Renée Watson has won the 2026 John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature, for her novel All the Blues in the Sky (Bloomsbury), edited by Sarah Shumway. Cátia Chien has won this year’s Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished picture book for children, for Fireworks (Clarion), written by Matthew Burgess, acquired by Mabel Hsu and edited by Hsu and Kate O’Sullivan. And Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories, compiled by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Heartdrum), edited by Rosemary Brosnan, has won the Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults. The Youth Media Awards were announced live from Chicago on Monday morning, January 26, by the American Library Association—now celebrating its 150th anniversary. The awards were formerly announced at the ALA Midwinter conference, which was later rebranded as LibLearnX and has been discontinued.
In All the Blues in the Sky, 13-year-old Sage is left reeling after her best friend is killed in a hit-and-run accident while on the way to celebrate Sage’s birthday. Per PW’s review, “alternating verse and prose depict Sage’s present-day navigating new and uncomfortable experiences.” Fireworks follows two children through a hot city on the Fourth of July. PW’s starred review notes how “the creators capture with onomatopoeic eloquence the day’s sensations, and establish the children’s day as free and expansive, with plenty of time to savor sounds, sights, and ‘summer on our skin.’ ” And in the 17 loosely connected stories that make up Legendary Frybread Drive-In, “Indigenous teens [navigate] evergreen concerns about love, life, and identity,” per PW’s review.
Four Newbery Honor Books were announced: The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli by Karina Yan Glaser (Allida), A Sea of Lemon Trees by María Dolores Águila (Roaring Brook), The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story by Daniel Nayeri (Levine Querido), and The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman (Little, Brown).
There were four Caldecott Honor Books: Every Monday Mabel, illus. and written by Jashar Arwan (Simon & Schuster), Our Lake, illus. and written by Angie Kang (Kokila), Stalactite & Stalagmite: A Big Tale from a Little Cave, illus. and written by Drew Beckmeyer, and Sundust, illus. and written by Zeke Peña (Kokila).
Four Printz Honor Books were also named: Cope Field by T.L. Simpson (Flux), The House No One Sees by Adina King (Feiwel and Friends), Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley (Holt), and Song of a Blackbird by Maria van Lieshout (First Second). Boulley won the 2022 Printz Award for her YA debut, Firekeeper’s Daughter.
Candace Fleming, author of Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart, The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh, and other acclaimed narrative nonfiction books for young readers, is the winner of the 2026 Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults. She is also this year’s recipient of 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.
Author, poet, and literacy activist Kwame Alexander will deliver the 2027 ALSC Children’s Literature Lecture, an annual event featuring an author, critic, librarian, historian or teacher of children’s literature. Alexander is the bestselling author of more than 40 books, including his Newbery Medal-winning novel in verse, The Crossover.
The Mildred L. Batchelder Award for the best work in translation went to Croco, written and illustrated by Azul López, and translated from the Spanish by Kit Maude (Tapioca Stories). Four Batchelder Honor books were selected. These included The Adventures of Cipollino by Gianni Rodari, illus. by Dasha Tolstikova, and translated from the Italian by Antony Shugaar (Enchanted Lion); From Memen to Mori by Shinsuke Yoshitake, translated from the Japanese by Ajani Oloye (Yen Press); Picking Tea with Baba by Xu Bin, illus. by Yu Yin, and translated from the Chinese by Shan Chen (Charlesbridge); and Pilgrim Codex by Vivian Mansour, illus. by Emmaneul Valtierra, and translated from the Spanish by Carlos Rodríguez Cortez (Levine Querido/Em Querid)
The Coretta Scott King Book Awards spotlight African American authors and illustrators who have created outstanding works for children and young adults. The Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement, given every other year, went to author and illustrator Kadir Nelson. The John Steptoe Award for New Talent went to Arriel Vinson for Under the Neon Lights (Putnam).
This year’s Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award was given to The Library in the Woods, illus. by R. Gregory Christie and written by Calvin Alexander Ramsey (Carolrhoda). The Coretta Scott King Author Award went to Will’s Race for Home by Jewell Parker Rhodes (Little, Brown).
Three CSK Author Honor books were selected: The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze by Derrick Barnes (Viking), The Library in the Woods (Carolrhoda), which also won the CSK Illustrator Award, and Split the Sky by Marie Arnold (Little, Brown).
Two CSK Illustrator Honor Books were chosen: André: André Leon Talle—A Fabulously Fashionable Fairy Tale, illus. by Lamont O’Neal and written by Carole Boston Weatherford and Rob Sanders (Holt); and City Summer, Country Summer, illus. by Alexis Franklin and written by Kiese Laymon (Kokila).
The Robert F. Sibert Medal for the most distinguished informational book for children went to Alberto Salas Plays Paka Paka con la Papa: Join the Quest with Peru’s Famed Scientist and Potato Expert, written by Sara Andrea Fajardo and illus. by Juana Martinez-Neal (Roaring Brook).
Five Sibert Honor books shared the spotlight: At Last She Stood: How Joey Guerrero Spied, Survived, and Fought for Freedom by Erin Entrada Kelly (Greenwillow); Go Tell It: How James Baldwin Became a Writer by Quartez Harris, illus. by Gordon C. James (Little, Brown); The History of We, written and illus. by Nikkolas Smith (Kokila); Silenced Voices: Reclaiming Memories from the Guatemalan Genocide, written and illus. by Pablo Leon (HarperAlley); and A World Without Summer: A Volcano Erupts, a Creature Emerges, and the Sun Goes Out by Nicholas Day, illus. by Yas Imamura (Random House Studio).
The YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults went to Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown by Candace Fleming (Random House/Schwartz). Four finalists had been previously announced: American Spirits: The Famous Fox Sisters and the Mysterious Fad That Haunted a Nation by Barb Rosenstock (Astra/Calkins Creek), White House Secrets: Medical Lies and Cover-Ups by Gail Jarrow (Astra/Calkins Creek), White Lies: How the South Lost the Civil War, Then Rewrote the History by Ann Bausum (Roaring Brook), and A World Without Summer, which also received a Sibert Honor (Random House Studio).
The Pura Belpré Awards—co-sponsored by ALSC, YALSA, and Reforma—honor Latinx authors and illustrators whose children’s books best portray, affirm, and celebrate the Latino cultural experience. The Belpré Youth Illustration Award went to Popo the Xolo, illus. by Abraham Matiaz and written by Paloma Angelina Lopez (Charlesbridge). The Belpré Award for Children’s Author went to The Pecan Sheller by Lupe Ruiz-Flores (Carolrhoda).
On the Wings of La Noche by Vanessa L. Torres (Knopf) received the Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Award. The three Belpré Young Adult honorees are Rosa by Any Other Name by Hailey Alcaraz (Viking), Silenced Voices (HarperAlley), which received a Sibert Honor, and The Story of My Anger by Jasminne Mendez (Dial).
The Belpré Children’s Author Honor recipients were A Hero’s Guide to Summer Vacation by Pablo Cartaya (Kokila), The Island of Forgotten Gods by Victor Piñeiro (Sourcebooks Young Readers), and A Sea of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez by María Dolores Águila (Roaring Brook).
Two titles receiving Belpré Illustration Honors were A–ZTec: A Bilingual Alphabet Book, written and illus. by Emmanuel Valtierra (Levine Querido/Levine), and The Invisible Parade, illus. by John Picacio and written by Leigh Bardugo (Little, Brown).
The William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens went to All the Noise at Once by DeAndra Davis (Atheneum). Four finalists had been previously announced: First Love Language by Stefany Valentine (Penguin Workshop); Love, Misha, written and illus. by Askel Aden (First Second); Red Flags and Butterflies by Sheryl Azzam (Cormorant/DCB); and You and Me on Repeat, written and illus. by Mary Shyne (Holt).
The Stonewall Book Award for Young Adult Literature, given to a book of “exceptional merit relating to the LGBTQIA+ experience,” went to One of the Boys by Victoria Zeller (Levine Querido). Four YA Stonewall Honors were Devils Like Us by L.T. Thompson (Bloomsbury), He’s So Possessed with Me by Corey Liu (Little, Brown), Hick: The Trailblazing Journalist Who Captured Eleanor Roosevelt’s Heart by Sarah Miller (Random House Studio), and Sometimes the Girl by Jennifer Mason-Black (Carolrhoda Lab).
The Stonewall Children’s Literature Award was given to Halfway to Somewhere by Jose Pimienta (Random House Graphic). Four Stonewall Children’s Honors were Call Me Gray by Andrew Larsen and Bells Larsen, illus. by Tallulah Fontaine (Kids Can Press); The Ink Witch by Steph Cherrywell (Little, Brown); Ollie in Between by Jess Callans (Feiwel and Friends); and Woods & Words: The Story of Poet Mary Oliver by Sara Holly Ackerman, illus. by Naoko Stoop (S&S/Beach Lane).
The YA winner of the Schneider Family Book Award, for “books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience,” was Whale Eyes: A Memoir About Seeing and Being Seen by James Robinson, illus. by Brian Rea (Penguin Workshop). The two Schneider YA Honor Books are The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar by Sonora Reyes (HarperCollins), and The Poetry of Car Mechanics by Heidi E.Y. Stemple (Wordsong).
The Schneider Middle Grade Book Award winner was Where Only Storms Grow by Alyssa Colman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). The two Schneider Middle Grade Honor Books are Octopus Moon by Bobbie Pyron (Penguin/Paulsen), and The Strongest Heart by Saadia Faruqi (Quill Tree).
The 2026 Schneider for Younger Children’s Book was awarded to Wanda Hears the Stars: A Blind Astronomer Listens to the Universe by Amy S. Hansen with Wanda Díaz Merced, illus. by Rocio Arreola Mendoza (Charlesbridge). Two Schneider Younger Children’s Honor Books were Bat and the Business of Ferrets by Elana K. Arnold, illus. by Charles Santoso (Clarion); and I Hear the Snow, I Smell the Sea by Janice Milusich, illus. by Chris Raschka (Random House/Schwartz).
The Sydney Taylor Book Awards, presented by the Association of Jewish Libraries, honor “outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience.” The 2026 Sydney Taylor YA Award went to D.J. Rosenblum Becomes the G.O.A.T. by Abby White (Levine Querido/Levine). The Rebel Girls of Rome by Jordyn Taylor (HarperCollins) was named a Sydney Taylor YA Honor Book.
The Sydney Taylor Award for Middle Grade went to Neshama by Marcella Pixley (Candlewick). Beinoni by Mari Lowe (Levine Querido/Levine) won a Sydney Taylor Middle Grade Honor.
The Sydney Taylor Picture Book Award winner was Shabbat Shalom: Let’s Rest and Reset by Suzy Ultman (Rise x Penguin Workshop). Three Sydney Taylor Picture Book Honors went to The Book of Candles: Eight Poems for Hanukkah by Laurel Snyder, illus. by Leanne Hatch (Clarion); The Keeper of Stories by Caroline Kusin Pritchard, illus. by Selina Alko (S&S);, and My Body Can by Laura Gehl, illus. by Alexandra Colombo (Apples & Honey).
The Sydney Taylor Body-of-Work award was given to the late Caldecott Medalist Uri Shulevitz, widely celebrated for his distinctive ink and watercolor images that capture a child’s viewpoint, and stories often drawn from his evocative childhood memories. Shulevitz died on February 15, 2025, two weeks short of his 90th birthday.
The recipient of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for beginning readers is Stop That Mop! by Jonathan Fenske (Simon Spotlight). Three Geisel Honor Books were announced: Earl and Worm: The Big Mess and Other Stories by Greg Pizzoli (Knopf); I Like Hoops by Juwanda G. Ford, illus. by Jada Jeni Bennett (Holiday House); and The Tunneler Tunnels in the Tunnel by Michael Rex (Simon Spotlight).
The Asian/Pacific American Award for Asian American Picture Book went to Many Things at Once by Veera Hiranandani, illus. by Nadia Alam (Random House Studio).
The Asian/Pacific American Award for Children’s Literature went to Hungry Bones by Louise Hung (Scholastic Press).
The Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature went to The Red Car to Hollywood by Jennie Liu (Carolrhoda Lab).
The Pasifika Picture Book Award went to Kaho’olawe: The True Story of an Island and Her People by Kamalani Hurley, illus. by Harinani Orme (Millbrook).
In the picture book category of the American Indian Youth Literature Award, the winner was Chooch Helped by Andrea L. Rogers, illus. by Rebecca Lee Kunz (Levine Querido/Levine). Kunz received the 2025 Caldecott Medal for her illustrations.
In the middle category, the winner was Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan (Penguin/Paulsen). The YA recipient of the American Indian Youth Literature Award Young Adult Book was Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories, edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Heartdrum).The anthology has also won this year’s Printz Award.
Last July, the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) announced plans to merge into one ALSC division. Several months into that transition, YALSA’s awards for older readers—including the Alex Awards for crossover adult titles that find teen readerships and the ALSC- and Booklist-cosponsored Odyssey Award for audiobook production—remain in place.
The Odyssey Awards Honor Audiobooks are The Dead of Summer, produced by Zane Birdwell and Paul Gagne for Scholastic Audio, written by Ryan La Sala; Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories, produced by Sydney Mathieu of Eljin Productions for Heartdrum, edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith; Soundtrack, produced by Dan Zitt and Brian Ramcharan for Listening Library, written by Jason Reynolds; and Whale Eyes: A Memoir About Seeing and Being Seen, produced by Iris McElroy and Olivia Langen for Listening Library, written and narrated by James Robinson and illus. by Brian Rea.
The Odyssey Children’s Award went to 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. In the Young Adult Category, the Odyssey went to Trans History: From Ancient Times to the Present Day, produced by Iris McElroy and Juan Garcia Ticoulat for Listening Library, written and illustrated by Alex L. Combs and Andrew Eakett.
