Newbery and Caldecott Award Winners for 2021

 

The 2021 Youth Media Award winners, including the Newbery and Caldecott awards for Children's Literature, were recently announced by the American Library Association! See the full list of awards and winners here. If you’re looking for an awesome children’s book to read and you’re not sure where to start, may we suggest one of these?

2021 Newbery Medal Award Winners 

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.

2021 Newbery Medal Winner

When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller

When Lily and her family move in with her sick grandmother, a magical tiger straight out of her halmoni’s Korean folktales arrives, prompting Lily to unravel a secret family history. Long, long ago, Halmoni stole something from the tigers. Now they want it back. And when one of the tigers approaches Lily with a deal–return what her grandmother stole in exchange for Halmoni’s health–Lily is tempted to agree. But deals with tigers are never what they seem! With the help of her sister and her new friend Ricky, Lily must find her voice…and the courage to face a tiger.

2021 Newbery Honor Books

• All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat 
• Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford
• Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley 
• We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly
• A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat 

2021 Caldecott Medal Award Winners

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. 

2021 Caldecott Medal Winner
We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom, illustrated by Michaela Goade

Inspired by the many Indigenous-led movements across North America, We Are Water Protectors is a bold and lyrical picture book by a Native American author and illustrator that issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth’s water from harm and corruption.

2021 Caldecott Honor Books

• A Place Inside of Me: A Poem to Heal the Heart by Zetta Elliott, illustrated by Noa Denman
• The Cat Man of Aleppo by Irene Latham & Karim Shamsi-Basha, illustrated by Yuko Shimizu
• Me & Mama by Cozbi A. Cabrera, illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera 
• Outside In by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Cindy Derby

Congratulations to these winners! Happy Reading!