The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) announced the 2022 Youth Media Awards on January 24, 2022, at the American Library Association's Midwinter Meeting. Read about the winning books below.
Summaries are from the publishers.
The John Newbery Medal
The Newbery Medal is awarded annually to the author of the most distinguished contribution for children published in the past year. In 1922, the Newbery Medal became the first children's book award in the world. Its terms, as well as its long history, continue to make it the best-known and most discussed children's book award in this country.
The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
A girl named Petra Pena wanted nothing more than to be a storyteller, like her abuelita (grandmother). But Petra's world is ending. Earth has been destroyed by a comet, and only a few hundred scientists and their children - among them Petra and her family - have been chosen to journey to a new planet. They are the ones who must carry on the human race. Hundreds of years later, Petra wakes to this new planet - and the discovery that she is the only person who remembers Earth. A sinister Collective has taken over the ship during its journey, bent on erasing the sins of humanity's past. They have systematically purged the memories of all aboard - or purged them altogether. Petra alone now carries the stories of our past and with them any hope for our future. Can she make them live again?
See current and past Newbery Medal winners and honorees available at CRRL here.
The Randolph Caldecott Medal
The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of 19th-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
Watercress by Andrea Wang
Embarrassed about gathering watercress from a roadside ditch, a girl learns to appreciate her Chinese heritage after learning why the plant is so important to her parents.
See current and past Caldecott Medal winners and honorees available at CRRL here.
The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award
The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award, established in 2004, is given annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished contribution for children published in the previous year.
See the Cat by David LaRochelle
What happens when the book gets it wrong? Max is not a cat - Max is a dog! But much to his dismay, this book keeps instructing readers to "see the cat." How can Max get through to the book that he is a dog? In a trio of stories for beginning readers, author David LaRochelle introduces the excitable Max, who lets the book know in irresistibly emphatic dialogue that the text is not to his liking. Illustrator Mike Wohnoutka hilariously depicts the pup's reactions to the narrator and to the wacky cast of characters who upend Max's - and readers' - expectations as the three stories build to an immensely satisfying conclusion.
See current and past Theodor Seuss Geisel Award winners available at CRRL here.
The Coretta Scott King Author Book & Illustrator Awards
Designed to commemorate the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and to honor Mrs. Coretta Scott King for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace, the Coretta Scott King Book awards annually recognize outstanding books for young adults and children by African American authors and illustrators that reflect the African American experience.
Unspeakable the Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford; Illustrated by Floyd Cooper
The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre was one of the worst incidents of racial violence in our nation's history. On May 31 and June 1, an armed mob looted homes and businesses as African American families fled. The police did nothing to protect Greenwood, and as many as 300 African Americans were killed, most buried in unmarked graves. No official investigation occurred until 75 years later. Weatherford helps young readers understand the events of this incident.
See current and past King Illustrator & Author Award winners and honorees available at CRRL here.
The Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Literature
The Michael L. Printz Award is given to the author of a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature.
Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, either in her hometown or on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. She dreams of college, but, when her family is struck by tragedy, she puts her future on hold to care for her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, a new recruit on her brother Levi's hockey team. When Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, she reluctantly agrees to go undercover, drawing on her knowledge of chemistry and Ojibwe traditional medicine to track down the source of a new drug. How far will she go to protect her community, if it threatens to tear apart the only world she's ever known?
See current and past Printz Award winners and honorees available at CRRL here.
