The American Library Association Youth Media Awards 2025

The 2025 American Library Association (ALA) Youth Media Awards were released in January. Every year, the ALA gathers to present these prestigious awards, including the Newbery, Caldecott and Coretta Scott King Awards. These prize winners are the books that shape childhoods. The following winners are available to borrow at the Sussex County Library System!!

Updated January 27, 2025
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Sussex County Library System (NJ)
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Aloha everything /
George, Kaylin Melia,
Paper Book
★ "A stunning tribute to Hawaiian culture and identity."-starred review, Kirkus New York Public Library Top Ten Best Kid's Book of 2024 A Center for the Study of Multicultural Literature Best Book of 2024 A 2025 Notable Book for a...

Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature: Honors and recognizes individual works by Asian/Pacific American authors that highlight Asian/Pacific American cultures and experiences: Best Picture Book

Blackout /
Paper Book
Six critically acclaimed, bestselling, and award-winning authors bring the glowing warmth and electricity of Black teens in love to this charming, hilarious, and heartwarming novel that shines a bright light through the dark. A summer heatwave blankets New York City in darkness. But as the...

Margaret A. Edwards Award: Honors an author, as well as a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature.

Brownstone
Teer, Samuel,
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE PRINTZ AWARD A Harvey Award Nominee! An Indie Next List Selection! A Kirkus Reviews Best Book! A Publishers Weekly Best Book! "Angsty. Awkward. With a scrappy heart of gold, Brownstone is a must-read for anyone who's ever felt totally out...

Michael L. Printz Award: Presented to a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature.

Brownstone /
Teer, Samuel,
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE PRINTZ AWARD A Harvey Award Nominee! An Indie Next List Selection! A Kirkus Reviews Best Book! A Publishers Weekly Best Book! "Angsty. Awkward. With a scrappy heart of gold, Brownstone is a must-read for anyone who's ever felt totally out...

Michael L. Printz Award: Presented to a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature.

Call me Miss Hamilton : one woman's case for equality and respect
Weatherford, Carole Boston
Paper Book
Discover the true story of the woman Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. nicknamed "Red" because of her fiery spirit! Mary Hamilton grew up knowing right from wrong. She was proud to be Black, and when the chance came along to join the Civil Rights Movement and become a Freedom Rider, she was eager...

Children's Literature Legacy Award: Honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children through books that demonstrate integrity and respect for all children's lives and experiences. Winner: Carole Boston Weatherford

Chronically dolores /
Van Wagenen, Maya
Paper Book
Winner of The Schneider Family Book Award for Best Artistic Expression of the Disability Experience! Maya Van Wagenen, bestselling author of Popular, tells Dolores's story with humor, heartache, and an occasional bit of telenovela flair. "A striking...

Schneider Family Book Awards: Honors an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences. This is a young adult book.

Continental drifter
Macleod, Kathy,
Paper Book
"A fantastic story about the awkward feelings of being from neither here nor there." --Dan Santat, National Book Award winner and author of A First Time for Everything With a Thai mother and an American father, Kathy lives in two different worlds. She spends most...

Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature: Honors and recognizes individual works by Asian/Pacific American authors that highlight Asian/Pacific American cultures and experiences: Best Children's Literature

Continental drifter /
Macleod, Kathy,
Paper Book
"A fantastic story about the awkward feelings of being from neither here nor there." --Dan Santat, National Book Award winner and author of A First Time for Everything With a Thai mother and an American father, Kathy lives in two different worlds. She spends most...

Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature: Honors and recognizes individual works by Asian/Pacific American authors that highlight Asian/Pacific American cultures and experiences: Best Children's Literature

A crown of stories :
Weatherford, Carole Boston,
Paper Book
From award-winning author Carole Boston Weatherford comes a captivating picture book biography about the incredible life of esteemed author, editor, and activist Toni Morrison, featuring gorgeous illustrations by debut artist Khalif Tahir Thompson. How do you tell a story ...

Children's Literature Legacy Award: Honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children through books that demonstrate integrity and respect for all children's lives and experiences. Winner: Carole Boston Weatherford

Everything we never had /
Ribay, Randy.
Paper Book
LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD! From the author of the National Book Award finalist Patron Saints of Nothing comes an emotionally charged, moving novel about four generations of Filipino American boys grappling with identity, masculinity, and their fraught father-son...
Everything we never had /
Ribay, Randy.
Paper Book
LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD! From the author of the National Book Award finalist Patron Saints of Nothing comes an emotionally charged, moving novel about four generations of Filipino American boys grappling with identity, masculinity, and their fraught father-son...

Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature: Honors and recognizes individual works by Asian/Pacific American authors that highlight Asian/Pacific American cultures and experiences: Best Young Adult Literature

The first state of being /
Kelly, Erin Entrada,
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE NEWBERY MEDAL A FINALIST FOR THE 2024 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD Chicago Public Library Best Fiction for Older Readers of 2024 Shelf Awareness Best Books of 2024 for Kids and Teens BookPage Best Middle Grade of 2024 Common Sense Media Best Books of 2024<...

John Newbery Medal Winner: Honors author of the most distinguided contribution to American Literature for children.

The girl who sang
Nadel, Estelle,
Paper Book
A heartrending graphic memoir about a young Jewish girl's fight for survival in Nazi occupied Poland, The Girl Who Sang illustrates the power of a brother's love, the kindness of strangers, and finding hope when facing the unimaginable. Born to a Jewish family in a...

Sydney Taylor Book Awards: Recognizes titles for children and teens that exemplify high literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience. This is a young adult graphic novel.

The girl who sang
Nadel, Estelle,
Paper Book
A heartrending graphic memoir about a young Jewish girl's fight for survival in Nazi occupied Poland, The Girl Who Sang illustrates the power of a brother's love, the kindness of strangers, and finding hope when facing the unimaginable. Born to a Jewish family in a...

Sydney Taylor Book Awards: Recognizes titles for children and teens that exemplify high literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience. This is a young adult graphic novel.

Grown : a novel
Jackson, Tiffany D.
Paper Book
An instant New York Times bestseller! "Grown exposes the underbelly of a tough conversation, providing a searing examination of misogynoir, rape culture, and the vulnerability of young black girls. Groundbreaking, heart-wrenching, and essential reading for all in the #MeToo era." --Dhonielle...

Margaret A. Edwards Award: Honors an author, as well as a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature.

How do you spell unfair? :
Weatherford, Carole Boston,
Paper Book
A Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book "This moving picture book portrays a girl who met injustice with dignity and excelled."--Booklist (starred review) From a multi-award-winning pair comes a deeply affecting portrait of...

Children's Literature Legacy Award: Honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children through books that demonstrate integrity and respect for all children's lives and experiences. Winner: Carole Boston Weatherford

Kin :
Weatherford, Carole Boston,
Paper Book
A Coretta Scott King Honor Book A Boston Globe-Horn Book Poetry Award Winner An "imaginative and moving" (The Horn Book, starred review) portrait of a Black family tree shaped by enslavement and freedom, rendered in searing poems by acclaimed author Carole...

Children's Literature Legacy Award: Honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children through books that demonstrate integrity and respect for all children's lives and experiences. Winner: Carole Boston Weatherford

Life after whale :
Brunelle, Lynn.
Paper Book
Follow a blue whale's enormous body to the bottom of the ocean, where it sets the stage for a bustling new ecosystem to flourish. All living things must one day die, and Earth's largest creature, the majestic blue whale, is no exception. But in nature, death is never a true...

Robert F. Sibert Medal: Awarded to the author and illustrator of the most distinguished informational book published in the United States in English.

Lola /
Valenti, Karla,
Paper Book
A simmering tale of magic, adventure, and the extraordinary bond between a brother and sister who'd journey to the ends of the Earth to save each other. From the acclaimed author of Lotería comes a heartfelt story rooted in Mexican magical realism. A PURA BELPRÉ AUTHOR WINNER...

Pura Belpre Awards: Presented 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 young adult. This award was given to best Children's authro.

Me and the family tree /
Weatherford, Carole Boston,
Paper Book
A celebration of family roots from award-winning children's author Carole Boston Weatherford! I've got my brother's ears And my sister's big bright eyes. I've got my grandpa's hands Though mine are a smaller size.

Children's Literature Legacy Award: Honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children through books that demonstrate integrity and respect for all children's lives and experiences. Winner: Carole Boston Weatherford (BOARD BOOK)

Monday's not coming :
Jackson, Tiffany D.
Paper Book
"Jackson's characters and their heart-wrenching story linger long after the final page, urging readers to advocate for those who are disenfranchised and forgotten by society and the system." (Publishers Weekly, "An Anti-Racist Children's and YA Reading List") From the critically acclaimed...

Margaret A. Edwards Award: Honors an author, as well as a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature.

My daddy is a cowboy /
Seales, Stephanie,
Paper Book
Tall. High as the clouds. Strong as a horse's back. Like a cowboy. In the early hours before dawn, a young girl and her father greet their horses and ride together through the waking city streets. As they trot along, Daddy tells cowboy stories filled with fun and...

Coretta Scott King Author Award: Honors outstanding books for young adults and children by African American authors and illustrators that reflect the African American experience. This is for best illustrator (picture book)

Not like other girls /
Adamo, Meredith
Paper Book
"Powerful, brilliantly plotted, voicey, gripping, beautiful, heart-wrenching, hilarious . . . Read this book." -Liz Lawson, New York Times bestselling author of The Agathas When Jo-Lynn Kirby 's former best friend-pretty, nice Maddie Price-comes to her claiming to...

William C. Morris Award: Honors a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens.

Shut up, this is serious /
Ixta, Carolina
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE PURA BELPRÉ YA AUTHOR AWARD *  A Morris Award Finalist * Parade Best Young Adult Books of All Time * Indie Next List Pick * An unforgettable YA debut about two Latina teens growing up in East Oakland as they discover that the world is brimming with...

Pura Belpre Awards: Presented 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 young adult. This award was given to best young adult author.

Storm :
Jackson, Tiffany D.
Paper Book
Before she was the super hero Storm of Marvel's X-Men, she was Ororo of Cairo-a teenaged thief on the streets of Egypt, until her growing powers catch the eye of a villain who steals people's souls. An epic origin story that will blow you away,from the New York Times bestselling author of...

Margaret A. Edwards Award: Honors an author, as well as a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature.

The weight of blood /
Jackson, Tiffany D.
Paper Book
* AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * INDIE BESTSELLER * JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD SELECTION * KIDS' INDIE NEXT LIST PICK * NPR BEST PICK * KIRKUS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR * New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson ramps up the horror and tackles America's history and legacy of...

Margaret A. Edwards Award: Honors an author, as well as a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature.

White smoke /
Jackson, Tiffany D.
Paper Book
The Haunting of Hill House meets Get Out in this chilling YA psychological thriller and modern take on the classic haunted house story from New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson! Marigold is running from ghosts. The phantoms of her old life keep...

Margaret A. Edwards Award: Honors an author, as well as a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature.

You are my pride :
Weatherford, Carole Boston,
Paper Book
In this powerfully written and beautifully illustrated picture book by award-winning author and illustrator team Carole Boston Weatherford and E. B. Lewis, Mother Africa addresses her offspring of all colors in all corners of the earth, reminding us of our timeless bond. Written...

Children's Literature Legacy Award: Honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children through books that demonstrate integrity and respect for all children's lives and experiences. Winner: Carole Boston Weatherford


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