ALA Youth Media Awards

This year's ALA Youth Media Awards are in!! The ALA released their top picks for children and young adults. This includes the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Newbery and Printz awards as well as recognizing the honor books that were considered. Here are some highlights from the awards:

• John Newberry Medal: All the Blues in the Sky, written by Renée Watson

  

  When thirteen-year-old Sage's best friend dies, Sage struggles with grief and feels that she is at fault, but when she joins a grief group, she slowly learns to heal.

  
  
• Randolph Caldecott Medal: Fireworks, illustrated by Cátia Chien and written by Matthew Burgess
  

  

  Part poem, part portable fireworks display with a vertical gatefold, this picture book from the award-winning team of Matthew Burgess and Catia Chien highlights the simple delights of a steamy July day in the city as two siblings eagerly await a spectacular fireworks display. POP!

  
  
• Coretta Scott King Author Book Award: Will’s Race for Home, written by Jewell Parker Rhodes

  

  During the land rush of 1889, African American Will and his father journey from Texas to Oklahoma, racing thousands of others to stake their claim.

  
  
• Coretta Scott King Illustrator Book Award: The Library in the Woods, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie and written by Calvin Alexander Ramsey

  

  A Black family maintains a farm in North Carolina until, after the crops are destroyed two years running, Junior’s father moves his wife and son into town. Although the library there excludes Black residents, Junior discovers a log cabin in a forest clearing, where he can borrow three books per visit. This library’s collection includes many books by Black writers.
  

• Coretta Scott King—John Steptoe New Talent Author Award: Under the Neon Lights, written by Arriel Vinson

  

  Sixteen-year-old Jaelyn Coleman lives for Saturdays at WestSide Roll, the iconic neighborhood roller rink. On these magical nights, Jae can lose herself in the music of DJ Sunny, the smell of nachos from the concession, and the crowd of some of her favorite people: old heads, dance crews, and other regulars like herself. Here, Jae and other Black teens can fully be themselves.

• Michael L. Printz Award: Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories, edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Set at a classic drive-in restaurant that seems to exist in every Native community, this anthology unites the stories of teens from all kinds of backgrounds through the shared theme of Native joy, with stories and poems reflecting hope, healing, humor, love, friendship, romance, and joy. 

• Schneider Family Book Awards
• Young Child: Wanda Hears the Stars: A Blind Astronomer Listens to the Universe, written by Amy S. Hansen and Wanda Díaz Merced, illustrated by Rocio Arreola Mendoza

Growing up in Puerto Rico, Wanda Díaz Merced wanted to study the stars. But when she lost her sight, she had to find a new way to work. Through the use of sonification, which turns data into sound, she was able to make a path for herself and other scientists with disabilities.

• Middle Grade: Where Only Storms Grow, written by Alyssa Colman

  

  During the worst storm of the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma, twins Howe and Joanna must put their differences aside and work together to save their farm from ruin.

  
  
• Young Adult: Whale Eyes: A Memoir About Seeing and Being Seen, written by James Robinson, illustrated by Brian Rea

  

  From Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker James Robinson comes a breathtaking illustrated memoir for middle-grade readers (and adults, too)-inspired by the viral, Emmy-nominated short film Whale Eyes. Told through an experimental mix of intimate anecdotes and interactive visuals, this book immerses readers in James's point of view, allowing them to see the world through his disabling eye conditions.

  
  
• Pura Belpré Awards
• Children’s Author Award: The Pecan Sheller, written by Lupe Ruiz-Flores

  

  In 1930s San Antonio, after her father's death, thirteen-year-old Petra must quit school to work at a pecan shelling factory where dangerous conditions and low wages push her to take a vital stand for change.

  
  
• Young Adult Author Award: On the Wings of la Noche by Vanessa L. Torres





Death waits for Estrella (Noche) Villanueva. In her human form, she is a lonely science girl grieving the tragic accidental drowning of her girlfriend, Dante Fuentes. At night, she is a Lechuza who visits her dead girlfriend at the lake, desperate for more time with her. The longer Dante's soul roams the earth, the more likely it is that she will fade into the unknown, lost forever, but Noche cannot let go.

• Stonewall Book Award: Halfway to Somewhere, written and illustrated by Jose Pimienta



Ave must adjust to a new country, a new school, and a new family dynamic when their mom and younger brother move to Kansas while their father and older sister stay in Mexico during the parents' divorce.

• William C. Morris Award: All the Noise at Once, written by DeAndra Davis

  

  Aiden has always dreamed of playing football like his star quarterback brother, Brandon. After struggling with an overstimulation meltdown during summer tryouts, Aiden gets a second chance when a spot unexpectedly opens on the team. However, not all teammates are happy with his inclusion, worried about how Aiden's autism will affect the game.
  
  
  

  
  
• YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults: Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown, written by Candace Fleming

  

  A chronicle of one of American history's most notorious cults, a book including first-person accounts follows Jim Jones from humble origins to "Jonestown" in Guyana, South America, and traces his transformation of Peoples Temple into a nefarious experiment in mind control.
  
  
  

To see all the complete list of award winners and honor books, stop here. [American Library Association announces 2026 Youth Media Award winners. ALA website. January 26, 2026.]