2021 ALA Youth Media Awards

This morning, as part of the annual festivities surrounding the ALA Midwinter Meeting and Exhibits virtual conference, the American Library Association revealed the winners of the Youth Media Awards in an exciting public webcast. To see who won the Newbery, Caldecott, Printz, and other prestigious awards for children and teens (plus their Booklist reviews), read on.
JOHN NEWBERY MEDAL
★ When You Trap a Tiger, by Tae Keller
Newbery Honor Books
★ All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team, by Christina Soontornvat
★ BOX: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom, by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Michele Wood
★ Fighting Words, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
★ We Dream of Space, by Erin Entrada Kelly and illustrated by Erin Entrada Kelly and Celia Krampien
★ A Wish in the Dark, by Christina Soontornvat
RANDOLPH CALDECOTT MEDAL
★ We Are Water Protectors, Carole Lindstrom and illustrated by Michaela Goade
Caldecott Honor Books
A Place Inside of Me: A Poem to Heal the Heart, by Zetta Elliott and illustrated by Noa Denmon
★ The Cat Man of Aleppo, Irene Latham and Karim Shamsi-Basha and illustrated by Yuko Shimizu
Me & Mama, by Cozbi A. Cabrera
Outside In, by Deborah Underwood and illustrated by Cindy Derby
CORETTA SCOTT KING BOOK AWARDS
King Author Book
★ Before the Ever After, by Jacqueline Woodson
King Author Honor Books
★ All the Days Past, All the Days to Come, by Mildred D. Taylor
★ King and the Dragonflies, by Kacen Callender
★ Lifting as We Climb: Black Women’s Battle for the Ballot Box, by Evette Dionne
King Illustrator Book
★ R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Frank Morrison
King Illustrator Honor Books
Magnificent Homespun Brown: A Celebration, by Samara Cole Doyon and illustrated by Kaylani Juanita
Exquisite: The Poetry and Life of Gwendolyn Brooks, by Suzanne Slade and illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera
Me & Mama, by Cozbi A. Cabrera
Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award
★ Legendborn, by Tracy Deonn
Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement
Dorothy L. Guthrie
MICHAEL L. PRINTZ AWARD
★ Everything Sad Is Untrue (A True Story), by Daniel Nayeri
Printz Honor Books
★ Apple: Skin to the Core, by Eric Gansworth
★ Dragon Hoops, by Gene Luen Yang and illustrated by Gene Luen Yang and Lark Pien
★ Every Body Looking, by Candice Iloh
★ We Are Not Free, by Traci Chee
SCHNEIDER FAMILY BOOK AWARD
Award for Young Children, Ages 0–10
★ I Talk Like a River, by Jordan Scott and illustrated by Sydney Smith
Honor Books for Young Children
All the Way to the Top: How One Girl’s Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything, by Annette Bay Pimentel and illustrated by Nabi H. Ali
Itzhak: A Boy who Loved the Violin, by Tracy Newman and illustrated by Abigail Halpin
Award for Middle Grades, Ages 11–13
Show Me a Sign, by Ann Clare LeZotte
Honor Books for Middle Grades
★ Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen!, by Sarah Kapit
★ When Stars Are Scattered, by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed and illustrated by Victoria Jamieson and Iman Geddy
Award for Teens, Ages 13–18
This Is My Brain in Love, by I. W. Gregorio
ALEX AWARDS
Black Sun, by Rebecca Roanhorse
The House in the Cerulean Sea, by TJ Klune
★ The Impossible First: From Fire to Ice—Crossing Antarctica Alone, by Colin O’Brady
Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio, by Derf Backderf
The Kids Are Gonna Ask, by Gretchen Anthony
The Only Good Indians, by Stephen Graham Jones
★ Plain Bad Heroines, by emily m. danforth
Riot Baby, by Tochi Onyebuchi
Solutions and Other Problems, by Allie Brosh
We Ride Upon Sticks, by Quan Barry
CHILDREN’S LITERATURE LEGACY AWARD
Mildred D. Taylor
MARGARET A. EDWARDS AWARD
Kekla Magoon
MILDRED L. BATCHELDER AWARD
Telephone Tales, by Gianni Rodari, illustrated by Valerio Vidali, and translated from Italian by Antony Shugaar
Batchelder Honor Book
★ Catherine’s War, by Julia Billet, illustrated by Claire Fauvel, and translated from French by Ivanka Hahnenberger
ODYSSEY AWARD
Kent State, by Deborah Wiles and narrated by Christopher Gebauer, Lauren Ezzo, Christina DeLaine, Johnny Heller, Roger Wayne, Korey Jackson, and David de Vries
Odyssey Honor Audiobooks
★ Clap When You Land, by Elizabeth Acevedo and narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo and Melania-Luisa Marte
★ Fighting Words, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley and narrated by Bahni Turpin
★ Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi and narrated by Jason Reynolds with an introduction by Ibram X. Kendi
★ When Stars Are Scattered, by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed and narrated by Faysal Ahmed, Barkhad Abdi, and a full cast
PURA BELPRÉ AWARDS
Belpré Youth Illustrator Award
¡Vamos! Let’s Go Eat, by Raúl Gonzalez
Belpré Youth Illustrator Honor Book
★ Sharuko: El Arqueólogo Peruano/Peruvian Archaeologist Julio C. Tello, by Monica Brown, illustrated by Elisa Chavarri, and translated by Adriana Domínguez
Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Award
Furia, by Yamile Saied Méndez
Belpré Young Adult Author Honor Books
Never Look Back, by Lilliam Rivera
★ We Are Not from Here, by Jenny Torres Sanchez
Pura Belpré Children’s Author Award
★ Efrén Divided, by Ernesto Cisneros
Pura Belpré Children’s Author Honor Books
The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez, by Adrianna Cuevas
★ Lupe Wong Won’t Dance, by Donna Barba Higuera
ROBERT F. SIBERT INFORMATIONAL BOOK AWARD
★ Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera, by Candace Fleming and illustrated by Eric Rohmann
Sibert Honor Books
★ How We Got to the Moon: The People, Technology, and Daring Feats of Science Behind Humanity’s Greatest Adventure, by John Rocco
Exquisite: The Poetry and Life of Gwendolyn Brooks, by Suzanne Slade and illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera
★ All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team, by Christina Soontornvat
STONEWALL BOOK AWARD – MIKE MORGAN AND LARRY ROMANS CHILDREN’S AND YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE AWARD
We Are Little Feminists: Families, by Archaa Shrivastav and designed by Lindsey Blakely
Stonewall Honor Books
★ Beetle & The Hollowbones, by Aliza Layne
★ Darius the Great Deserves Better, by Adib Khorram
★ Felix Ever After, by Kacen Callender
You Should See Me in a Crown, by Leah Johnson
THEODOR SEUSS GEISEL AWARD
★ See the Cat: Three Stories About a Dog, by David LaRochelle and illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka
Geisel Honor Books
The Bear in My Family, by Maya Tatsukawa
Ty’s Travels: Zip, Zoom!, by Kelly Starling Lyons and illustrated by Nina Mata
What About Worms!?, by Ryan T. Higgins
Where’s Baby?, by Anne Hunter
WILLIAM C. MORRIS AWARD
If These Wings Could Fly, by Kyrie McCauley
Morris Award Finalists
Black Girl Unlimited: The Remarkable Story of a Teenage Wizard, by Echo Brown
★ The Black Kids, by Christina Hammonds Reed
It Sounded Better in My Head, by Nina Kenwood
Woven in Moonlight, by Isabel Ibañez
YALSA AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN NONFICTION FOR YOUNG ADULTS
★ The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh, by Candace Fleming
YALSA Award Finalists
★ All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team, by Christina Soontornvat
The Cat I Never Named: A True Story of Love, War, and Survival, by Amra Sabic-El-Rayess,with Laura L. Sullivan
★ How We Got to the Moon: The People, Technology, and Daring Feats of Science Behind Humanity’s Greatest Adventure, by John Rocco
You Call This Democracy?: How to Fix Our Democracy and Deliver Power to the People, by Elizabeth Rusch and illustrated by Ellen Duda
ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN AWARD FOR LITERATURE
Picture Book Winner
★ Paper Son: The Inspiring Story of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant and Artist, by Julie Leung and illustrated by Chris Sasaki
Picture Book Honor Title
Danbi Leads the School Parade, by Anna Kim
Children’s Literature Winner
★ When You Trap a Tiger, by Tae Keller
Children’s Literature Honor Winner
★ Prairie Lotus, by Linda Sue Park
Young Adult Literature Winner
This Light Between Us, by Andrew Fukuda
Young Adult Literature Honor Title
Displacement, by Kiku Hughes
THE SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARD
Picture Book Gold Medalist
Welcoming Elijah: A Passover Tale with a Tail, by Lesléa Newman and illustrated by Susan Gal
Picture Book Silver Medalists
I Am the Tree of Life: My Jewish Yoga Book, by Mychal Copeland and illustrated by André Ceolin
Miriam at the River, by Jane Yolen and illustrated by Khoa Le
Middle Grade Gold Medalist
★ Turtle Boy, by M. Evan Wolkenstein
Middle Grade Silver Medalists
No Vacancy, by Tziporah Cohen
Anya and the Nightingale, by Sofiya Pasternack
The Blackbird Girls, by Anne Blankman
Young Adult Gold Medalist
★ Dancing at the Pity Party, by Tyler Feder
Young Adult Silver Medalist
★ They Went Left, by Monica Hesse
