As most of Chicago was still buried by the “Super Bowl” blizzard, the American Library Association was announcing their Youth Media Awards. These are books that are recognized for a variety of reasons, from illustrations, to being a top juvenile or young adult fiction book by a diverse author. It is safe to say you cannot go wrong reading any of the winner or “honor” (which are the runner-ups) books. Here are the top awards.
The Caldecott Medal, awarded annually to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children, went to The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat.
The Newbery Medal is given to the author of “the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.” This year’s winner is The Crossover by Kwame Alexander.
The Prinz Award is given by YALSA each year to the best book written for young adults. Jandy Nelson’s I’ll Give You the Sun was this year’s winner.
For non-fiction enthusiasts there is the Siebert Informational Book Medal that went to The Right Word: Roget & His Thesaurus written by Jen Bryant and illustrated by Melissa Sweet.
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. This year’s book for best author was Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodsen.
We love helping people find books, movies, and more.
Tell us about your preferences, and our librarians will create a list of titles selected specifically for you.
