Award Winning Books

2021 Youth and YA Literature Awards

Coretta Scott King Awards

The Coretta Scott King Awards recognize an African-American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults that demonstrate sensitivity to "the true worth and value of all beings." The Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award is presented to a writer and/or illustrator at the beginning of their career as a published children's book creator.

Coretta Scott King Award Winners 1970-2021

Coretta Scott King Medal Winners Poster 1970-2021

Author Award

Coretta Scott King Author Award, 2021

WINNER

Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson

HONORS

All the Days Past, All the Days to Come by Mildred D. Taylor

Lifting as We Climb: Black Women's Battle for the Ballot Box by Evette Dionne

King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender


Pura Belpré Award

The Pura Belpré Award is presented to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.

Pura Belpré Illustrator Award, 2021

Pura Belpré Pura Belpre Illustrator 1996 - 2021

Pura Belpré Children's Author Awards

Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Awards

Author Award

WINNER

Children's

Efrén Divided by Ernesto Cisneros

Young Adult

Furia by Yamile Saied MĂ©ndez

HONORS

Children's

The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez by Adrianna Cuevas

Lupe Wong Won't Dance by Donna Barba Higuera

Young Adult

Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera

We Are Not from Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez


Illustrator Award

WINNER

¡Vamos! Let's Go Eat by Raul the Third

HONORS

Sharuko = Sharuko: El ArqueĂłlogo Peruano Julio C. Tello = Peruvian Archaeologist Julio C. Tello by Monica Brown


Michael L. Printz Award

The Michael L. Printz Award is presented to a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature.

Michael L. Printz Award, 2021

Michael L. Printz Award, 1996 - 2021

WINNER

Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

HONORS

Apple: Skin to the Core by Eric Gansworth

Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang

Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh

We Are Not Free by Traci Chee


Schneider Family Book Award

The Schneider Family Book Awards honor an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences. Three awards are given annually in each of the following categories: birth through grade school, middle school, and teens.

Schneider Family Book Award, 2021

WINNER - Children's

I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott

HONORS

All the Way to the Top: How One Girl's Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything by Annette Bay Pimentel

Itzhak: A Boy Who Loved the Violin by Tracy Newman

WINNER - Middle School

Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte

HONORS

Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen! by Sarah Kapit

When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson

WINNER - Teen

This Is My Brain in Love by I. W. Gregorio


Alex Awards

The Alex Awards are given to the best adult books that have special appeal for a young adult audience.

Alex Awards Adult Books For Youth, 2021

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

Impossible First: Young Readers Edition by Colin O'Brady

Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf

The Kids Are Gonna Ask by Gretchen Anthony

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi

Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh

We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry

Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production

Odyssey Award For Excellence In Audiobook Production, 2021

WINNER

Kent State by Deborah Wiles

HONORS

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevdedo

Fighting Words by Kimberly Bradley

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-Winning Stamped from the Beginning by Jason Reynolds

When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria, Jamieson and Omar, Mohamed

Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature Award

Stonewall Children's And Young Adult Literature Award, 2021

The award honors exceptional merit in English-language works relating to the gay / lesbian / bisexual / transgendered experience.

Winners

Coming Soon! - We Are Little Feminists: Families

HONORS

Beetle and The Hollowbones by Aliza Layne

Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

Mildred L. Batchelder Award

The Mildred L. Batchelder Award honors an outstanding children's book translated from a foreign language and subsequently published in the United States.

Mildred L. Batchelder, 2021

WINNER

Telephone Tales by Gianni Rodari

HONORS

Catherine's War by Julia Billet


Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature

The goal of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature is to honor and recognize individual work about Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage, based on literary and artistic merit. Each award will be named and given the award seal during the annual APALA Literature Award Ceremony.

Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, 2021

WINNER - Picture Book

Paper Son: The Inspiring Story of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant and Artist by Julie Leung

HONORS

Danbi Leads the School Parade by Anna Kim

WINNER - Children's Literature

When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller

HONORS

Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park

WINNER - Young Adult Literature

This Light Between Us by Andrew Fukuda

HONORS

Displacement by Kiku Hughes