Meg Medina has won the 2019 John Newbery Medal for her novel Merci Suárez Changes Gears (Candlewick), edited by Kate Fletcher. Sophie Blackall has won the 2019 Randolph Caldecott Medal for Hello Lighthouse (Little, Brown), edited by Susan Rich. And Elizabeth Acevedo has won the 2019 Michael L. Printz Award for The Poet X (HarperTeen), edited by Rosemary Brosnan. The awards were announced Monday morning at the American Library Association’s midwinter conference in Seattle. It was the first ALA win for Medina and Acevedo; Blackall won the 2016 Caldecott Medal for Finding Winnie. Acevedo won the 2018 National Book Award for The Poet X.
Two Newbery Honor Books were named: The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani (Dial), and The Book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdoch (Greenwillow).
There were four Caldecott Honor Books: Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal (Candlewick); A Big Mooncake for Little Star by Grace Lin (Little, Brown); The Rough Patch by Brian Lies (Greenwillow); and Thank You, Omu! by Oge Mora (Little, Brown).
Three Printz Honor Books were named: Damsel by Elana K. Arnold (HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray); A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti (Simon Pulse); and I, Claudia by Mary McCoy (Carolrhoda Lab)
The William C. Morris Award, for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens, was given to Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram (Dial). The novel also received the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature in the YA category.
The four Morris Award finalists were: Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough (Dutton); Check, Please!: #Hockey by Ngozi Ukazu (First Second); Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (Holt); and What the Night Sings by Vesper Stamper (Knopf).
The Mildred L. Batchelder Award for best work of translation went to The Fox on the Swing, written by Evelina Daciūtė, illustrated by Aušra Kiudulaitė, and translated from the Lithuanian by the Translation Bureau (Thames & Hudson). Four Batchelder Honor Books were selected: Run for Your Life (Yonder) by Silvana Gandolfi, translated from the Italian by Lynne Sharon Schwartz; My Beijing: Four Stories of Everyday Wonder by Nie Jun, originally published in Mandarin and translated from the French by Edward Gauvin (Graphic Universe); Edison: The Mystery of the Missing Mouse Treasure by Torben Kuhlmann, translated from the German by David Henry Wilson (NorthSouth); and Jerome by Heart by Thomas Scotto, illustrated by Olivier Tallec, and translated from the French by Claudia Zoe Bedrick and Karin Snelson (Enchanted Lion).
The Robert F. Sibert Award for the most distinguished informational book for children went to The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian’s Art Changed Science by Joyce Sidman (HMH). There were five Sibert Honors: Camp Panda: Helping Cubs Return to the Wild by Catherine Thimmesh (HMH); Spooked!: How a Radio Broadcast and The War of the Worlds Sparked the 1938 Invasion of America by Gail Jarrow (Calkins Creek); The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown (HMH); We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Frané Lessac (Charlesbridge); and When Angels Sing: The Story of Rock Legend Carlos Santana by Michael Mahin, illustrated by Jose Ramirez (Atheneum).
The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for most distinguished beginning reader book went to Fox the Tiger by Corey R. Tabor (HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray). There were four Geisel Honor Books: The Adventures of Otto: See Pip Flap by David Milgrim (Simon Spotlight); Fox + Chick: The Party and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier (Chronicle); King & Kayla and the Case of the Lost Tooth by Dori Hillestad Butler, illustrated by Nancy Meyers (Peachtree); and Tiger vs. Nightmare by Emily Tetri (First Second).
The 2019 Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime contribution in writing for young adults was given to M.T. Anderson, and Neil Gaiman was chosen to deliver the 2020 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture.
This year’s Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement was given to Dr. Paulette Brown Bracy, professor of library science and director of the office of university accreditation at North Carolina Central University.
A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 by Claire Hartfield (Clarion) won the Coretta Scott King Author Award, and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award went to The Stuff of Stars, illustrated by Ekua Holmes and written by Marion Dane Bauer (Holmes won last year’s Illustrator Award as well, for Out of Wonder).
Three King Author Honor Books were selected: Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransome (Holiday House); The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson (Scholastic/Levine); and The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon (Random House/Lamb).
Three King Illustrator Honor Books were chosen: Hidden Figures, illustrated by Laura Freeman, written by Margot Lee Shetterly (HarperCollins); Let the Children March, illustrated by Frank Morrison, written by Monica Clark-Robinson (HMH); and Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, written by Alice Faye Duncan (Calkins Creek).
The Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award went to Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson (HarperCollins/Tegen). Thank You, Omu!, illustrated and written by Oge Mora (Little, Brown), won the Steptoe Illustrator Award.
The Pura Belpré Awards, honoring a Latinx writer and illustrator whose children’s books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience, went to Dreamers by Yuyi Morales (Holiday House/Porter), for the Illustrator Award; and The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (HarperTeen) for the Author Award. Two Belpré Illustrator Honor Books were named: Islandborn, illustrated by Leo Espinosa, written by Junot Díaz (Dial); and When Angels Sing: The Story of Rock Legend Carlos Santana, illustrated by Jose Ramirez, written by Michael Mahin (Atheneum). One Belpré Author Honor Book was named: They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid’s Poems by David Bowles (Cinco Puntos).
The Schneider Family Book Awards, for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience, went to Rescue & Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship by Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes, illustrated by Scott Magoon (Candlewick) for best young children’s book; The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor (HarperCollins/Tegen) for best middle grade book; and Anger Is a Gift by Mark Oshiro (Tor Teen) for best teen book.
There was one honor book in each category for the Schneider Awards: The Remember Balloons, written by Jessie Oliveros, illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte (Simon & Schuster), for young children; The Collectors by Jacqueline West (Greenwillow), for middle grade; and (Don’t) Call Me Crazy: 33 Voices Start the Conversation About Mental Health, edited by Kelly Jensen (Algonquin), for teens.
The Stonewall Book Award, given to children’s and YA books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience, went to two books: Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love (Candlewick), and Hurricane Child by Kheryn Callender (Scholastic Press). There were two Stonewall Honor Books: Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake (Little, Brown); and Picture Us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert (Hyperion).
The Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature is administered by the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association. This year's winner in the Picture Book category is Drawn Together by Minh Lê, illustrated by Dan Santat (Disney-Hyperion). Front Desk by Kelly Yang (Scholastic/Levine) won in the Children’s Literature category; and Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram (Dial) won in the Young Adult Literature category.
Three APALA Honor books were also selected: in the Picture Book category, Grandmother’s Visit by Betty Quan, illustrated by Carmen Mok (Groundwood); in the Children's Literature category, The House That Lou Built by Mae Respicio (Random House/Lamb); and in the Young Adult Literature category, The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan (Little, Brown).
The Sydney Taylor Book Award for outstanding books for young readers that authentically portray the Jewish experience are presented by the Association of Jewish Libraries. This year’s winners are All-of-a-Kind-Family Hanukkah by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky (Random House/Schwartz & Wade) in the Younger Readers category; Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier (Abrams/Amulet) in the Older Readers category; and What the Night Sings by Vesper Stamper (Knopf) for Teen Readers.
Five Sydney Taylor Honor Books were also chosen. For Younger Readers, the Honor Books are A Moon for Moe and Mo by Jane Breskin Zalben, illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini (Charlesbridge), and Through the Window: Views of Marc Chagall’s Life and Art by Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Mary GrandPré (Knopf). For Older Readers, the Honor Books are All Three Stooges by Erica S. Perl (Knopf), and The Length of a String by Elissa Brent Weissman (Dial). For Teen Readers, the Honor Book is You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone by Rachel Lynn Solomon (Simon Pulse).
The YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction went to The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown (HMH). Four books were finalists for the award: The Beloved World of Sonia Sotomayor Sonia Sotomayor (Delacorte); Boots on the Ground: America’s War in Vietnam by Elizabeth Partridge (Viking); The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler by John Hendrix (Abrams/Amulet); and Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Scholastic/Graphix).
The Odyssey Award for excellence in audiobook production went to Sadie by Courtney Summers, narrated by Rebecca Soler, Fred Berman, Dan Bittner, Gabra Zackman, et al. (Macmillan Audio). Four Odyssey Honor Audiobooks were selected: Du Iz Tak by Carson Ellis, narrated by Eli and Sebastian D’Amico, Burton, Galen, and Laura Fott, Sarah Hart, Bella Higginbotham, Evelyn Hipp, and Brian Hull (Scholastic/Weston Woods); Esquivel! Space-Age Sound Artist by Susan Wood, narrated by Brian Amador (Live Oak Media); The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson, narrated by Cherise Booth (Scholastic Audiobooks); and The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (HarperAudio).
