The 2019 Youth Media Awards were announced January 28 during the American Library Association's (ALA) Midwinter Meeting by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of ALA. Read about the winning and honored books below.
John Newbery Medal Winner & Honorees
The Newbery Medal is awarded annually to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. In 1922, the Newbery Medal became the first children's book award in the world. Its terms, as well as its long history, continue to make it the best known and most discussed children's book award in this country.
2019 Winner: Merci Sua'rez Changes Gears by Meg Medina. Merci Sua'rez begins sixth grade and knows things will change, but she did not count on her grandfather acting strangely, not fitting in at her private school, and dealing with Edna Santos' jealousy.
Honor Book: The Night Diary
Honor Book: The Book of Boy
Randolph Caldecott Medal Winner & Honorees
The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of 19th-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
2019 Winner: Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall. Explores the life of one lighthouse as it beams its message out to sea through shifting seasons, changeable weather, and the tenure of its final keeper.
Honor Book: Alma and How She Got Her Name
Honor Book: A Big Mooncake for Little Star
Honor Book: The Rough Patch
Honor Book: Thank You, Omu!
Theodor Seuss Geisel Award & Nominees
The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award, established in 2004, is given annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished contribution to the body of American children’s literature known as beginning reader books for children in the preceding year.
2019 Winner: Fox the Tiger by Corey R. Tabor. Fox decides to become a tiger because they are fast and sneaky, and, soon, his other animal friends are joining in.
Honor Book: See Pip Flap
Honor Book: The Party and Other Stories
Honor Book: Tiger Vs. Nightmare
Coretta Scott King Author Book Award Winner & Honorees
Designed to commemorate the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and to honor Mrs. Coretta Scott King for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace, the Coretta Scott King Book awards annually recognize outstanding books for young adults and children by African American authors and illustrators that reflect the African American experience.
2019 Winner: A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 by Claire Hartfield. Examines the events and forces leading up to 1919 race riots in Chicago.
Honor Book: Finding Langston
Honor Book: The Parker Inheritance
Honor Book: The Season of Styx Malone
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Winner & Honorees
2019 Winner: The Stuff of Stars illustrated by Ekua Holmes. Before the universe was formed, before time and space existed, there was . . . nothing. But then . . . BANG! In a poetic text, Marion Dane Bauer takes readers from the trillionth of a second when our universe was born to the singularities that became each one of us, while vivid illustrations by Ekua Holmes capture the void before the Big Bang and the ensuing life that burst across galaxies.
Honor Book: Hidden Figures
Honor Book: Let the Children March
Honor Book: Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop
Michael L. Printz Award & Honorees
The Michael L. Printz Award is given to the author a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature.
2019 Winner: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. Harlem. Ever since her body grew into curves, Xiomara Batista has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking. She pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers - especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, whom her family can never know about. Mami is determined to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, and Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. When she is invited to join her school's slam poetry club, she can't stop thinking about performing her poems.
Honor Book: Damsel
Honor Book: A Heart in A Body in the World
Honor Book: I, Claudia
Pura Belpré Illustrator Award & Honorees
The Pura Belpré awards, established in 1996, are presented to Latino/Latina writers and illustrators whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth. They are co-sponsored by the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking (REFORMA).
2019 Winner: Dreamers by Yuyi Morales. An illustrated picture book autobiography in which award-winning author Yuyi Morales tells her own immigration story.
Honor Book: Islandborn
Honor Book: When Angels Sing
Pura Belpré Author Award & Honorees
2019 Winner: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. Harlem. Ever since her body grew into curves, Xiomara Batista has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking. She pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers - especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about. Mami is determined to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, and Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. When she is invited to join her school's slam poetry club, she can't stop thinking about performing her poems.
Honor Book: They Call Me Güero
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award & Honorees
The Sibert Award honors the most distinguished informational book published in English in the preceding year for its significant contribution to children’s literature.
2019 Winner: The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science by Joyce Sidman. Newbery-Honor winning author Joyce Sidman explores the extraordinary life and scientific discoveries of Maria Merian, who discovered the truth about metamorphosis and documented the science behind the mystery in this visual biography that features many original paintings by Maria herself.
Honor Book: Spooked!
Honor Book: The Unwanted
Honor Book: We Are Grateful
Honor Book: When Angels Sing
Stonewall Book Awards & Honorees
The Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award is given to children’s and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender experience.
2019 Winner: Julián Is A Mermaid by Jessica Love. While riding the subway home from the pool with his abuela one day, Julián notices three women spectacularly dressed up. Their hair billows in brilliant hues, their dresses end in fishtails, and their joy fills the train car. When Julián gets home, all he can think about is dressing up just like the ladies in his own fabulous mermaid costume: a butter-yellow curtain for his tail, the fronds of a potted fern for his headdress. But what will Abuela think about the mess he makes - and even more importantly, what will she think about how Julián sees himself?
2019 Winner: Hurricane Child by Kheryn Callender. Born on Water Island in the Virgin Islands during a hurricane, which is considered bad luck, 12-year-old Caroline falls in love with another girl - and together they set out in a hurricane to find Caroline's missing mother.
Honor Book: Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World
Honor Book: Picture Us in the Light
