On January 25, the American Library Association announced the top books for children and young adults – including the Caldecott, King, Newbery, Schneider Family and Printz awards. (A.K.A. The Book Oscars!!)
For the full list of winners, please go here:
American Library Association Youth Media Award Winners 2021
The following is a list of all ALA Teen Awards for 2021:
Michael L. Printz Award (for excellence in literature written for young adults):
Everything Sad Is Untrue (a true story), by Daniel Nayeri is the 2021 Printz Award winner.
Four Printz Honor Books were named:
Apple (Skin to the Core), by Eric Gansworth and published by Arthur A. Levine, an imprint of Levine Querido;
Dragon Hoops, created by Gene Luen Yang, color by Lark Pien and published by First Second Books, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group;
Every Body Looking, by Candice Iloh and published by Dutton Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House; and
We Are Not Free, by Traci Chee and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Coretta Scott King Book Award (recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults):
Before the Ever After, written by Jacqueline Woodson, is the King Author Book winner. The book is published by Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
Three King Author Honor Books were selected:
All the Days Past, All the Days to Come, written by Mildred D. Taylor, published by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC;
King and the Dragonflies, written by Kacen Callender, published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.; and
Lifting as We Climb: Black Women’s Battle for the Ballot Box, written by Evette Dionne, published by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award:
“Legendborn,” written by Tracy Deonn, is the Steptoe author award winner. The book is published by Margaret K. McElderry Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division.
Stonewall Book Award – Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award given annually to English-language children’s and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience:
We Are Little Feminists: Families, written by Archaa Shrivastav, designed by Lindsey Blakely and published by Little Feminist, is the 2021 recipient of the Stonewall Book Awards – Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award.
Four Honor Books were selected:
Beetle & The Hollowbones, illustrated and written by Aliza Layne and published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division;
Darius the Great Deserves Better, written by (our author friend) Adib Khorram and published by Dial Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC;
Felix Ever After, written by Kacen Callender and published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers; and
You Should See Me in a Crown, written by Leah Johnson and published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.
Schneider Family Book Award (for books that embody the artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences):
Show Me a Sign, written by Ann Clare LeZotte and published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., is the winner for middle grades (ages 11-13).
Two honor books for middle grades were selected:
Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen!, written by Sarah Kapit and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, and
When Stars Are Scattered, written by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed, illustrated by Victoria Jamieson, color by Iman Geddy and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
This Is My Brain in Love, written by I.W. Gregorio and published by Little Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, is the winner for teens (ages 13-18). No honor book for teens was selected.
Pura Belpre Award (honoring Latino authors and illustrators whose work best portrays, affirms and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in children’s books):
Furia, written by Yamile Saied Méndez, is the Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Award winner. The book is published by Algonquin Young Readers, an imprint of Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.
Two Belpré Young Adult Author Honor Books were named:
Never Look Back, written by Lilliam Rivera and published by Bloomsbury YA, and
We Are Not from Here, written by Jenny Torres Sanchez and published by Philomel Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
Alex Awards (for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences):
Black Sun, by Rebecca Roanhorse, published by Saga Press/Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster
The House in the Cerulean Sea, by TJ Klune, published by Tor Books, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, a division of Macmillan
The Impossible First: From Fire to Ice – Crossing Antarctica Alone, by Colin O’Brady, published by Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster
Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio, by Derf Backderf, published by Abrams Comicarts
The Kids Are Gonna Ask, by Gretchen Anthony, published by Park Row Books, an imprint of Harlequin, a division of HarperCollins Publishers
The Only Good Indians, by Stephen Graham Jones, published by Saga Press/Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster
Plain Bad Heroines, by emily m. danforth, published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins
Riot Baby, by Tochi Onyebuchi, published by Tordotcom, an imprint of Tom Doherty Associates, a division of Macmillan
Solutions and Other Problems, by Allie Brosh, published by Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster
We Ride Upon Sticks: A Novel, by Quan Barry, published by Pantheon Books, a division of Penguin Random House
YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults.The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh, written by Candace Fleming, is the 2021 Excellence winner. The book is published by Schwartz and Wade, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House.
Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults:
The 2021 winner is Kekla Magoon. Her books include: X: A Novel, co-written by Ilyasah Shabazz and published by Candlewick Press; How It Went Down, published by Henry Holt and Co. Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group; The Rock and the River and Fire in the Streets, both published by Aladdin, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing.
Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States:
Kent State, produced by Paul R. Gagne for Scholastic Audio, is the 2021 Odyssey Award winner. The book is written by Deborah Wiles and narrated by Christopher Gebauer, Lauren Ezzo, Christina DeLaine, Johnny Heller, Roger Wayne, Korey Jackson, and David de Vries.
Four Odyssey Honor Audiobooks also were selected:
Clap When You Land, produced by Caitlin Garing for HarperAudio, a division of HarperCollins Publishers, written by Elizabeth Acevedo and narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo and Melania-Luisa Marte;
Fighting Words, produced by Karen Dziekonski for Listening Library, an imprint of Penguin Random House Audio, written by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley and narrated by Bahni Turpin;
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, produced by Robert Van Kolken for Hachette Audio, written by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi and narrated by Jason Reynolds with an introduction by Ibram X. Kendi; and
When Stars Are Scattered, produced by Kelly Gildea & Julie Wilson for Listening Library, an imprint of Penguin Random House Audio, written by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed and narrated by Faysal Ahmed, Barkhad Abdi and a full cast.
An annotated booklist will be available in TeenSpace shortly.
Sharon Long
Head of Teen Services