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In late January, the American Library Association gathered together in Seattle for their annual midwinter conference. Early on a Monday morning (but conveniently three hours later for any east coast viewers), the Youth Media Awards were revealed. Book lovers around America watched the live webcast, some rooting for their favorites while still wearing their pajamas. The honors and awards were bestowed upon a wide variety of authors and/or illustrators. The Library currently holds 30 of these award-winning titles.
- Caldecott Medalist: Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall
- Caldecott Honors: A Big Mooncake for Little Star by Grace Lin, The Rough Patch by Brian Lies, and Thank You, Omu! By Oge Mora
- Printz Award: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
- Printz Honor: A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti
- Alex Awards (available in both print and e-book): Circe by Madeline Miller, Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover, Green by Sam Graham-Felsen, Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison, Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
We also immediately added the other five winners to our Cloud Library: The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark, The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir, The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After by Clemantine Wamariya and Elizabeth Weil, Home After Dark by David Small, and How Long ’Til Black Future Month? by N. K. Jemisin
- Coretta Scott King Author Honor: The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
- Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award: Thank You, Omu! by Oge Mora
Pura Belpré Illustrator Award: Dreamers by Yuyi Morales- Pura Belpré Author Award: The Poet X by Elizabeth Morales
- Batchelder Honor: My Beijing: Stories of Everyday Wonder by Nie Jun
- Odyssey Award: Sadie by Courtney Summers (available as e-audio in our Cloud Library; also available in print)
- Odyssey Honor: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (available as e-audio in our Cloud Library; also available in print)
- Sibert Honor: The Unwanted: Stories of Syrian Refugees by Don Brown
- Stonewall Book Award for Children: Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
- Geisel Honors: King & Kayla and the Case of the Lost Tooth by Dori Hillestad Butler and Tiger vs. Nightmare by Emily Tetri
- William C. Morris Finalists: Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough and What the Night Sings by Vesper Stamper
- YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults: The Unwanted: Stories of Syrian Refugees by Don Brown
- Finalist: Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (available in both print and e-book)
- Sydney Taylor Book Award for Young Readers: All-of-a-Kind-Family Hanukkah by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Paul Zelinsky
- Sydney Taylor Book Award for Teen Readers: What the Night Sings by Vesper Stamper (available in both print and e-book)
Other authors who received special accolades include a posthumous presentation to Walter Dean Myers for the Children’s Literature Legacy Award, the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults was granted to M.T. Anderson and Neil Gaiman will deliver the May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture in 2020.
Stay tuned to our monthly new book lists and Instagram where we will reveal upcoming award-winning acquisitions in the Children’s and YA libraries. Did one of your favorites from 2018 win an award? Or do you feel another should’ve won, but didn’t? Stop by the Children’s Library to tell us about it! We always find these discussions about favorites as engaging as those committee members must when they are narrowing down to their final choices.
