Members of the children’s book community gathered at the New York Historical in Manhattan on Thursday, September 25, for the 18th annual Carle Honors, recognizing individuals and organizations whose work has brought the art of picture book-making to new heights.

The ceremony was hosted by 2025–2026 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Mac Barnett, author of more than 60 children’s titles and the co-creator of the Looking at Picture Books Substack with frequent collaborator Jon Klassen. In his opening remarks, he said, “The picture book is one of the greatest ways to share stories that humans have come up with.” He went on to describe its potent infusion of multiple art forms, such as theater and dance (found in the dynamic “triangle between book, body, and face” when reading aloud) music, and graphic design. But “outside this room,” he said, “I hate to break it to you: there are people who don’t take the picture book seriously. They underestimate the work and the children.” Describing the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst, Mass., as “a gift to American and world literary culture” and “a warm and welcoming place for children,” he said, “we are here tonight to honor people who make great art for kids.”

Author-illustrator Maira Kalman kicked off the series of accolades as presenter of the Inspiration Award, which was launched last year. Kalman praised winner Jane Bayard Curley for the “acute eye and vast knowledge” she brings to her longtime work as a curator of exhibits at the Carle Museum showcasing such legends as Ludwig Bemelmans and Hilary Knight. Curley thanked the Carle “for letting me be a part of this beautiful community” and called her colleagues at the museum “a total brain trust—but more than that, my dear friends.”

Next up was a musical performance by Alphonso Horne and Friends, curated by Jazz at Lincoln Center, in honor of this year’s Artist Award recipient, George C. Ford Jr. The trio played “What a Wonderful World” as Ford’s work was projected on the screen, including images from Ray Charles, written by Sharon Bell Mathis, for which he earned the first-ever Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award in 1974. The 99-year-old Ford sang along as he took to the stage, accompanied by friends Cheryl Willis Hudson and Wade Hudson, founders of Just Us Books. Cheryl highlighted his values of “respect, humanity, and love,” noting that in his books, “it’s all about the children: capturing and engaging them.” Wade called him “a pioneer, a truthteller, and a consummate artist,” adding that Ford has been a “participant in many of the world’s cultural and political events for the last 75 years.” Ford thanked the Carle for “a chance to do my Louis Armstrong imitation,” and shared off-the-cuff memories of his life and work with the cadence of a lively jazz improvisation. He concluded by urging the audience that “in the face of book banners who want to eliminate ‘diverse books’—and they mean Black books—we can win.”

The 2025 Angel Award went to the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a research hub serving librarians and educators through bibliographies, book lists, its annual Diversity Statistics, and more. Barnett read remarks on behalf of Meg Medina, Newbery Medalist and National Ambassador Emeritus, in which she called the CCBC’s work “utterly essential to us as an industry and a nation.” Representing the organization, director Tessa Michaelson Schmidt said that since 1963 the CCBC has been proud to promote “access, inclusion, and diversity” in children’s books. Addressing the audience, she said, “We know, and [teacher and librarians] know, and you know that it matters.”

Presenting the Bridge Award to the Seattle Children’s Theater was frequent SCT performer Don Darryl Rivera, who called the troupe “revolutionary” in “sparking imagination and wonder in young people” and “ensuring access so that every child has the chance to dream big.” Over the past 50 years, the theater company has staged more than 300 plays, including numerous adaptations of beloved picture books. Artistic director emerita Linda Hartzell accepted the honor, saying that her visit to the Carle Museum in 2015 was “as thrilling as visiting New York City’s museums, the Louvre, or the Accademia.” She said, “The beauty of kids’ theater is giving these books a bit more dimension in a communal setting.”

Barnett returned to the stage to introduce Mentor Award winner Andrea Davis Pinkney, Coretta Scott King Book Award-winning author and VP, executive editor at Scholastic, since 2005. “You’re part of what keeps the children’s book community together,” Barnett said, lauding her “grace, generosity, and genuine connection” with kids. Pinkney’s acceptance speech took the form of a poem, as her son Dobbin Pinkney embodied the words through movement. “This room brings the power of picture books,” she began. “Stories that invited me like open wings to fly.” Pinkney beckoned, “Come along, my friend.” She described the picture book as “a pretty prism of pictures and words that spell joy,” and the experience of seeing oneself reflected on its cover and in its pages. “Reading is free—freedom.”

Barnett concluded the ceremony by wishing Pinkney a happy birthday, and with a call to “go forth and proclaim the power of the picture book!”