocery store? But when her mother shares a story of her family's time in China, the girl learns to appreciate the fresh food they foraged. Together, they make a new memory of watercress.2020 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Honor - Picture Book:
A Boy Named Isamu: A Story of Isamu Noguchi by James Yang
2020 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Winner - Children's Literature:
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It’s the last few days of her vacation in Pakistan, and Amina has loved every minute of it. The food, the shops, the time she’s spent with her family—all of it holds a special place in Amina’s heart. Now that the school year is starting again, she’s sad to leave, but also excited to share the wonders of Pakistan with her friends back in Greendale.
After she’s home, though, her friends don’t seem overly interested in her trip. And when she decides to do a presentation on Pakistani hero Malala Yousafzai, her classmates focus on the worst parts of the story. How can Amina share the beauty of Pakistan when no one wants to listen?2020 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Honor - Children's Literature:
2020 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Winner - Youth Literature:
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Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club.
America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father—despite his hard-won citizenship—Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.2020 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature Honor - Youth Literature:
- The Sydney Taylor Book Award
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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.
2022 Sydney Taylor Gold Medalist - Picture Book:
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The Passover Guest by Susan Kusel and illustrated by Sean Rubin
It's the Spring of 1933 in Washington D.C., and the Great Depression is hitting young Muriel's family hard. Her father has lost his job, and her family barely has enough food most days, let alone for a Passover Seder. They don't even have any wine to leave out for the prophet Elijah's ceremonial cup.
With no feast to rush home to, Muriel wanders by the Lincoln Memorial, where she encounters a mysterious magician in whose hands juggled eggs become lit candles. After she makes a kind gesture, he encourages her to run home for her Seder, and when she does, she encounters a holiday miracle, a bountiful feast of brisket, soup, and matzah.
But who was this mysterious benefactor? When Muriel sees Elijah's ceremonial cup is empty, she has a good idea.2022 Sydney Taylor Silver Medalists - Picture Book:
Nicky & Vera: A Quiet Hero of the Holocaust and the Children He Rescued by Peter Sis
Dear Mr. Dickens by Nancy Churnin and illustrated by Bethany Stancliffe
The Christmas Mitzvah by Jeff Gottesfeld and illustrated by Michelle Laurentia Agatha
2022 Sydney Taylor Gold Medalist - Middle Grade:
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How to Find What You’re Not Looking For by Veera Hiranandani
Twelve-year-old Ariel Goldberg's life feels like the moment after the final guest leaves the party. Her family's Jewish bakery runs into financial trouble, and her older sister has eloped with a young man from India following the Supreme Court decision that strikes down laws banning interracial marriage. As change becomes Ariel's only constant, she's left to hone something that will be with her always--her own voice.
2022 Sydney Taylor Silver Medalists - Middle Grade:
The Genius Under the Table: Growing up Behind the Iron Curtain by Eugene Yelchin
2022 Sydney Taylor Gold Medalist - Young Adult:
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The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros
Chicago, 1893. For Alter Rosen, this is the land of opportunity, and he dreams of the day he’ll have enough money to bring his mother and sisters to America, freeing them from the oppression they face in his native Romania.
But when Alter’s best friend, Yakov, becomes the latest victim in a long line of murdered Jewish boys, his dream begins to slip away. While the rest of the city is busy celebrating the World’s Fair, Alter is now living a nightmare: possessed by Yakov’s dybbuk, he is plunged into a world of corruption and deceit, and thrown back into the arms of a dangerous boy from his past. A boy who means more to Alter than anyone knows.2022 Sydney Taylor Silver Medalists - Young Adult:
The Last Words We Said by Leah Scheier
Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero by E. Lockhart and illustrated by Manuel Preitano
The Summer of Lost Letters by Hannah Reynolds
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.
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This year's winner is Jane Yolen.
Born and raised in New York City, Jane Yolen now lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts. She attended Smith College and received her master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts. The distinguished author of more than 170 books, Jane Yolen is a person of many talents. When she is not writing, Yolen composes songs, is a professional storyteller on the stage, and is the busy wife of a university professor, the mother of three grown children, and a grandmother.
Check out our collection of titles by Jane Yolen.
- The Schneider Family Book Awards
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The Schneider Family Book Awards honor an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.
2022 Schneider Family Award Winner (Young Readers; Ages 0-8)
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My City Speaks written by Darren Lebeuf and illustrated by Ashley Barron
A young girl and her father spend a day in the city, her city, traveling to the places they go together: the playground, the community garden, the market, an outdoor concert. As they do, the girl describes what she senses in precise, poetic detail. Her city, she says, “rushes and stops, and waits and goes.” It “pitters and patters, and drips and drains.” It “echoes” and “trills,” and is both “smelly” and “sweet.” Her city also speaks, as it “dings and dongs, and rattles and roars.” And sometimes, maybe even some of the best times, it just listens.
2022 Schneider Family Award Honors (Young Readers; Ages 0-8)
A Walk in the Words by Hudson Talbott
A Sky-Blue Bench written by Bahram Rahman and illustrated by Peggy Collins
2022 Schneider Family Award Winner (Middle Grades; Ages 9-13)
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A Bird Will Soar by Alison Green Myers
Axel loves everything about birds, especially eagles. No one worries that an eagle will fly too far and not come home--a fact Axel wishes his mother understood. Deep down, Axel knows that his mother is like an osprey--the best of all bird mothers--but it's hard to remember that when she worries and keeps secrets about important things. His dad is more like a wild turkey, coming and going as he pleases. His dad's latest disappearance is the biggest mystery of all.
Despite all this, Axel loves his life--especially the time he spends with his friends observing the eagles' nest in the woods near his home. But when a tornado damages not only Axel's home but the eagles' nest, Axel's life is thrown into chaos. Suddenly his dad is back to help repair the damage, and Axel has to manage his dad's presence and his beloved birds' absence. Plus, his mom seems to be keeping even more secrets.
2022 Schneider Family Award Honors (Middle Grades; Ages 9-13)
Stuntboy, in the Meantime written by Jason Reynolds and illustrated by Raúl the Third
A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll
2022 Schneider Family Award Winner (Teens; Ages 14-18)
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Set in an ominously prescient near future, this is the story of Piper. Sixteen, smart, artistic, and rebellious; she's struggling to conform to what her mom wants--for her to be 'normal, ' to pass as hearing, and get a good job. But in a time of food scarcity, environmental collapse, and political corruption, Piper has other things on her mind--like survival.
Deaf since the age of three, Piper has always been told that she needs to compensate in a world that puts those who can hear above everyone else. But when she meets Marley, a whole new world opens up--one where Deafness is something to celebrate rather than hide, and where resilience and hope are created by taking action, building a community, and believing in something better.2022 Schneider Family Award Honors (Teens; Ages 14-18)
A Face for Picasso: Coming of Age with Crouzon Syndrome by Ariel Henley
- Stonewall Book Awards
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The first and most enduring award for LGBTQIA+ books is the Stonewall Book Awards, sponsored by the American Library Association's Rainbow Round Table. Since Isabel Miller's Patience and Sarah received the first award in 1971, many other books have been honored for exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience.
2022 Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s Literature Award Winner:
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Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff
It's the summer before middle school and eleven-year-old Bug's best friend Moira has decided the two of them need to use the next few months to prepare. For Moira, this means figuring out the right clothes to wear, learning how to put on makeup, and deciding which boys are cuter in their yearbook photos than in real life. But none of this is all that appealing to Bug, who doesn't particularly want to spend more time trying to understand how to be a girl. Besides, there's something more important to worry about: A ghost is haunting Bug's eerie old house in rural Vermont...and maybe haunting Bug in particular. As Bug begins to untangle the mystery of who this ghost is and what they're trying to say, an altogether different truth comes to light--Bug is transgender.
2022 Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Young Adult Literature Award Winner:
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Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club.
America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father—despite his hard-won citizenship—Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day.2022 Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children's & Young Adult Literature Award Honors:
- Mildred L. Batchelder Award
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The Batchelder Award is awarded to a United States publisher for a children’s book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originating in a country other than the United States and in a language other than English and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States during the preceding year.
2022 Batchelder Award Winner:
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Originally published in Japanese as Kimyōji Yokochō no Natsu
Kazu knows something odd is going on when he sees a young girl in a white dress sneak out of his house in the middle of the night--was he dreaming? Did he see a ghost? Things get even stranger when he shows up to school the next day to see the very same figure sitting in his classroom. No one else thinks it's weird, and, even though Kazu doesn't remember ever seeing her before, they all seem convinced that the ghost-girl Akari has been their friend for years!
When Kazu's summer project to learn about Kimyo Temple draws the meddling attention of his mysterious neighbor Ms. Minakami and his secretive new classmate Akari, Kazu soon learns that not everything is as it seems in his hometown.2022 Batchelder Award Honors:
The Most Beautiful Story written by Brynjulf Jung Tjønn and illustrated by Øyvind Torseter (Translated by Kari Dickson)
Sato the Rabbit by Yuki Ainoya (Translated by Michael Blaskowsky)
Notes:
- Award descriptions adapted from ALA website.
- Title descriptions adapted from publishers or goodreads.com.
- Author biographies adapted from ALA or author websites.