Congratulations to the 2023 ALA Award Winners!

The John Newbery Medal Award celebrates authors who have made the most distinguished contributions to American Literature for Children. We’re excited to see Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson winning this year’s John Newbery Medal. Set against the backdrop of the American South, Freewater is a poignant tale of courage, survival and strength. Debut author Amina Luqman-Dawson has seamlessly woven fiction into reality with the story of a young boy working to free himself and his family from slavery. We’re also thrilled to see Iveliz Explains It All, The Last Mapmaker, and Maizy Chen’s Last Chance as Newbery Honor books. 

The Randolph Caldecott Medal is one of the most prestigious awards an illustrator can win. The winner of the 2023 Randolph Caldecott Medal is Hot Dog by Doug Salati. A summery picture book about an overheated pup at the beach contains fluid art and lyrical text, soothing readers in a way similar to the ebb and flow of the waves on the sand. This year’s Caldecott Honor Books included stellar titles like Ain’t Burned All the Bright, Berry Song, and our 2022 Children’s & YA Book Award Winner, Knight Owl. We’re so proud to see one of our favorite picture books of the past year honored in this way! 

The Coretta Scott King Awards have 3 major categories: Author, Illustrator, and the John Steptoe New Talent Award. Each category is dear to us, but we are utterly thrilled to see the author of one of our Best Young Adult Books of 2022, Jas Hammonds, author of We Deserve Monuments as one of the winners of the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award. The other winner of this award was illustrator Janelle Washington for Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement.

The Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award went to Frank Morrison for Standing in the Need of Prayer: A Modern Retelling of the Classic Spiritual, and honors went to April Harrison for Me and the Boss: A Story About Mending and Love, Johnnie Christmas for Swim Team, and Dawud Anyabwile for Victory. Stand! Raising My Fist for Justice. 

The final Coretta Scott King Award, this one honoring authors, went to the very same winner of the John Newbery Medal, Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson. The honorees included Ibi Zoboi for Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler, Alicia D. Williams for The Talk, and Tommie Smith and Derrick Barnes for Victory. Stand! Raising My Fist for Justice.

The Michael L. Printz Award goes to a title that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. This year’s winner goes to the ever stunning All My Rage by Saaba Tahir. The National Book Award Winner for Young People’s Literature made a splash as an instant New York Times bestseller and has only continued to build buzz since. Brilliant and heart-wrenching, this story of family, forgiveness, love, and loss isn’t bound by generations or continents, and is one everyone must read. Other books honored for this award included Icebreaker by A. L. Graziadei, When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb, and Queer Ducks (And Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality by Eliot Schrefer and illustrated by Jules Zuckerberg.

The young reader winner of the Odyssey Award went to Stuntboy, In the Meantime by Jason Reynolds, illustrated by Raúl the Third, and narrated by a full cast of narrators, this standout audiobook follows Portico Reeves, a young boy with a super-secret superhero identity who protects the people in his castle, also known as an apartment building. With Portico’s parents fighting more and more, he gets the worry wiggles and makes it his mission to save them too. This relatable story about a boy experiencing anxiety and life changes from favorite author Jason Reynolds is simply a must-listen to book!

The Honeys by Ryan La Sala quickly became one of our favorites, earning its place on our Best Young Adult Books of 2022 list. We’re not surprised that the audiobook as narrated by Pete Cross won the Odyssey Award for Young Adult books. Haunting, atmospheric, and completely mesmerizing, we dare you to press pause on The Honeys after you listen to the heart-pounding first chapter. Beware: this sun-drenched summer horror story won’t let you go until the very last word.