Need some new reading material to enjoy and recommend to students? ALA has you covered! At their virtual Midwinter conference, they announced the recipients of this year’s Youth Media Awards which includes digital media, videos, audiobooks and of course, regular books!
American Libraries Magazine has this article recapping all the winners. Linda Sue Park, creator of the site Kids Books by Korean Americans highlights some of the winners on her page. A CMLE office favorite, We Are Water Protectors, made history with a Caldecott win. And School Library Journal has this very detailed page with links to reviews, interviews, guest posts, and further reading suggestions to explore!
We’ll share some of the winners below (link to the full list here!) and want to let you know the links take you to Amazon. If you buy anything at all, Amazon will give us a small percent of their profits on the sale. It’s anonymous, so we won’t know it’s you – but we will still be grateful!💗
Newbery Medal: When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller
“When Lily and her family move in with her sick grandmother, a magical tiger straight out of her halmoni’s Korean folktales arrives, prompting Lily to unravel a secret family history. Long, long ago, Halmoni stole something from the tigers. Now they want it back. And when one of the tigers approaches Lily with a deal–return what her grandmother stole in exchange for Halmoni’s health–Lily is tempted to agree. But deals with tigers are never what they seem! With the help of her sister and her new friend Ricky, Lily must find her voice…and the courage to face a tiger.”
Caldecott Medal: We Are Water Protectors illustrated by Michaela Goade, written by Carole Lindstrom
“Inspired by the many Indigenous-led movements across North America, We Are Water Protectors issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth’s water from harm and corruption―a bold and lyrical picture book written by Carole Lindstrom and vibrantly illustrated by Michaela Goade.”
Coretta Scott King Author Book Award: Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson
“For as long as ZJ can remember, his dad has been everyone’s hero. As a charming, talented pro football star, he’s as beloved to the neighborhood kids he plays with as he is to his millions of adoring sports fans. But lately life at ZJ’s house is anything but charming. His dad is having trouble remembering things and seems to be angry all the time. ZJ’s mom explains it’s because of all the head injuries his dad sustained during his career. ZJ can understand that–but it doesn’t make the sting any less real when his own father forgets his name. As ZJ contemplates his new reality, he has to figure out how to hold on tight to family traditions and recollections of the glory days, all the while wondering what their past amounts to if his father can’t remember it. And most importantly, can those happy feelings ever be reclaimed when they are all so busy aching for the past?”
Pura Belpré Awards (for a Latinx writer and illustrator whose children’s books best portray, affirm, and celebrate the Latino cultural experience):
¡Vamos! Let’s Go Eat illustrated and written by Raúl Gonzalez
“In this new Vamos! title, Let’s Go Eat, Little Lobo is excited to take in a show with wrestling star El Toro in his bustling border town. After getting lunch orders from The Bull and his friends to help prepare for the event, Little Lobo takes readers on a tour of food trucks that sell his favorite foods, like quesadillas with red peppers and Mexican-Korean tacos. Peppered with easy-to-remember Latin-American Spanish vocabulary, this glorious celebration of food is sure to leave every reader hungry for lunch!”
Schneider Family Book Award (for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience):
I Talk Like a River written by Jordan Scott, illustrated by Sydney Smith
“When a boy who stutters feels isolated, alone, and incapable of communicating in the way he’d like, it takes a kindly father and a walk by the river to help him find his voice. Compassionate parents everywhere will instantly recognize a father’s ability to reconnect a child with the world around him. Poet Jordan Scott writes movingly in this powerful and ultimately uplifting book, based on his own experience, and masterfully illustrated by Greenaway Medalist Sydney Smith. A book for any child who feels lost, lonely, or unable to fit in.”
Odyssey Award (for best audiobook): Kent State by Deborah Wiles, produced by Paul R. Gagne for Scholastic Audio, narrated by Christopher Gebauer, Lauren Ezzo, Christina DeLaine, Johnny Heller, Roger Wayne, Korey Jackson, and David de Vries.
“From two-time National Book Award finalist Deborah Wiles, a masterpiece exploration of one of the darkest moments in our history, when American troops killed four American students protesting the Vietnam War.”