Tuesday Tips: Recent Awards to Celebrate

Sam Jones is the Youth Services Librarian at the Beaver Dam Public Library. Today she shares a tip on a wonderful resource to be aware of.

Last week, there were two award ceremonies. On the 22nd, The Horn Book announced the 2022 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards winners. This was the award's 55th year! The award has three categories: picture books, poetry and fiction, and nonfiction. Elissa Gershowitz at The Horn Book says, "Young people today are living through history. This selection of winners and honorees so beautifully captures this shared moment and the extraordinary issues young people face. At a time of increased book bans and challenges, it’s vital for readers to have access to thought-provoking, mind-expanding, worldview-questioning titles such as these.” 

The second award is the Walter Dean Myers Awards for Outstanding Children's Literature, which was presented on the 23rd. This award is through the We Need Diverse Books organization. The winners of this award have to have been written by a diverse author and contain a diverse main character or discuss diversity if there is no main character. They have awards for a teen category and young adult category. Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley won the teen category, which I was particularly excited about since it was one of my favorite reads of 2021. Borders by Thomas King and illustrated by Natasha Donovan was selected as an honor book for both the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award and the Walter Dean Myers Award. 

Both of these awards recognized some great books, so be sure to check out the winners and honorees (and maybe consider adding them to your collection if they aren't already)