Erin Entrada Kelly has won the 2025 John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature, for her novel The First State of Being (Greenwillow), edited by Virginia Duncan. Rebecca Lee Kunz has won the 2025 Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished picture book for children, for Chooch Helped (Levine Querido), written by Andrea L. Rogers, edited by Nick Thomas. And Brownstone, a graphic novel by Samuel Teer, illustrated by Mar Julia (Versify), edited by Weslie Turner, has won the 2025 Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults. The Youth Media Awards were announced Monday morning, January 27, during the American Library Association’s final LibLearnX conference in Phoenix.
In The First State of Being, a boy living in 1999 meets a mysterious boy from the future with a book that outlines the events of the next 20 years. This is the second Newbery for Kelly; she won the 2018 medal for Hello, Universe, as well as a Newbery Honor in 2021 for We Dream of Space. In Chooch Helped, a Cherokee girl struggles to make space for her younger brother as the family integrates him into their cultural traditions. Brownstone, a graphic novel about a reluctant teen who must stay with the father she’s never met while he renovates an N.Y.C. brownstone, was the debut book for illustrator Julia.
Four Newbery Honor Books were announced: Across So Many Seas by Ruth Behar (Penguin/Paulsen), Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller (Philomel), One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome (Holiday House), and The Wrong Way Home by Kate O’Shaughnessy (Knopf).
There were four Caldecott Honor Books: Home in a Lunchbox by Cherry Mo (Penguin Workshop); My Daddy Is a Cowboy, illustrated by C.G. Esperanza, written by Stephanie Seales (Abrams); Noodles on a Bicycle, illustrated by Gracey Zhang, written by Kyo Maclear (Random House Studio); and Up, Up, Ever Up! Junko Tabei: A Life in the Mountains, illustrated by Yuko Shimizu, written by Anita Yasuda (Clarion).
Four Printz Honor Books were also named: Bright Red Fruit by Safia Elhillo (Random House/Make Me a World); Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White (Peachtree Teen); The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag (Scholastic/Graphix); and Road Home by Rex Ogle (Norton Young Readers).
The Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement was awarded to Carolyn L. Garnes, the retired deputy director of the Atlanta Fulton Public Library, and founder of the nonprofit Aunt Lil’s Reading Room. Garnes was commended for spending more than 30 years as a practitioner championing books for Black children.
Tiffany D. Jackson, author of several acclaimed YA novels, is the winner of the 2025 Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults.
The Children’s Literature Legacy Award, given to an author or illustrator whose books have made a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children through books that demonstrate integrity and respect for all children’s lives and experiences, went to author Carole Boston Weatherford, whose books include Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, which won the 2022 Coretta Scott King Author Award, and BOX: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom, which received the Newbery Medal Honor in 2021.
Author and Heartdrum author-curator Cynthia Leitich Smith will deliver the 2026 ALSC Children’s Literature Lecture, an annual event featuring an author, critic, librarian, historian or teacher of children’s literature.
The Mildred L. Batchelder Award for best work of translation went to John the Skeleton by Triinu Laan, illustrated by Marja-Liisa Plats, translated from the Estonian by Adam Cullen (Restless).
Four Batchelder Honor Books were selected: Home by Isabelle Simler, translated from the French by Vineet Lal (Eerdmans); Johnny, the Sea, and Me by Melba Escobar, illustrated by Elizabeth Builes, and translated from the Spanish by Sara Lissa Paulson (Enchanted Lion); Mr. Lepron’s Mystery Soup by Giovanna Zoboli, illustrated by Mariachiara Di Giorgio and translated from the Italian by Denise Muir (Candlewick); and A Sleepless Night by Micaela Chirif, illustrated by Joaquín Camp, and translated from the Spanish by Jordan Landsman (Transit).
The Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Awards went to illustrator Jamiel Law for Jimmy’s Rhythm and Blues: The Extraordinary Life of James Baldwin, written by Michelle Meadows (HarperCollins); and author Craig Kofi Farmer for Kwame Crashes the Underworld (Roaring Brook).
The Coretta Scott King Book Awards spotlight an African American author and illustrator for outstanding works for children and young adults. The Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award was given to C.G. Esperanza for My Daddy Is a Cowboy, written by Stephanie Seales (Abrams). The Coretta Scott King Author award went to Jason Reynolds for Twenty-Four Seconds from Now (Atheneum/Dlouhy).
Three King Author Honor Books were selected: Black Girl You Are Atlas by Renée Watson, illustrated by Ekua Holmes (Kokila); Black Star by Kwame Alexander (Little, Brown); and One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome (Holiday House). My Daddy Is a Cowboy, illustrated by C.G. Esperanza, written by Stephanie Seales (Abrams), is the King Illustrator Book winner.
Three King Illustrator Honor Books were chosen: Coretta: The Autobiography of Mrs. Coretta Scott King, illustrated by Ekua Holmes, written by Coretta Scott King with the Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds (Holt/Godwin); Everywhere Beauty Is Harlem: The Vision of Photographer Roy DeCarava, illustrated by E.B. Lewis, written by Gary Golio (Calkins Creek); and Go Forth and Tell: The Life of Augusta Baker, Librarian and Master Storyteller, illustrated by April Harrison, written by Breanna J. McDaniel (Dial).
The Robert F. Sibert Award for the most distinguished informational book for children went to Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall by Lynn Brunelle, illustrated by Jason Chin (Holiday House/Porter).
Four Sibert Honor books were chosen: Call Me Roberto!: Roberto Clemente Goes to Bat for Latinos by Nathalie Alonso, illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez (Calkins Creek); The Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II by Candace Fleming (Scholastic Focus); The Girl Who Sang: A Holocaust Memoir of Hope and Survival by Estelle Nadel and Sammy Savos with Bethany Strout, illustrated by Sammy Savos (Roaring Brook); and Wings of an Eagle: The Gold Medal Dreams of Billy Mills by Billy Mills and Donna Janell Bowman, illustrated by S.D. Nelson (Little, Brown).
The YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults went to Rising from the Ashes: Los Angeles, 1992. Edward Jae Song Lee, Latasha Harlins, Rodney King, and a City on Fire by Paula Yoo (Norton Young Readers). Four finalists had been previously announced: A Greater Goal: The Epic Battle for Equal Pay in Women’s Soccer—and Beyond by Elizabeth Rusch (Greenwillow); Homebody by Theo Parish (HarperAlley); Shackled: A Tale of Wronged Kids, Rogue Judges, and a Town That Looked Away by Candy J. Cooper (Calkins Creek); and The Unboxing of a Black Girl written by Angela Shanté (Page Street).
The Pura Belpré Awards honor Latinx writers and illustrators whose children’s books best portray, affirm, and celebrate the Latino cultural experience. The Youth Illustration Award went to The Dream Catcher by Marcelo Verdad (Little, Brown). Lola by Karla Arenas Valenti (Knopf) won the 2025 Pura Belpré Children’s Author Award. Shut Up, This Is Serious by Carolina Ixta (Quill Tree) won the Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Award.
The Belpré Illustration Honor Books are Abuelo, the Sea, and Me, illustrated by Tatiana Gardel, written by Ismée Williams (Roaring Brook); and A Maleta Full of Treasures, illustrated by Juana Medina, written by Natalia Sylvester (Dial). The Belpré Children’s Author Honor Books are Cruzita and the Mariacheros by Ashley Granillo (Carolrhoda) and Ultraviolet by Aida Salazar (Scholastic Press). And the Belpré Young Adult Author Honor Books are Libertad by Bessie Flores Zaldívar (Dial) and Wild Dreamers by Margarita Engle (Atheneum).
The William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens went to Not Like Other Girls by Meredith Adamo (Bloomsbury). Four finalists had been previously announced: Aisle Nine by Ian X. Cho (HarperCollins); Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear by Robin Wasley (S&S); Shut Up, This Is Serious by Carolina Ixta (Quill Tree); and The Wilderness of Girls by Madeline Claire Franklin (Zando).
The Stonewall Children’s Award went to Lunar Boy by Jes and Cin Wibowo (HarperAlley). The Stonewall Children’s Honor books are The Flicker by H.E. Edgmon (Feiwel and Friends); Marley’s Pride by Joëlle Retener, illustrated by DeAnn Wiley (Barefoot); Murray Out of Water by Taylor Tracy (Quill Tree); and What I Must Tell the World: How Lorraine Hansberry Found Her Voice by Jay Leslie, illustrated by Loveis Wise (Zando).
The Stonewall Young Adult winner is Canto Contigo by Jonny Garza Villa (Wednesday). The Stonewall YA Honors are Most Ardently: A Pride & Prejudice Remix by Gabe Cole Novoa (Feiwel and Friends); Navigating with You by Jeremy Whitley, illustrated by Casio Ribiero (Mad Cave); Road Home by Rex Ogle (Norton Young Readers); and Time and Time Again by Chatham Greenfield (Bloomsbury).
The winner of the Schneider Family Book Award for Best Younger Children’s Book is A Little Like Magic by Sarah Kurpiel (Rocky Pond). The Schneider Family Book Honors for Younger Children’s Books are Monster Hands by Karen Kane and Jonaz McMillan, illustrated by Dion MBD (Penguin/Paulsen) and You’re SO Amazing by Lucy Catchpole, illustrated by Karen George (Little, Brown).
The recipient of the Schneider Family Book Award for Best Middle Grade Book is Popcorn by Rob Harrell (Dial). Schneider Middle Grade Honor Books are Louder Than Hunger by John Schu (Candlewick), and Shark Teeth by Sherri Winston (Bloomsbury).
The Schneider Family Book Award for Best Young Adult Book went to Chronically Dolores Maya Van Wagenen (Dutton). Schneider YA Honors went to Light Enough to Float by Lauren Seal (Rocky Pond) and On the Bright Side by Anna Sortino (Putnam).
The Sydney Taylor Award for Picture Book was awarded to An Etrog from Across the Sea by Deborah Bodin Cohen and Kerry Olitzky, illustrated by Stacey Dress McQueen (Kar-Ben).
The Sydney Taylor Picture Book honors are Amazing Abe: How Abraham Cahan’s Newspaper Gave a Voice to Jewish Immigrants by Norman H. Finkelstein, illustrated by Vesper Stamper (Holiday House); Joyful Song: A Naming Story by Lesléa Newman, illustrated by Susan Gal (Levine Querido); Rising by Sidura Ludwig, illustrated by Sophia Vincent Guy (Candlewick); and The Tree of Life: How a Holocaust Sapling Inspired the World by Elisa Boxer, illustrated by Alianna Rozentsveig (Rocky Pond).
The 2025 winner of the Sydney Taylor Book Award for Middle Grade is The Girl Who Sang: A Holocaust Memoir of Hope and Survival by Estelle Nadel, Sammy Savos, and Bethany Strout (Roaring Brook). The middle grade Honor books are Across So Many Seas by Ruth Behar (Penguin/Paulsen); Finn and Ezra’s Bar Mitzvah Time Loop by Joshua S. Levy (HarperCollins/Tegen); and Just Shy of Ordinary by A.J Sass (Little, Brown).
The winner of the Sydney Taylor Book Award for Young Adult Book is Night Owls by A.R Vishny (HarperCollins). Sydney Taylor YA Honors went to The Forbidden Book by Sacha Lamb (Levine Querido) and Trajectory by Cambria Gordon (Scholastic).
The winner of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book is Vacation by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Mark Teague (Beach Lane). The Geisel Honor books are Fox Versus Fox by Corey R. Tabor (Greenwillow) and Towed by Toad by Jashar Awan (Tundra).
The winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Picture Book is Aloha Everything by Kaylin Melia George, illustrated by Mae White (Red Comet). The Asian/Pacific American Award Honor picture book is The Rock in My Throat by Kao Kalia Yang, illustrated by Jiemei Lin (Carolrhoda).
The Asian/Pacific American Award for Children’s Literature is Continental Drifter by Kathy MacLeod (First Second). The children’s literature Honor books are Mabuhay! by Zachary Sterling (Graphix) and Clairboyance by Kristiana Kahakauwila (HarperCollins).
The winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature is Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay (Kokila). Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang, illustrated by LeUyen Pham; and Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier (Clarion) were the Asian/Pacific American Young Adult Literature Honor books.
The Odyssey Award highlighting the best audiobook production for children’s went to A Plate of Hope: The Inspiring Story of Chef José Andrés and World Central Kitchen, produced by Andy T. Jones for Dreamscape Audio, written by Erin Frankel, illustrated by Paola Escobar, and narrated by Luis Carlos de La Lombana. The YA Odyssey Award winner is How the Boogeyman Became a Poet produced by Abigail Marks for Harper Audio, written and narrated by Tony Keith Jr.
The Odyssey honor works are Black Girl You Are Atlas, produced by Brian Ramcharan for Listening Library, written by Renée Watson, illustrated by Ekua Holmes and narrated by Renée Watson; Dispatches from Parts Unknown, produced by Almeda Beynon for HarperAudio, written by Bryan Bliss and narrated by Joy Nash, Girls Like Her, produced by Abigail Marks for HarperAudio, written by Melanie Sumrow and narrated by Melanie Sumrow and January LaVoy, and You Are Brave: A Book About Trying New Things, produced by Paul Gagne and John Pels for Scholastic, written by Margaret O’Hair and Sofia Sanchez, illustrated by Sofia Cardoso and narrated by Sofia Sanchez.
