Towards the end of January, the American Library Association met in Philadelphia for its annual midwinter conference. Early on a Monday morning, the Youth Media Awards were revealed. Book lovers around the country watched the live webcast, some vying for prizes with unique pajamas and snacks, hoping their favorites might win. The honors and awards were given to a wide variety of authors and/or illustrators and the Library currently holds over 25 of the award-winning titles.

• Caldecott Medalist: The Undefeated, illustrated by Kadir Nelson and written by Kwame Alexander
• Caldecott Honor: Bear Came Along, illustrated by LeUyen Pham and written by Richard T. Morris
   
• Newbery Medalist: New Kid by Jerry Craft
• Newbery Honors: The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander and illustrated by Kadir Nelson and Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga
   
• Printz Award: Dig. by A.S. King
• Printz Honor: Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell

Alex Awards (available in both print and in the Cloud Library):

• Dominicana by Angie Cruz
• The Swallows by Lisa Lutz
• Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

We also added four other Alex winners to our Cloud Library:

• Middlegame by Seanan McGuire
• Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
• Do You Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh
• A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher
   
• Coretta Scott King Author Award: New Kid by Jerry Craft
• Coretta Scott King Author Honor: Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks by Jason Reynolds (available in both print and e-audio)
• Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award: The Undefeated, illustrated by Kadir Nelson and written by Kwame Alexander
   
• Pura Belpré Illustrator Honor: ¡Vamos! Let’s Go to the Market by Raúl the Third
• Pura Belpré Author Award: Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez, who recently joined the NYSL!
• Pura Belpré Author Honor: Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré written by Anika Aldamuy Denise, illustrated by Paola Escobar
   
• Odyssey Award: Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (available as e-audio in our Cloud Library; also available in print and e-book)
   
• Sibert Award: Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story written by Kevin Noble Maillard and illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal
• Sibert Honor: Hey, Water! written and illustrated by Antoinette Portis
   
• Stonewall Honor for Young Adult: Like a Love Story written by Abdi Nazemian
   
• Geisel Honors: Chick and Brain: Smell My Foot! written and illustrated by Cece Bell, The Book Hog by Greg Pizzoli
   
• William C. Morris Winner: The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe
• William C. Morris Finalist: Frankly in Love by David Yoon
   
• Asian/Pacific American Award for Children’s Literature: Stargazing written and illustrated by Jen Wang
• Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature: They Called Us Enemy written by George Takei, Justin Eisinger and Steven Scott and illustrated by Harmony Becker
   
• American Indian Youth Literature Picture Book Honors: Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story, written by Kevin Noble Maillard (Seminole Nation, Mekusukey Band), illustrated by Juana Martínez-Neal (Peruvian-American) and We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga written by Traci Sorell (Cherokee), illustrated by Frané Lessac

Kevin Henkes, whose books are perennially popular here at the Library received the Children’s Literature Legacy Award and Steve Sheinkin, another NYSL favorite, was granted the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults.

Look out on Instagram and in our monthly new book lists where we will reveal upcoming award-winning acquisitions in the Children’s and YA libraries. Did one of your treasured titles from 2019 win? Do you wish another recent read had been picked instead? We always enjoy chatting with you about stellar books, so drop by the Children’s Library to share your favorites with us!