Award Winning Books for Children
Caldecott Medal
Caldecott Medal
The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
2026 Winner
Fireworks
- by illustrated by Cátia Chien, written by Matthew Burgess
2026 Honor Books
Every Monday Mabel
- by Jashar Awan
Our Lake
- by Angie Kang
Stalactite & Stalagmite: A Big Tale for a Little Cafe
- by Drew Beckmeyer
Sundust
- by Zeke Peña
Goldfinch Award
Goldfinch Award
The Goldfinch Award gives children an opportunity to choose the award winning book and to suggest books for the yearly reading list. Books chosen are fiction or nonfiction titles appropriate for children in preschool through 3rd grade.
2025-2026 Nominees
Built to Last
- by Minh Le
Evergreen
- by Matthew Cordell
Giraffe is Too Tall for this Book
- by DK Ryland
How the Dinosaurs Went Extinct: A Safety Guide
- by Amy Dyckman
How to Get Your Octopus to School
- by Becky Scharnhorst
I Want 100 Dogs
- by Stacy McAnulty
Just Try It!
- by Lily and Thin Rosenthal
Lucky Duck
- by Greg Pizzoli
Ready to Soar
- by Cori Doerrfeld
Simon and the Better Bone
- by Corey R. Tabor
Someone Just Like You
- by Helen Docherty
Thank You, Moon: Celebrating Nature’s Nightlight
- by Melissa Stewart
The Wrong Book
- by Drew Daywalt
There Was a Party for Langston
- by Jason Reynolds
Time to Make Art
- by Jeff Mack
Tokyo Night Parade
- by J.P. Takahashi
What Happened to You
- by James Catchpole
When Things Aren’t Going Right, Go Left
- by Marc Colagiovanni
Why Not You?
- by Ciara and Russell Wilson
Yetis Are the Worst
- by Alex Willan
Iowa Children's Choice Award (ICCA)
Iowa Children's Choice Award (ICCA)
The Iowa Children’s Choice Award gives children an opportunity to choose the award winning book and to suggest books for the yearly reading list. Books chosen are fiction or nonfiction titles appropriate for children in 3rd through 6th grade.
2025-2026 Nominees
A Work in Progress
- by Jarrett Lerner
Dogtown
- by Katherine Applegate
Drawing Deena
- by Hena Kahn
Ferris
- by Kate DiCamillo
Firefly Summer
- by Morgan Matson
Good Different
- by Meg Eden Kuyatt
Half Moon Summer
- by Elaine Vickers
Hands
- by Torrey Maldonado
How to Catch a Polar Bear
- by Stacy Dekeyser
It Found Us
- by Lindsey Currie
Just Gus
- by McCall Hoyle
Just Keep Walking
- by Erin Soderberg Downing
Labors of Hercules Beal
- by Gary D. Schmidt
Max in the House of Spies
- by Adam Gidwitz
Not an Easy Win
- by Giles Chrystal
Nothing Else But Miracles
- by Kate Albus
Probability of Everything
- by Sarah Everett
Rewind
- by Lisa Graff
Shiny Misfits
- by Maysoon Zayid
Something Like Home
- by Andrea Arango
Superteacher Project
- by Gordon Korman
The Lion of Lark-Hayes Manor
- by Aubrey Hartman
The Lost Library
- by Rebecca Stead
The Misfits: A Royal Conundrum
- by Lisa Yee
You Are Here: Connecting Flights
- by Ellen Oh
Newbery Medal
Newbery Medal
The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.
2026 Winner
All the Blues in the Sky
- by Renée Watson
2026 Honor Books
A Sea of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez
- by María Dolores Águila
The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli
- by Karina Yan Glaser
The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story
- by Daniel Nayeri
The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest
- by Aubrey Hartman
Coretta Scott King Award
Coretta Scott King Award
The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values. The award commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and honors his wife, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace and world brotherhood.
2025 Award Winner
Twenty Four Seconds From Now
- by Jason Reynolds
2025 Illustrator Award Winner
My Daddy is a Cowboy
- by Stephanie Seales
2025 Honor Books
Black Girl You Are Atlas
- by Renée Watson
Black Star
- by Kwame Alexander
One Big Open Sky
- by Lesa Cline-Ransome
2025 Illustrator Honor Books
Coretta: The Autobiography of Mrs. Coretta Scott King
- by Ekua Holmes
Everywhere Beauty Is Harlem: The Vision of Photographer Roy DeCarava
- by E. B. Lewis
Go Forth and Tell: The Life of Augusta Baker, Librarian and Master Storyteller
- by April Harrison
Pura Belpré Award
Pura Belpré Award
The award is named after Pura Belpré, the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, is presented annually 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. It is co-sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), and REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking, an ALA affiliate.
2025 Winner
Lola
- by Karla Arenas Valenti
2025 Honor Books
Benitra y las Criaturas Nocturnas
- by Mariana Llanos
Cruzita and the Mariacheros
- by Ashley Granillo
Ultraviolet
- by Aida Salazar
Theodor Seuss Geisel Award
Theodor Seuss Geisel Award
The Geisel Award is given annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished American book for beginning readers published in English in the United States during the preceding year.
2024 Winner
Fox Has a Problem
- by Corey R Tabor
2024 Honor Books
Henry, Like Always
- by Jenn Bailey
Worm and Caterpillar are Friends
- by Kaz Windness
Award Winning Books for Teens
Alex Awards
Alex Awards
The Alex Awards are given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18. The winning titles are selected from the previous year’s publishing. The Alex Awards were first given annually beginning in 1998 and became an official ALA award in 2002.
2026 Winners
Harriet Tubman: Live in Convert
- by Bob the Drag Queen
Hole in the Sky
- by Daniel H Wilson
Insectopolis: A Natural History
- by Peter Kuper
Plum
- by Andy Anderegg
Sonita: My Fight Against Tyranny and My Escape to Freedom
- by Sonita Alizada
The Favorites
- by Layne Fargo
The Girls Who Grew Big
- by Leila Mottley
The Whyte Python World Tour
- by Travis Kennedy
These Heathens
- by Mia McKenzie
What Kind of Paradise
- by Janelle Brown
American Indian Literature Award
American Indian Youth Literature Award
Awarded biennially, the AIYLA identifies and honors the very best writing and illustrations by Native Americans and Indigenous peoples of North America. Books selected to receive the award present Indigenous North American peoples in the fullness of their humanity
2026 Winner
Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories
- by edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith
2026 Honor Books
Sisters in the Wind
- by Angeline Boulley
The Unfinished
- by Cheryl Issacs
Where Wolves Don’t Die
- by Anton Treuer
Asian/Pacific American Literature Award
Asian / Pacific American Award for YA
The Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature honors and recognizes individual works by Asian/Pacific American authors that highlight Asian/Pacific American cultures and experiences.
2026 Winner
The Red Car to Hollywood
- by Jennie Liu
2026 Honor Book
Tall Water
- by SJ Sindu
Excellence in Nonfiction Award
Excellence in Nonfiction Award
YALSA’s Award for Excellence in Nonfiction honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during a Nov. 1 – Oct. 31 publishing year.
2026 Winner
Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown
- by Candace Fleming
2026 Honor Books
A World Without Summer: A Volcano Erupts, A Creature Awakens, and the Sun Goes Out
- by Nicholas Day
American Spirits: The Famous Fox Sisters and the Mysterious Fad that Haunted a Nation
- by Barb Rosenstock
White House Secrets: Medical Lies and Cover-Ups
- by Gail Jarrow
white Lies: How the South Lost the Civil War, Then Rewrote the History
- by Ann Bausum
Iowa High School Book Award (IHSBA)
Iowa High School Book Award
In March, high school students across Iowa take part in the nomination of books for the Iowa High School Book Award. These books are reviewed by the IHSBA committee and teacher librarian volunteer readers and the list is narrowed. During the summer, the readers read and rate the titles. The committee members finalize the list in the fall. The list for the next school year is released in January for the following school year.
2025-2026 Nominees
Accountable
- by Dashka Slater
Artifice
- by Sharon Cameron
Bittersweet in the Hollow
- by Kat Pearsall
Brighter than the Sun
- by Daniel Aleman
Dear Medusa
- by Olivia Cole
Divine Rivals
- by Rebecca Ross
Invisible Son
- by Kim Johnson
Lunar New Year Love Story
- by Gene Yang
Rez Ball
- by Byron Graves
The Reappearance of Rachel Price
- by Holly Jackson
Thieves’ Gambit
- by Kayvion Lewis
What the River Knows
- by Isabel Ibanez
Iowa Teen Award (ITA)
Iowa Teen Award
In March, teens across Iowa take part in the nomination of books for the Iowa Teen Award. These books are reviewed by the ITA committee and volunteer readers and the list is narrowed. During the summer, the adult readers read and rate the titles.
In March, teens also vote for their favorite book from that year’s list.
2025-2026 Nominees
A First Time for Everything: a true story
- by Dan Santat
Cross My Heart and Never Lie
- by Nora Dasnes
Free Throws, Friendship & Other things we Fouled Up
- by Jenn Bishop
Heroes
- by Alan Gratz
Mascot
- by Charles Waters and Traci Sorell
Royal Blood
- by Aimee Carter
Simon Sort of Says
- by Erin Bow
Slug Fest
- by Gordon Korman
The Encanto’s Daughter
- by Melissa De la Cruz
The Lost Year
- by Katherine Marsh
The Love Match
- by Briyanka Taslim
The Mona Lisa Vanishes
- by Nick Day
The Ruby Code
- by Jessica Khoury
The School for Invisible Boys
- by Shaun David Hutchingson
Wrecker
- by Carl Hiaasen
Morris Award
Morris Award
The William C. Morris YA Debut Award honors a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature. The award’s namesake is William C. Morris, an influential innovator in the publishing world and an advocate for marketing books for children and young adults.
2026 Winner
All the Noise at Once
- by DeAndra Davis
2026 Honor Books
First Love Language
- by Stefany Valentine
Love, Misha
- by Askel Aden
Red Flags and Butterflies
- by Sheryl Azzam
You and Me on Repeat
- by Mary Shyne
Printz Award
Printz Award
The Michael L. Printz Award is an award for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. It is named for a Topeka, Kansas school librarian who was a long-time active member of the Young Adult Library Services Association. The award is sponsored by Booklist, a publication of the American Library Association.
2026 Winner
Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories
- by edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith
2026 Honor Books
Cope Field
- by T.L. Simpson
Sisters in the Wind
- by Angeline Boulley
Song of a Blackbird
- by Maria van Lieshout
The House No One Sees
- by Adina King
Stonewall Book Award Young Adult
Stonewall Book Award Young Adult
Given to children’s and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual & transgender experience. Stonewall Book Awards is sponsored by the American Library Association’s Rainbow Round Table.
2026 Winner
One of the Boys
- by Victoria Zeller
2026 Honor Books
Devils Like Us
- by L. T. Thompson
He’s So Possessed with Me
- by Corey Liu
Hick: The Trailblazing Journalist Who Captured Eleanor Roosevelt’s Heart
- by Sarah Miller
Sometimes the Girl
- by Jennifer Mason-Black