This morning, along with over five thousand other aficionados of children’s and young adult literature, I watched the live stream of the annual ALA Youth Media Awards announcements. These announcements, celebrating the “best of the best” in literature and media for children, are a must attend event for me each year, sometimes in person, sometimes virtually. Held this year at the 2023 LibLearnX conference in New Orleans, the announcements did not disappoint!
Here are some of the winning titles:
2023 John Newbery Medal winner:
Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson
2023 John Newbery Honor books:
Iveliz Explains It All by Andrea Beatriz Arango
The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat
Maizy Chen’s Last Chance by Lisa Yee
2023 Randolph Caldecott Medal winner:
Hot Dog, illustrated and written by Doug Salati
2023 Randolph Caldecott Honor books:
Ain’t Burned All the Bright, illustrated by Jason Griffin and written by Jason Reynolds
Berry Song, illustrated and written by Michaela Goade
Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement, illustrated by Janelle Washington and written by Angela Joy
Knight Owl, illustrated and written by Christopher Denise
Winners in nineteen other awards were also announced; a complete downloadable list of all the winning titles is available here.