Youth Media Awards 2021

The Newbery Medal will be awarded to When You Trap a Tiger, written by Tae Keller (Random House). Five Newbery Honor Books also were named: All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team, written by Christina Soontornvat (Candlewick Press); BOX: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom, written by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Michele Wood (Candlewick); Fighting Words, written by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (Dial); We Dream of Space, written by Erin Entrada Kelly, illustrated by Erin Entrada Kelly and Celia Krampien (Greenwillow/HarperCollins); and A Wish in the Dark, written by Christina Soontornvat (Candlewick).

The Caldecott Medal will be awarded to We Are Water Protectors, illustrated by Michaela Goade, written by Carole Lindstrom (Roaring Brook). Four Caldecott Honor Books also were named: A Place Inside of Me: A Poem to Heal the Heart, illustrated by Noa Denmon, written by Zetta Elliott (Farrar); The Cat Man of Aleppo, illustrated by Yuko Shimizu, written by Irene Latham & Karim Shamsi-Basha (Putnam); Me & Mama, illustrated and written by Cozbi A. Cabrera (Millner/Simon); and Outside In, illustrated by Cindy Derby, written by Deborah Underwood (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).

The Coretta Scott King Book Award for writing goes to Before the Ever After, written by Jacqueline Woodson (Paulsen/Penguin). Three King Author Honor Books were selected: All the Days Past, All the Days to Come, written by Mildred D. Taylor (Viking); King and the Dragonflies, written by Kacen Callender (Scholastic); and Lifting as We Climb: Black Women’s Battle for the Ballot Box, written by Evette Dionne (Viking).

The Coretta Scott King Book Award for illustration goes to R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, illustrated by Frank Morrison, written by Carole Boston Weatherford (Atheneum). Three King Illustrator Honor Books were selected: Magnificent Homespun Brown: A Celebration, illustrated by Kaylani Juanita, written by Samara Cole Doyon (Tilbury House); Exquisite: The Poetry and Life of Gwendolyn Brooks, illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera, written by Suzanne Slade (Abrams); and Me & Mama, illustrated and written by Cozbi A. Cabrera (Millner/Simon).

The Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award goes to Legendborn, written by Tracy Deonn (McElderry).

Dorothy L. Guthrie is the winner of the Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.

The Pura Belpré Award for illustration goes to ¡Vamos! Let’s Go Eat, illustrated and written by Raúl Gonzalez (Versify/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). One Belpré Illustrator Honor Book was named: Sharuko: El Arqueólogo Peruano/Peruvian Archaeologist Julio C. Tello, illustrated by Elisa Chavarri, written by Monica Brown (Lee & Low).

The Pura Belpré Children’s Author Award goes to Efrén Divided, written by Ernesto Cisneros (Harper). Two Belpré Children’s Author Honor Books were named: The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez, written by Adrianna Cuevas (Farrar); and Lupe Wong Won’t Dance, written by Donna Barba Higuera (Levine Querido).

The Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Award goes to Furia, written by Yamile Saied Méndez (Algonquin). Two Belpré Young Adult Author Honor Books were named: Never Look Back, written by Lilliam Rivera (Bloomsbury), and We Are Not from Here, written by Jenny Torres Sanchez (Philomel).

The American publisher receiving The Mildred L. Batchelder Award for the most outstanding translation of a book originally published in a foreign language is Enchanted Lion for Telephone Tales, written by Gianni Rodari, illustrated by Valerio Vidali, and translated from the Italian by Antony Shugaar. One Honor Book also was selected: Catherine’s War, written by Julia Billet, illustrated by Claire Fauvel, and translated from the French by Ivanka Hahnenberger (HarperAlley).

The Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature for young adults goes to Everything Sad Is Untrue (a true story), by Daniel Nayeri (Levine Querido). Four Printz Honor Books also were named: Apple (Skin to the Core), by Eric Gansworth (Levine Querido); Dragon Hoops, by Gene Luen Yang, color by Lark Pien (First Second); Every Body Looking, by Candice Iloh (Dutton); and We Are Not Free, by Traci Chee (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).

The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children goes to Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera, written...