2022 Youth Media Awards

This dedicated page features everything YMAs with all of SLJ's coverage of the awards, a complete list of winners and honor titles plus links to book reviews, author interviews, blog posts, and related coverage.

 

 

SLJ 2022 Youth Media Awards Coverage

2022 Youth Media Award Winners
The Last Cuentista Wins 2022 Newbery Medal; Watercress Earns Caldecott; Firekeeper’s Daughter Takes the Printz
SLJ Reviews of the 2022 Youth Media Awards
2022 YMA Winners Send a Message from the Children’s Publishing World
Donna Barba Higuera: “A Flood of Emotions” as The Last Cuentista Wins 2022 Newbery Medal
Jason Chin’s Watercress Journey: From a “Once-in-a-Lifetime Manuscript” to the 2022 Caldecott Medal
A Long Time Coming: Angeline Boulley’s Firekeeper’s Daughter Takes 2022 Printz Award
Cynthia Levinson on the Significance of Her Sibert Win for Picture Book on Artist Ben Shahn
A Conversation with Carole Boston Weatherford, Author of Unspeakable, the Most Honored Title of 2022 Youth Media Awards

 

SLJ Individual Reviews of YMA Winners and Related Content

 

John Newbery Medal

The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award

The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera

Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Finalist: The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
Review of the Day: The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera | A Fuse #8 Production
Best Middle Grade Books 2021 | SLJ Best Books
 

Newbery Honors

Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca

2022 Walter Dean Myers Award Winners Announced

Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Finalist- Red, White and Whole by Rajani LaRocca
Realistic Historical Fiction, or Just Another Made Up Genre | Heavy  Medal
Best Middle Grade Books 2021 | SLJ Best Books
Red, White and Whole: Rajani LaRocca Visits The Yarn

 A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger

22 Titles for Native American Heritage Month
Longlist Announced for the 2021 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature
In Their Own Words: What Angeline Boulley, Eric Gansworth, and Darcie Little Badger Want You to Know

Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff

Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Finalist: Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff
SLJ Book Reviews Editors’ Favorite Books Read in 2021
Best Middle Grade Books 2021 | SLJ Best Books
Longlist Announced for the 2021 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature
Review of the Day: Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff | A Fuse #8 Production

Watercress by Andrea Wang, illus. by Jason Chin

THE FINAL FIVE: Heavy Medal Mock Newbery 2022 Contenders
First Books About Grief and Loss | Milestones
Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Finalist- Watercress by Andrea Wang
SLJ Book Reviews Editors’ Favorite Quotes from 2021 Best Books
Best Picture Books 2021 | SLJ Best Books
Watercress Part 1: Colby talks to Author Andrea Wang | The Yarn
Watercress Part 2: Travis Talks with Illustrator Jason Chin | The Yarn

 

Randolph Caldecott Medal

Watercress illus. by Jason Chin, written by Andrea Wang,

           THE FINAL FIVE: Heavy Medal Mock Newbery 2022 Contenders
           First Books About Grief and Loss | Milestones
           Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Finalist- Watercress by Andrea Wang
           SLJ Book Reviews Editors’ Favorite Quotes from 2021 Best Books
           Best Picture Books 2021 | SLJ Best Books
           Watercress Part 1: Colby talks to Author Andrea Wang | The Yarn
           Watercress Part 2: Travis Talks with Illustrator Jason Chin | The Yarn
 

Caldecott Honors

Have You Ever Seen a Flower? by Shawn Harris

Mel Fell by Corey R. Tabor

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, illustrated by Floyd Cooper, written by Carole Boston Weatherford

Wonder Walkers by Micha Archer

 

Michael L. Printz Award

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

2022 Walter Dean Myers Award Winners Announced
A Graphic Novel, Fantasy Debut, and More | Pondering Printz
2022 Morris Award Finalists Announced
Best Young Adult Books 2021 | SLJ Best Books
22 Titles for Native American Heritage Month
In Their Own Words: What Angeline Boulley, Eric Gansworth, and Darcie Little Badger Want You to Know

 

Printz Honors

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas

A Year of Amazing Contenders | Pondering Printz
Best Young Adult Books 2021 | SLJ Best Books
Books on Film: Angie Thomas on CBS This Morning | 100 Scope Notes
A High School Student Reviews Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas | Teen Librarian Toolbox
 

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

A Year of Amazing Contenders | Pondering Printz
2022 Walter Dean Myers Award Winners Announced
A Graphic Novel, Fantasy Debut, and More | Pondering Printz
SLJ Book Reviews Editors’ Favorite 2021 Best Books Covers
Best Young Adult Books 2021 | SLJ Best Books
2021 National Book Award Winner Malinda Lo: “Don’t Let Them Erase Us”
Longlist Announced for the 2021 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature
Book Review: Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo | Teen Librarian Toolbox

 

Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon

SLJ Book Reviews Editors’ Favorite 2021 Best Books Covers
Best Nonfiction 2021 | SLJ Best Books
 Longlist Announced for the 2021 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature

 

Starfish by Lisa Fipps

THE FINAL FIVE: Heavy Medal Mock Newbery 2022 Contenders
Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Finalist: Starfish by Lisa Fipps
2022 Orbis Pictus and Charlotte Huck Awards Announced
Best Middle Grade Books 2021 | SLJ Best Books
Authors Share Readers’ Letters to Show Impact of Books

 

Coretta Scott King Book Awards

Coretta Scott King Author Award

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, illustrated by Floyd Cooper, written by Carole Boston Weatherford

 

Coretta Scott King Author Honors

Home Is Not a Country by Safia Elhillo

Three YA Authors on Yearnings, Obsessions, and Hopes
Longlist Announced for the 2021 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature
A Year of Amazing Contenders | Pondering Printz

Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon

SLJ Book Reviews Editors’ Favorite 2021 Best Books Covers
Best Nonfiction 2021 | SLJ Best Books
Longlist Announced for the 2021 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature

The People Remember by Ibi Zoboi

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, illustrated by Floyd Cooper, written by Carole Boston Weatherford

 

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honors

Nina: A Story of Nina Simone illustrated by Christian Robinson, written by Traci N. Todd

2022 Orbis Pictus and Charlotte Huck Awards Announced
SLJ Book Reviews Editors’ Favorite 2021 Best Books Covers
Best Nonfiction 2021 | SLJ Best Books
Testaments: More than 50 Works of Black Nonfiction
Nina: A Story of Nina Simone – An Interview with Author Traci N. Todd | A Fuse #8 Production

We Wait for the Sun illustrated by Raissa Figueroa, written by Dovey Johnson

Soul Food Sunday illustrated by C.G. Esperanza, written by Winsome Bingham

 

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award

Me (Moth) by Amber McBride

2022 Morris Award Finalists Announced
Best Young Adult Books 2021 | SLJ Best Books
Longlist Announced for the 2021 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature
Four YA Debut Authors Reveal Their Inspirations and Challenges
         

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award

The Me I Choose to Be illustrated by Regis and Kahran Bethencourt

 

Pura Belpré Awards

Youth Illustration

¡Vamos! Let's Cross the Bridge by Raúl the Third 

29 Picture Books to Celebrate the Latinx Experience
 

Honor Books

Boogie Boogie, Y’all illustrated and written by C. G. Esperanza

Bright Star illustrated and written by Yuyi Morales

A Bright Star Interview with Yuyi Morales Herself | A Fuse #8 Production

De aquí como el coquí illustrated and written by Nomar Perez

29 Picture Books to Celebrate the Latinx Experience

May Your Life Be Deliciosa illustrated by Loris Lora, written by Michael Genhart

 

Children's Author

The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera

Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Finalist: The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
Review of the Day: The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera | A Fuse #8 Production
Best Middle Grade Books 2021 | SLJ Best Books

 

Honor Books

Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna by Alda P. Dobbs

The Strength in Family Stories, a guest post by Alda P. Dobbs | Teen Librarian Toolbox
Book Review: Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna by Alda P. Dobbs | Teen Librarian Toolbox
17 Middle Grade Titles for Latinx Heritage Month (and All Year-Round)

               
Child of the Flower-Song People: Luz Jiménez, Daughter of the Nahua by Gloria Amescua, illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh

Best Nonfiction 2021 | SLJ Best Books
Straddling Cultures: Interview with 2021 Best Books Cover Illustrator Duncan Tonatiuh
 

De aquí como el coquí illustrated and written by Nomar Perez

29 Picture Books to Celebrate the Latinx Experience

 

Young Adult Author

How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe by Raquel Vasquez Gillilan

Crowd Pleasers: 11 Performing Arts Titles Perfect for Creative Teens
Best Young Adult Books 2021 | SLJ Best Books
26 Must-Have Latinx YA Books Filled with Romance, History, and Magical Realism


Honor Books

Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun by Jonny Garza Villa

26 Must-Have Latinx YA Books Filled with Romance, History, and Magical Realism

Where I Belong by Marcia Argueta Mickelson

 

Schneider Family Book Awards

Young Children (ages 0 to 10)

My City Speaks by Darren Lebeuf, illus. by Ashley Barron


Young Children Honor Books

A Walk in the Words by Hudson Talbott

A Sky-Blue Bench by Bahram Rahman, illus. by Peggy Collins

 

Middle Grade (ages 11-13)

A Bird Will Soar by Alison Green Myers

 

Middle Grade Honor Books

            Stuntboy, in the Meantime by Jason Reynolds, illus. by Raúl the Third 

                   Book Review: Stuntboy, in the Meantime by Jason Reynolds, illustrated by Raúl the Third | Teen Librarian Toolbox

            A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll

 

Teens (ages 13-18)

The Words in My Hands by Asphyxia

 

Teens Honor Book

            A Face for Picasso: Coming of Age with Crouzon Syndrome by Ariel Henley

 

 

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award

The People’s Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought for Justice with Art by Cynthia Levinson, illus. by Evan Turk

          Cynthia Levinson on the Significance of Her Sibert Win for Picture Book on Artist Ben Shahn

 

        Sibert Honor Books

           The Great Stink: How Joseph Bazalgette Solved London’s Poop Pollution Problem by Colleen Paeff, illus. by Nancy Carpenter

                  Best Nonfiction 2021 | SLJ Best Books
            We Are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know by Traci Sorell, illus. by Frané Lessac
                   Best Nonfiction 2021 | SLJ Best Books
                   12 Books To Nurture Budding Young Activists
           Summertime Sleepers: Animals That Estivate by Melissa Stewart, illus. by Sarah S. Brannen
           Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, illustrated by Floyd Cooper, written by Carole Boston Weatherford
 

Odyssey Award

Children

Boogie Boogie, Y’all produced by HarperAudio/Katherine Tegen Books. The book is written and narrated by C. G. Esperanza.    

Young Adults

When You Look Like Us produced by HarperAudio/Quill Tree Books. The book is written by Pamela N. Harris and narrated by Preston Butler III.

 

Honor Audiobooks

Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah produced by Listening Library, an imprint of Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group, written by Laurie Ann Thompson and narrated by Adjoa Andoh

I Talk Like a River produced by Dreamscape Media, written and narrated by Jordan Scott

Perfectly Parvin produced by Listening Library, an imprint of Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group, written by Olivia Abtahi and narrated by Mitra Jouhari

 

Stonewall Book Award

Children

Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff

Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Finalist: Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff
SLJ Book Reviews Editors’ Favorite Books Read in 2021
Best Middle Grade Books 2021 | SLJ Best Books
Longlist Announced for the 2021 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature
Review of the Day: Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff | A Fuse #8 Production

Young Adult

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

A Year of Amazing Contenders | Pondering Printz
2022 Walter Dean Myers Award Winners Announced
A Graphic Novel, Fantasy Debut, and More | Pondering Printz
SLJ Book Reviews Editors’ Favorite 2021 Best Books Covers
Best Young Adult Books 2021 | SLJ Best Books
2021 National Book Award Winner Malinda Lo: “Don’t Let Them Erase Us”
Longlist Announced for the 2021 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature
Book Review: Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo | Teen Librarian Toolbox

 

Honor Books

Almost Flying by Jake Maia Arlow

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer

Grandad’s Camper written and illustrated by Harry Woodgate 

 

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award

Fox at Night, written and illustrated by Corey R. Tabor

Honor Books 

Beak & Ally #1: Unlikely Friends, written and illustrated by Norm Feuti

I Hop, written and illustrated by Joe Cepeda

Nothing Fits a Dinosaur, written and illustrated by Jonathan Fenske 

 

William C. Morris Award

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

2022 Walter Dean Myers Award Winners Announced
A Graphic Novel, Fantasy Debut, and More | Pondering Printz
2022 Morris Award Finalists Announced
Best Young Adult Books 2021 | SLJ Best Books
22 Titles for Native American Heritage Month
In Their Own Words: What Angeline Boulley, Eric Gansworth, and Darcie Little Badger Want You to Know

 

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults

Ambushed!: The Assassination Plot Against President Garfield by Gail Jarrow

 

The Sydney Taylor Book Award

Picture Book

Gold Medalist

The Passover Guest by Susan Kusel, illus. by Sean Rubin

Interrogating the Passover Guest: A Susan Kusel and Sean Rubin Interview | A Fuse #8 Production


Silver Medalists

            Nicky & Vera: A Quiet Hero of the Holocaust and the Children He Rescued by Peter Sis

            Dear Mr. Dickens by Nancy Churnin, illus. by Bethany Stancliffe

            The Christmas Mitzvah by Jeff Gottesfeld, illus. by Michelle Laurentia Agatha 

Seven Winter Holiday Books That Are Not About Christmas

 

Middle Grades

Gold Medalist

How to Find What You’re Not Looking For by Veera Hiranandani

           Silver Medalists

The Genius Under the Table: Growing up Behind the Iron Curtain by Eugene Yelchin
The Genius Under the Table: A Cover Reveal and Q&A with Eugene Yelchin | A Fuse #8 Production

Linked by Gordon Korman 

 

Young Adult

Gold Medalist

The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros
           Bringing The City Beautiful to Life, a guest post by Aden Polydoros | Teen Librarian Toolbox

Silver Medalist 

The Last Words We Said by Leah Scheier

Whistle: A New Gotham City Hero by E. Lockhart, illus. by Manuel Preitano

The Summer of Lost Letters by Hannah Reynolds 

 

Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature

Picture Book

Watercress illus. by Jason Chin, written by Andrea Wang,

           THE FINAL FIVE: Heavy Medal Mock Newbery 2022 Contenders
           First Books About Grief and Loss | Milestones
           Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Finalist- Watercress by Andrea Wang
           SLJ Book Reviews Editors’ Favorite Quotes from 2021 Best Books
           Best Picture Books 2021 | SLJ Best Books
           Watercress Part 1: Colby talks to Author Andrea Wang | The Yarn
           Watercress Part 2: Travis Talks with Illustrator Jason Chin | The Yarn


Honor Book

           A Boy Named Isamu: A Story of Isamu Noguchi by James Yang

 

Children’s Literature

Amina’s Song by Hena Khan
Amina Returns! A Q&A with Hena Khan About AMINA’S SONG | A Fuse #8 Production


Honor Book     

Finding Junie Kim by Ellen Oh
Book Review: Finding Junie Kim by Ellen Oh | Teen Librarian Toolbox

 

Youth Literature

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

A Year of Amazing Contenders | Pondering Printz
2022 Walter Dean Myers Award Winners Announced
A Graphic Novel, Fantasy Debut, and More | Pondering Printz
SLJ Book Reviews Editors’ Favorite 2021 Best Books Covers
Best Young Adult Books 2021 | SLJ Best Books
2021 National Book Award Winner Malinda Lo: “Don’t Let Them Erase Us”
Longlist Announced for the 2021 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature
Book Review: Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo | Teen Librarian Toolbox


Honor Book

We Are Not Free by Traci Chee

Asian American #OwnVoices: Artfully Narrated Middle Grade, YA, and Crossover Audiobooks
Five Finalists Named for 2020 National Book Award in Young People’s Literature
2021 Walter Awards Go To  and 
SLJ’s Reviews of the 2020 National Book Award Finalists
18 Novels for Teens That Blow the Dust Off History

 

American Indian Youth Literature Awards

Picture Book

Herizon by Daniel W. Vandever [Diné], illustrated by Corey Begay [Diné]

Honor Books

Diné Bich’eekę Yishłeeh [Diné Bizaad]/Becoming Miss Navajo [English] by Jolyana Begay-Kroupa [Diné], designed by Corey Begay [Diné]

Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Gold Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer by Traci Sorell [Cherokee], illus. by Natasha Donovan [Métis]

Learning My Rights with Mousewoman by Morgan Asoyuf [Ts’msyen]

I Sang You Down from the Stars by Tasha Spillet-Sumner [Cree and Trinidadian], illus. by Michaela Goade [Tlingit & Haida]

We Are Still Here!: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know by Traci Sorell [Cherokee], illus. by Frané Lessac

 

Middle Grade Book

Healer of the Water Monster by Brian Young [Diné], cover art by Shonto Begay [Diné]
             In Their Own Words: What Cynthia Leitich Smith and Brian Young Want You to Know


Honor Books

Ella Cara Deloria: Dakota Language Protector by Diane Wilson [Dakota], illus. by Tashia Hart [Red Lake Anishinaabe]

Indigenous Peoples’ Day by Katrina M. Phillips [Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe], illus. by Tashia Hart

Jo Jo Makoons: The Used-to-Be Best Friend by Dawn Quigley [Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe], illus. by Tara Audibert [Wolastoqey]

2022 Orbis Pictus and Charlotte Huck Awards Announced
Best Chapter Books 2021 | SLJ Best Books
22 Titles for Native American Heritage Month
In Their Own Words: What Native Author Dawn Quigley Wants You to Know

Peggy Flanagan: Ogimaa Kwe, Lieutenant Governor by Jessica Engelking [White Earth Band of Ojibwe], illust. by Tashia Hart

The Sea in Winter by Christine Day [Upper Skagit], cover art by Michaela Goade [Tlingit and Haida] 

22 Titles for Native American Heritage Month
In Their Own Words: What Christine Day and Andrea L. Rogers Want You to Know

 

Young Adult Book

Apple (Skin to the Core) by Eric Gansworth [Onondaga], cover art by Filip Peraić 

22 Titles for Native American Heritage Month
13 Biographies and Memoirs for Older Readers That Amplify Unheard Voices
In Their Own Words: What Angeline Boulley, Eric Gansworth, and Darcie Little Badger Want You to Know
Underdog Titles That Could Take the Prize | Pondering Printz
Strategies for Teaching Seven Native-Centered Books to K-12 Students 
How Native Writers Talk Story: Honoring Authentic Voices in Books for Young People
Longlist Revealed: 2020 National Book Award for Young People's Literatur
SLJ's Reviews of the 2020 National Book Award Longlisters

 

Honor Books

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger [Lipan Apache Tribe], cover art and illustrations by Rovina Cai

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley [Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians], cover art by Moses Lunham [Ojibway and Chippewa]

2022 Walter Dean Myers Award Winners Announced
A Graphic Novel, Fantasy Debut, and More | Pondering Printz
2022 Morris Award Finalists Announced
Best Young Adult Books 2021 | SLJ Best Books
22 Titles for Native American Heritage Month
In Their Own Words: What Angeline Boulley, Eric Gansworth, and Darcie Little Badger Want You to Know

Hunting by Stars by Cherie Dimaline [Métis Nation of Ontario], cover art by Stephen Gladue [Fishing Lake Métis Settlement]

Notable Native People: 50 Indigenous Leaders, Dreamers, and Changemakers from Past and Present by Adrienne Keene [Cherokee Nation], illus. by Ciara Sana [Chamoru]

22 Titles for Native American Heritage Month
13 Biographies and Memoirs for Older Readers That Amplify Unheard Voices

Soldiers Unknown by Chag Lowry [Yurok, Maidu and Achumawi], illus. by Rahsan Ekedal

 

Alex Awards 

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin

The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec

The Library of the Dead by T.L Huchu

How Lucky by Will Leitch

Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

Crossing the Line: A Fearless Team of Brothers and the Sport That Changed Their Lives Forever by Kareem Rosser

Lore Olympus, Vol. 1 by Rachel Smythe

Malice by Heather Walter

 

 

 

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