The Morris Award is given for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens.
WINNER
All the Noise at Once by DeAndra Davis
FINALISTS
First Love Language by Stefany Valentine
Love, Misha by Askel Aden
Red Flags and Butterflies by Sheryl Azzam
You and Me on Repeat by Mary Shyne
The Stonewall Book Awards are given to works of exceptional merit relating to LGBTQIA+ experience. The awards are given in two age groups. Here are the winners and honor books for each:
STONEWALL BOOK AWARDS – MIKE MORGAN AND LARRY ROMANS CHILDREN’S LITERATURE AWARD
WINNER
Halfway to Somewhere by Jose Pimienta
HONOR BOOKS
Call Me Gray by Andrew Larsen and Bells Larsen, illustrated by Tallulah Fontaine
The Ink Witch by Steph Cherrywell
Ollie in Between by Jess Callans
Woods & Words: The Story of Poet Mary Oliver by Sara Holly Ackerman, illustrated by Naoko Stoop
STONEWALL BOOK AWARDS – MIKE MORGAN AND LARRY ROMANS YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE AWARD
WINNER
One of the Boys by Victoria Zeller
HONOR BOOKS
Devils Like Us by L. T. Thompson
He’s So Possessed with Me by Corey Liu
Hick: The Trailblazing Journalist Who Captured Eleanor Roosevelt’s Heart by Sarah Miller
Sometimes the Girl by Jennifer Mason-Black
The Odyssey Award is given by ALA to the best audiobooks. The award is given in two age categories:
ODYSSEY AWARD FOR CHILDREN
Clack, Clack! Smack! A Cherokee Stickball Story, produced by Arnie Cardillo and Debra Cardillo for Live Oak Media, written by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Joseph Erb and narrated by the author and a full cast.
ODYSSEY AWARD FOR YOUNG ADULTS
Trans History: From Ancient Times to the Present Day, produced by Iris McElroy and Juan García Ticoulat for Listening Library, an imprint of Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group, written and illustrated by Alex L. Combs and Andrew Eakett and narrated by the authors and a full cast.
ODYSSEY HONOR AUDIOBOOKS
The Dead of Summer, produced by Zane Birdwell and Paul Gagne for Scholastic Audio, written by Ryan La Sala and narrated by the author and a full cast
Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories, produced by Sydney Mathieu of Eljin Productions, Inc. for Heartdrum, an imprint of HarperCollins, edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith and narrated by a full cast
Soundtrack, produced by Dan Zitt and Brian Ramcharan for Listening Library, an imprint of Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group, written by Jason Reynolds and narrated by a full cast
Whale Eyes: A Memoir About Seeing and Being Seen, produced by Iris McElroy and Olivia Langen for Listening Library, an imprint of Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group, written and narrated by James Robinson, illustrated by Brian Rea.
Aaniin: I See Your Light by Dawn Quigley, illustrated by Nanibah Chacon
Ojibwe author, Quigley shares the traditional Seven Grandfather teachings in this picture book. Each teaching is accompanied by a creature that symbolizes it. Courage and bravery are like Bear. Thinking of others before yourself, is like Buffalo. Being humble is like Wolf. Through the story, modern Native children are shown, enjoying nature, participating in activism, and connecting with the world around them.
The book speaks directly to the child reading it, using a second person structure. The words are simple and honest, shining on the child and showing them how vital they already are. The book shows that children are valued and their own characteristics live in the Grandfather teachings. The illustrations share the various animals near the children, shining on the page with light.
A quiet and powerful book about self-worth and connection. Appropriate for ages 2-4.
A Good Hide by Karina Iceberg, illustrated by Natasha Donovan
In Alaska, after a successful moose hunt, the hide is transformed into quality leather by the community. First, Auntie gives a blessing, then everyone helps scrape the hide until hands are raw. Next comes soaking the hide and stretch it in a variety of ways from drumming to pulling. After that everyone pees on it and then another stretch and a soak in the rain. Next brains are used to create goo that is squished into the hide. It is hung over the fire to let the smoke tan it. More rain, more stretching, more pulling it tight. Finally it is ready to be made into new clothing and items for everyone.
Told by an Alaska Native (Aleut-Alutiiq), this picture book celebrates the hard work, effort and community it takes to follow traditional ways of tanning leather. The process has elements that will surprise readers just learning about it, including peeing on the hide and using brain goo. Those parts make the book all the more interesting for young readers. The illustrations, done by a member of the Métis Nation of British Columbia, clearly show the many people who work together on creating leather as well as showing the steps it takes.
A fascinating look at a traditional Native autumn event. Appropriate for ages 4-6.
Stronger Than by Nikki Grimes and Stacy Wells, illustrated by E. B. Lewis
At 8 years old, Dante isn’t scared of almost anything, except the nightmares that he keeps on having. Dante spends his days outside playing in the Oklahoma countryside. He and his brother long to play Choctaw stickball, but they have to wait for their father to come home and do that with them. Night came and so did the nightmares of footsteps coming up behind him and a voice telling him not to run. To help with the dreams, his mother tells him stories of his ancestors, people who survived the Trail of Tears and the Tulsa Race Massacre. The next day, Dante headed to the library to learn even more about his ancestors and the racism they lived through and survived.
Beautifully told by Grimes in prose that reads more like poetry, this picture book shows the power of learning of one’s ancestors and the strength that can be gained from knowing more about them. It is the story of an Afro-Indigenous child, so Dante learns about Black history and Indigenous Choctaw history and draws strength from both. The illustrations are done in watercolor, focusing on the faces of Dante’s ancestors, the connection with his living family members, and the haunting vision of his nightmare.
A quietly powerful picture book about family history. Appropriate for ages 7-9.
The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award is given for the most distinguished beginning reader book. Here is the winner and the three honor books:
WINNER
Stop That Mop! by Jonathan Fenske
HONOR BOOKS
Earl and Worm: The Big Mess and Other Stories by Greg Pizzoli
I Like Hoops by Juwanda G. Ford, illustrated by Jada Jeni Bennett
The Tunneler Tunnels in the Tunnel by Michael Rex
The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal is given for the most distinguished informational book for children published the year before. Here is the medal winner and the five honor books:
WINNER
Alberto Salas Plays Paka Paka con la Papa by Sara Andrea Fajardo, illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal
HONOR BOOKS
At Last She Stood: How Joey Guerrero Spied, Survived, and Fought for Freedom by Erin Entrada Kelly
Go Tell It: How James Baldwin Became a Writer by Quartez Harris, illustrated by Gordon C. James
The History of We by Nikkolas Smith
Silenced Voices: Reclaiming Memories from the Guatemalan Genocide by Pablo Leon
A World Without Summer: A Volcano Erupts, A Creature Awakens, and the Sun Goes Out by Nicholas Day, illustrated by Yas Imamura
The Mildred L. Batchelder Award goes to an outstanding children’s book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States. Here is the winning book and the four honor books:
WINNER
Croco by Azul López
HONOR BOOKS
The Adventures of Cipollino by Gianni Rodari, illustrated by Dasha Tolstikova
From Memen to Mori by Shinsuke Yoshitake
Picking Tea with Baba by Xu Bin, illustrated by Yu Yin
Pilgrim Codex by Vivian Mansour, illustrated by Emmanuel Valtierra
Louisa Learns to Write: Louisa May Alcott Creates Little Women by Kate Hannigan, illustrated by Sofia Moore
Louisa May Alcott was born into a family very similar to that of Little Women. She had three sisters and they played with the books in her father’s study. The family was poor and moved often. Louisa loved to write in her Imagination Book but her older sisters were already working as domestic servants. When Louisa was twelve, her mother received an inheritance which allowed the family to purchase a new home in Concord, Massachusetts where she met neighbors like Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. As they continued to move, one of Louisa’s sisters died and Louisa’s dream of writing seemed far away as she was rejected again and again. It was after her time as a nurse during the Civil War that Louisa found her straight-forward writing style that everyone continues to love in her Little Women.
This approachable picture book biography of the famous author focuses on the parallels between her own life and that of the Marches in Little Women, a perspective that pays off at the end when Little Women is finally published. Alcott’s journey is fraught from the beginning due to poverty and yet she continues to dream of writing, showing a real perseverance as she struggles to find her unique voice. The illustrations are done in a mix of paint, pencil and digital, focusing closely when Alcott’s world begins to draw inward and having wide landscapes at the times of expansive thought and opportunity.
A great picture book biography of a big woman in children’s literature. Appropriate for ages 5-8.
Small-Girl Zora and the Shower of Stories by Giselle Anatol, illustrated by Raissa Figueroa
A tall tale based on the life of Zora Neale Hurston takes readers into the life of this renowned author as a small child. Zora was a little girl who didn’t play gently with dolls or tea sets. She was always dirty after a day playing outside, climbing trees. But most of all, Zora was a story teller filling the air around her with tales that she made up on the spot. She dreamed of her stories changing the world and then set out to use her tales to end the local drought. Armed with just a watering can and her imagination, she went around town telling stories. But by the end of the day, there was no water in her can. About to give up, she realized that she had watered a garden with her stories and the drought came to an end as everyone started to use their imaginations together.
This second book in the Small-Girl series is a winner. Young Zora is presented with a huge imagination and a mouth willing to share the stories she creates. She shines brightly on the page, her ideas glowing against the grumpy adults she encounters. The illustrations move from huge suns and moons to fancy parlors to the stories that Zora weaves. The result is a book filled with deep color and sprightly tales.
A clever use of tall tales to speak to the power of stories and one amazing author.
Teaching for Change: How Septima Clark Led the Civil Rights Movement to Voting Justice by Yvonne Clark-Rhines and Monica Clark-Robinson, illustrated by Abigail Albano-Payton
Septima Clark was born in 1898 to a father who had been enslaved and a mother who was raised free in Haiti. Her parents firmly believed in education, getting Septima a real education by trading for lessons. Even as a child, Septima loved to teach others. At age 18, she moved to South Carolina and an all-Black school where she was allowed to teach. She taught children during the day and adults at night. In the 1950s, Septima started teaching at an integrated school for adults, helping people learn to read, write and vote. She worked with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and a team of teachers who helped Black people learn enough to pass the existing voting tests. Septima never stopped teaching and never stopped being the change.
There is something so beautiful about a child raised from poverty and following her own dream of teaching all the way through to its most exultant form, community activism and enabling others to follow their dreams too. Throughout this picture book biography, there is a sense of quiet strength in Clark, leading through teaching, creating change through her work. Dynamically written in poetic prose, the book reads aloud beautifully. The illustrations are oil paintings, capturing Clark from childhood through adulthood with grace and poise.
A force for change and good. Appropriate for ages 5-9.
The Schneider Family Book Awards recognize books that “embody an artistic expression of the disability experience.” Awards are given in three age categories. Here are the winners and honor books for each:
SCHNEIDER FAMILY BOOK AWARD FOR YOUNG CHILDREN’S BOOK
WINNER
Wanda Hears the Stars: A Blind Astronomer Listens to the Universe by Amy S. Hansen and Wanda Díaz Merced, illustrated by Rocio Arreola Mendoza
HONOR BOOKS
Bat and the Business of Ferrets by Elana K. Arnold, illustrated by Charles Santoso
I Hear the Snow, I Smell the Sea by Janice Milusich, illustrated by Chris Raschka
SCHNEIDER FAMILY BOOK AWARD FOR MIDDLE GRADE
WINNER
Where Only Storms Grow by Alyssa Colman
HONOR BOOKS
Octopus Moon by Bobbie Pyron
The Strongest Heart by Saadia Faruqi
SCHNEIDER FAMILY BOOK AWARD FOR YOUNG ADULT
WINNER
Whale Eyes by James Robinson, illustrated by Brian Rea
HONOR BOOKS
The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar by Sonora Reyes
The Poetry of Car Mechanics by Heidi E. Y. Stemple
Waking Brain Cells 