If you ask me about my favorite book, I have to pause. The books that first enter my brain are Ramona Quimby, The Giver and Where the Sidewalk Ends. My first favorites. There’s something about a first that stays with you—and while a poem about a crocodile visiting the dentist might not hit me the same way it did 30 years ago, its status is cemented. I realized as an early book lover that when a book had a special shiny gold or silver emblem on the cover, that meant it was someone else’s favorite, too.
Every year, these coveted emblems are bestowed as the American Library Association (ALA) names the top books for children and young adults, including the prestigious Newbery, Caldecott, Printz and Coretta Scott King awards. On Jan. 22, this year’s books were announced by the ALA after being chosen by a committee of librarians and other book experts for their creativity, originality and outstanding contribution to children’s and young adult literature.
Find your forever favorite in the list below, or introduce young readers to this year’s award-winning books available on the Libby app:
The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers
🥇 Winner of the John Newbery Medal
Big by Vashti Harrison
🥇 Winner of the Randolph Caldecott Medal
The Collectors: Stories by A. S. King
🥇 Winner of the Michael L. Printz Award
Fox Has a Problem by Corey R. Tabor
🥇 Winner of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award
El Deafo by Cece Bell (produced by Matie Argiropoulos)
🥇 Winner of the Odyssey Award (Children)
Promise Boys by Nick Brooks (produced by Macmillan Young Listeners
🥇 Winner of the Odyssey Award (Young Adult)
The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity by Nicholas Day
🥇 Winner of the Robert F. Sibert Medal
Houses with a Story: A Dragon's Den, a Ghostly Mansion, a Library of Lost Books, and 30 More Amazing Places to Explore by Seiji Yoshida
🥇 Winner of the Mildred L. Batchelder Award
MexiKid by Pedro Martin
🥇 Winner of the Pura Belpré Award (Youth Illustration & Children’s Author)
Saints of the Household by Ari Tison
🥇 Winner of the Pura Belpré Award (Young Adult Author)
Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed by Dashka Slater
🥇 Winner of the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults
Rez Ball by Byron Graves
🥇 Winner of the William C. Morris Award
🥇 Winner of the American Indian Youth Literature Award (YA)
Bad Cree by Jessica Johns
🥇Alex Award Winner (given to 10 books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults)
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
🥇Alex Award Winner (given to 10 books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults)
Chlorine by Jade Song
🥇Alex Award Winner (given to 10 books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults)
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
🥇Alex Award Winner (given to 10 books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults)
The Hard Parts: A Memoir of Courage and Triumph by Oksana Masters
🥇Alex Award Winner (given to 10 books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults)
I Will Greet the Sun Again by Khashayar J. Khabushani
🥇Alex Award Winner (given to 10 books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults)
Maame by Jessica George
🥇Alex Award Winner (given to 10 books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults)
Starter Villain by John Scalzi
🥇Alex Award Winner (given to 10 books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults)
The Talk by Darrin Bell
🥇Alex Award Winner (given to 10 books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults)
Whalefall by Daniel Kraus
🥇Alex Award Winner (given to 10 books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults)
Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi
🥇Coretta Scott King Author Award
An American Story by Kwame Alexander, illus. by Dare Coulter
🥇Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award
There Goes the Neighborhood by Jade Adia
🥇Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award
We Could Fly by Rhiannon Giddens
🥇Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award
Cross My Heart and Never Lie by Nora Dåsnes
🥇Stonewall Book Award (Children)
Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian
🥇Stonewall Book Award (Young Adult)
Henry, Like Always by Jenn Bailey
🥇Schneider Family Book Awards (Young Children)
The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn by Sally J. Pla
🥇Schneider Family Book Awards (Middle Grade)
Forever is Now by Mariama J. Lockington
🥇Schneider Family Book Awards (Teens)
Two New Years by Richard Ho
🥇Sydney Taylor Book Award (Picture Book)
The Dubious Pranks of Shaindy Goodman by Mari Lowe
🥇Sydney Taylor Book Award (Middle Grade)
The Blood Years by Elana K. Arnold
🥇Sydney Taylor Book Award (Young Adult)
The Truth About Dragons by Julie Leung
🥇Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature (Picture Book)
Ruby Lost and Found by Christina Li
🥇Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature (Children’s Literature)
I'd Rather Burn Than Bloom by Shannon C. F. Rogers
🥇Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature (Youth Young Adult Literature)
Forever Cousins by Laurel Goodluck
🥇American Indian Youth Literature Award (Picture Book)
We Still Belong by Christine Day
🥇American Indian Youth Literature Award (Middle Grade)
Authors Pam Muñoz Ryan (Children’s Literature Legacy Award) and Neal Shusterman (Margaret A. Edwards Award) were also celebrated for their lasting contributions to children’s and young adult literature.
Published Jan 23, 2024