2020-2021 Children's and YA award winning books and authors

This Newberry honoree and 2020 children's fantasy novel by American author Christina Soontornvat. It is a retelling of the 1862 novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, and contains elements inspired by Thai culture.

• A Wish in the Dark

• The Out

• The King and I

• Jai Ling's Quest

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This 2019 irreverent and quirky picture book, follows a young girl as she goes through the process of walking ants, from polite introductions to tragic leash entanglements

• The Ant Walker

• My Life as an Ant Walker

• How to Walk an Ant

• Once Upon an Ant Walker

This 2020 children's book by Tae Keller tells the story of a biracial girl, Lily, who learns about her heritage when her family moves in with Lily's Korean grandmother. The book was well received and won the 2021 Newbery Medal.

• Fish Cheeks

• Lily's Crossing

• The Flower Drum Song

• When You Trap a Tiger

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Nima doesn't feel understood. By her mother, who grew up far away in a different land. By her suburban town, which makes her feel too much like an outsider to fit in and not enough like an outsider to feel like that she belongs somewhere else. This powerful novel-in-verse captures one girl, caught between cultures, on an unexpected journey to face the ephemeral girl she might have been.

• There's No Place Like Home

• Home is Not a Country

• The Life of Pi

• Nima Uncovered

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Winner of the NAACP Image Award and the Coretta Scott King Award - ZJ’s dad has always been a hero. As old head injuries start to change the man and father he has always known, ZJ grapples to hold on to the past and what it means for the future. A heartfelt story of loss and longing, award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson’s captivating novel-in-verse explores the consequences and true cost of injury on Black bodies.

• Chains

• Blended

• Before the Ever After

• Lost in the Fog

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This 2021 Caldecott Medal Winner was inspired by the many Indigenous-led movements across North America, it issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth’s water from harm and corruption—a bold and lyrical picture book written by Carole Lindstrom and vibrantly illustrated by Michaela Goade

• The Earth is Our Mother

• We Are Water Protectors

• The Color of the Wind

• Riversong

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This national indie best seller is a story about stories, based on the author’s own life. Daniel (in the book) expertly weaves together tales of his family from ancient Persia, stories of his young life in Iran, and his current life as “the weird kid” in rural Oklahoma.

• Schooled

• The Outsider

• Lost in the Stars

• Everything Sad is Untrue

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This graphic novel by Jerry Craft about an 8th grade African American student at Riverdale Academy Day School where diversity is low won the Newberry Medal for literature in 2020.

• Class Act

• Ghost

• New Kid

• Schooled

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