The winners of the 2021 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize have been announced. The UK award gives an overall winner and has winners and shortlists for illustrated books, younger readers and older readers. I didn’t cover the shortlists for the awards either, so those are below the prize winners here. I will also note what books are available in the U.S.

OVERALL WINNER

A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll (released in U.S. in October 2021)

BEST ILLUSTRATED BOOK

The Grumpy Fairies by Bethan Stevens (Available in U.S., released April 2021)

BEST BOOK FOR OLDER READERS

Wranglestone by Darren Charlton

ILLUSTRATED BOOKS SHORTLIST

Bear Shaped by Dawn Coulter-Cruttenden

The Blue Giant by Katie Cottle (Available in U.S.)

Found You by Devon Holzwarth

Freedom, We Sing by Amyra Leon Available in U.S.)

Where Happiness Begins by Eva Eland (Available in U.S.)

YOUNGER READERS’ SHORTLIST

A Clock of Stars: The Shadow Moth by Francesca Gibbons, illustrated by Chris Riddell

Llama Out Loud! by Annabelle Sami

Orion Lost by Alastair Chisholm

The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie by Jenny Pearson (Available in U.S.)

When Life Gives You Mangoes by Kereen Getten (Available in U.S.)

OLDER READERS’ SHORTLIST

And the Stars Were Burning Brightly by Danielle Jawando

The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta (Available in U.S.)

Boy, Everywhere by A. M. Dassau (Available in U.S., released April 2021)

Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales (Available in U.S.)

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko (Available in U.S.)

The winner and honor books of the 2021 Malka Penn Award for Human Rights in Children’s Literature have been announced. The award is given annually to ” the author of an outstanding children’s book addressing human rights issues or themes, such as discrimination, equity, poverty, justice, war, peace, slavery or freedom.” Here are the winning titles:

WINNER

This Is My America by Kim Johnson

HONOR BOOKS

Dear Justyce by Nic Stone

Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

Mexique: A Refugee Story from the Spanish Civil War by Maria Jose Ferrada, illustrated by Ana Penyas

Nana Akua Goes to School by Tricia Elam Walker and April Harrison

Stand Up! Speak Up! by Andrew Joyner

The shortlists for the 2021 Environment Award for Children’s Literature have been announced. The Australian awards celebrate the best children’s nature books with the winners being announced in early September. Here are the 13 shortlisted titles:

NONFICTION

Hold On! Saving the Spotted Handfish by Gina Newton, illustrated by Rachel Tribout

Ninja Bandicoots and Turbo-Charnged Wombats by Hazel Flynn

Tree Beings by Raymond Huber, illustrated by Sandra Severgnini

The Wonderful Wisdom of Ants by Philip Bunting

PICTURE BOOKS

Bandits by Sha’an d’Anthes

Brother Moon by Maree McCarthy Yoelu, illustrated by Samantha Fry

The Giant and the Sea by Trent Jamieson, illustrated by Rovina Cai

Give Me Some Space! by Philip Bunting

Larry Leadbeater: Field Notes from a Fairy Possum by Jo Watson

FICTION

The Carbon-Neutral Adventures of the Indefatigable EnviroTeens by First Dog on the Moon

Edie’s Experiments 2: How to Be the Best by Charlotte Barkla, illustrated by Sandie Flett

The Power of Positive Pranking by Nat Amoore

Planet Weird by Anh Do, illustrated by Jules Faber

The winners of the 2021 Boston Globe – Horn Book Awards have been announced. The awards cover three categories and offer honor books in each category as well. Here are the winners and the honor books for 2021:

PICTURE BOOK AWARD WINNER

I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott, illustrated by Sydney Smith

FICTION AND POETRY AWARD WINNER

A Sitting in St. James by Rita Williams-Garcia

NONFICTION AWARD WINNER

From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial That Galvanized the Asian American Movement by Paula Yoo

PICTURE BOOK HONOR BOOKS

I Am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James

Watercress by Andrea Wang, illustrated by Jason Chin

FICTION AND POETRY HONOR BOOKS

Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam

NONFICTION HONOR BOOKS

All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

The winners of the CILIP Carnegie & Greenaway Medals have been announced. The Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals are the UK’s oldest children’s book awards. They recognize “outstanding reading experiences created through writing and illustration in books for children and young people.” The Shadowers’ Choice Awards are voted on by young people who vote for their favorite books.

It looks like I also never shared the shortlists for these awards, so I will include them here as well.

CARNEGIE MEDAL WINNER

Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds

KATE GREENAWAY MEDAL WINNER

Small in the City by Sydney Smith

SHADOWERS’ CHOICE FROM THE CARNEGIE SHORTLIST

Run Rebel by Manjeet Mann

SHADOWERS’ CHOICE FROM THE GREENAWAY SHORTLIST

Starbird by Sharon King-Chai

CARNEGIE SHORTLIST

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk

The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys

The Girl Who Became a Tree by Joseph Coelho

The Girl Who Speaks Bear by Sophie Anderson

On Midnight Beach by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick

GREENAWAY SHORTLIST

Arlo the Lion Who Couldn’t Sleep by Catherine Rayner

The Bird Within Me by Sara Lundberg

Hike by Pete Oswald

How the Stars Came to Be by Poonam Mistry

I Go Quiet by David Ouimet

It’s a No-Money Day by Kate Milner

The shortlists for the 2021 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards have been announced by the Ontario Arts Council and the Ontario Arts Foundation. The awards are the only Canadian award that uses student jurors who work together to choose the winning books. The books are all written and illustrated by Canadian authors. The winning books will be announced later in June. Here are the titles in the shortlists:

CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOK CATEGORY

Fast Friends by Heather M. O’Connor, illustrated by Claudia Dávila

Golden Threads by Suzanne Del Rizzo, illustrated by Miki Sato

A Last Goodbye by Elin Kelsey, illustrated by Soyeon Kim

My Ocean Is Blue by Darren Lebeuf, illustrated by Ashley Barron

Violet Shrink by Christine Baldacchino, illustrated by Carmen Mok

YOUNG ADULT/MIDDLE READER CATEGORY

I Will See You Again by Lisa Boivin

The King of Jam Sandwiches by Eric Walters

Me and Banksy by Tanya Lloyd Kyi

My Long List of Impossible Things by Michelle Barker

Sara and the Search for Normal by Wesley King

The winners and listed titles for the Azia Books – Diversity Award have been announced. The awards celebrate a children’s book that “reflects multicultural/multiracial protagonists and families.” The books range in publication dates from 1997 to 2020 for this year’s lists and awards. I’ll list the winners first and then the full lists of titles for both age groups.

PICTURE BOOK AWARD WINNER

Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match by Monica Brown

YOUNG READER AWARD WINNER

The First Rule of Punk by Celica C. Pérez

LIST OF PICTURE BOOKS

Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Dream Changed Music by Margarita Engle and Rafael Lopez

Mixed Me by Taye Diggs and Shane W. Evans

The Mommy Book by Todd Parr

One Family by George Shannon and Blanca Gomez

What’s in There? All about Before You Were Born by Robbie Harris and Nadine Bernard Westcott

Where Are You From? by Yamile Saied Mendez and Jaime Kim

LIST OF BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS

Brendan Buckley’s Universe and Everything in It by Sundee T. Frazier

The Family Fletcher Takes Rock Island by Dana Alison Levy

Lupe Wong Won’t Dance by Donna Barbara Higuera

The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher by Dana Alison Levy

Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo by Pam Munoz Ryan

The Other Half of My Heart by Sundee T. Frazier

Thief of Hearts by Laurence Yep

The Window by Michael Dorris

The World of Daughter McGuire by Sharon Dennis Wyeth