American Library Association Announces 2020 Youth Media Award Winners

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature:

“New Kid,” written by Jerry Craft, is the 2020 Newbery Medal winner. The book is illustrated by the author and published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers.

Four Newbery Honor Books also were named: “The Undefeated,” written by Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Kadir Nelson and published by Versify, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; “Scary Stories for Young Foxes,” written by Christian McKay Heidicker, illustrated by Junyi

Wu and published by Henry Holt and Company, an imprint of Macmillan Publishing Group; “Other Words for Home,” written by Jasmine Warga and published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers; and “Genesis Begins Again,” written by Alicia D. Williams and published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division, a Caitlyn Dlouhy Book.  

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children: “The Undefeated,” illustrated by Kadir Nelson is the 2020 Caldecott Medal winner. The book was written by Kwame Alexander and published by Versify, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 

Three Caldecott Honor Books also were named: “Bear Came Along,” illustrated by LeUyen Pham, written by Richard T. Morris and published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group; “Double Bass Blues,” illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez, written by Andrea J. Loney and published by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC; and “Going Down Home with Daddy,” illustrated by Daniel Minter, written by Kelly Starling Lyons and published by Peachtree Publishers.   

Pura Belpré Awards honoring a Latino writer and illustrator whose children's books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience:

“Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln,” illustrated by Rafael López, is the Belpré Illustrator Award winner. The book was written by Margarita Engle and published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division.

Three Belpré Illustrator Honor Books were named:

"Across the Bay,” illustrated by Carlos Aponte, written by the illustrator and published by Penguin Workshop, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC; "My Papi Has a Motorcycle," illustrated by Zeke Peña, written by Isabel Quintero and published by Kokila, an imprint of

Penguin Random House LLC; and "¡Vamos! Let’s Go to the Market," illustrated by Raúl Gonzalez, written by the author and published by Versify, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 

 

“Sal and Gabi Break the Universe,” written by Carlos Hernandez, is the Pura Belpré Author

Award winner. The book is published by Disney-Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Book Group. 

Four Belpré Author Honor Books was named: 

"Lety Out Loud," written by Angela Cervantes and published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of

Scholastic Inc.; "The Other Half of Happy," written by Rebecca Balcárcel and published by Chronicle Books; "Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré," written by Anika Aldamuy Denise, illustrated by Paola Escobar and published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers; and "Soldier for Equality: José de la Luz Sáenz and the Great War," written by Duncan Tonatiuh, illustrated by the author and published by Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS. 

The complete list of winners can be found here.