2025 Winners of the Newbery, Caldecott, King, Belpre & More Awards from the American Library Association

By Carrie McBride, Communications
January 27, 2025

Celebrating excellence in literature for children and young adults, The American Library Association announced the winners of the Youth Media Awards this morning at its LibLearnX conference in Phoenix. Top honors went to The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly, a middle grade speculative fiction novel set in the months leading up to Y2K, which received the Newbery Medal and Chooch Helped, illustrated by Rebecca Lee Kunz and written by Andrea L. Rogers, about two Cherokee siblings learning new things, including patience, which garnered the Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished picture book of the year.

You can find the full list of winners and honor books on the ALA website  Most are available in multiple formats to borrow from the Library.

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

  • The First State of Being

    by Erin Entrada Kelly

    When Ridge, a time-traveling teenager from the future, gets trapped in 1999, he befriends Michael, a lonely twelve-year-old boy, changing the course of their lives forever.

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children

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    Chooch Helped

     illustrated by Rebecca Lee Kunz; written by Andrea L. Rogers

    Sissy’s younger brother, Chooch, isn’t a baby anymore. But no matter what Chooch does—even if he’s messing something up! Which is basically all the time!—their parents say he’s just “helping.” Sissy feels that Chooch can get away with anything!

Coretta Scott King Book Award recognizing an African-American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults

Author award:

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    Twenty-Four Seconds from Now...:A Love Story

    by Jason Reynolds 

    In a series of moments spanning two years, 17-year-old Neon navigates the progression of his relationship with Aria, culminating in a case of the jitters as the two intend to take the next big step in their relationship.

Illustrator Award:

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    My Daddy Is a Cowboy

    illustrated by C.G. Esperanza; written by Stephanie Seales

    While taking an early morning horseback ride with her father around their city, a young girl is regaled with cowboy stories filled with fun, community, friendship, discovery and pride and, feeling seen in a new way, discovers that she, too, is a cowboy. 

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults

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    Brownstone

    by Samuel Teer; illustrated by Mar Julia

    Left alone with her Guatemalan father for the summer while her mom goes on a once-in-a-lifetime trip without her, Almudena struggles to adjust to this new reality by getting to know the residents of his Latin American neighborhood while helping his dad fix his broken-down brownstone—and their relationship.

Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience

Young Children's Award:

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    A Little Like Magic

    by Sarah Kurpiel 

    A young girl reluctantly agrees to attend an ice festival where she sees sparkling, glorious sculptures that feel like magic, resulting in a special surprise that stays with her long after the ice melts.

Middle Grades Award:

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    Popcorn

    by Rob Harrell 

    Feeling like the whole world is out to get him, Andrew finds that little kernel of worry in his stomach threatening to pop and turn into a public panic attack while trying to get the perfect school picture on Picture Day. 

Teens Award:

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    Chronically Dolores

    by Maya Van Wagenen

    Dolores Mendoza was recently diagnosed with a chronic bladder condition called interstitial cystitis. The painful disease isn't life threatening, but it is threatening to ruin her life. Just when things seem hopeless, Dolores meets someone poised to change her fate.

Mildred L. Batchelder Award for an outstanding children’s book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States

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    John the Skeleton

    written by Triinu Laan; illustrated by Marja-Liisa Plats; translated from the Estonian by Adam Cullen

    Everyone deserves a quiet, restful retirement. But for John, a newly retired classroom skeleton, life is just beginning. When John is adopted by Grams and Gramps and leaves the classroom to live on their farm, every day is an exciting new adventure: John rides in the car for the first time, makes a snow angel, scares away crooks, and becomes a source of comfort for Grams, Gramps, and their grandkids.

Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States

For Children:

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    A Plate of Hope: The Inspiring Story of Chef Jose Andres and World Central Kitchen

    written by Erin Frankel; illustrated by Paola Escobar; narrated by Luis Carlos de La Lombana

    From the earthquake in Haiti to the war in Ukraine, the creator of World Central Kitchen, who believes no one should ever go hungry, recounts how he and his team have been at the frontlines, serving more than 200 million meals and counting.

For Young Adults:

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    How the Boogeyman Became a Poet

    written and narrated by Tony Keith Jr.

    In this powerful memoir, the poet, writer and hip-hop educator traces his journey from being a closeted gay Black teen battling poverty, racism, homophobia and his own personal Boogeyman to becoming an openly gay first-generation college student who finds freedom in poetry.

Pura Belpré Award honoring Latinx writers and illustrators whose children's and young adult books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience

Children's Author Award:

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    Lola

    written by Karla Arenas Valenti; illustrated by Islenia Mil

    To save her brother, who’s growing sicker by the day, 10-year-old Lola, touched by magic, enters a hidden world where she must use her wits and face her deepest fears to defeat the kingdom’s young queen who stands in the way of the cure.

Youth Illustration Award:

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    The Dream Catcher

    illustrated and written by Marcelo Verdad

    A Mexican child who works selling dream catchers alongside his abuelito learns that treasuring the present moment is as important as chasing one's hopes and dreams for the future.

Young Adult Author Award:
 

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    Shut Up, This Is Serious

    by Carolina Ixta

    An unforgettable YA debut about two Latina teens growing up in East Oakland as they discover that the world is brimming with messy complexities. 

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children

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    Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall

    written by Lynn Brunelle; illustrated by Jason Chin

    Taking an honest look at the circle of life, this breathtakingly illustrated book follows a whale as she closes her eyes for the last time, sinking to the bottom of the ocean where her enormous body sets the stage for new ecosystems to flourish. 

Stonewall Book Award—Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Award given annually to English-language children’s and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience

Children’s Literature Award:

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    Lunar Boy

    story and art by Jes and Cin Wibowo 

    A heartwarming coming-of-age graphic novel about Indu, a young boy from the moon, who discovers a home in the most unlikely places.

Young Adult Literature Award:
 

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    Canto Contigo

     by Jonny Garza Villa

    When a Mariachi star transfers schools, he expects to be handed his new group's lead vocalist spot, but what he gets instead is a tenacious current lead with a very familiar, very kissable face.

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book

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    Vacation

     by Ame Dyckman; illustrated by Mark Teague

    When friends and roommates Bat, Cat, and Rat decide to take a vacation, they have trouble agreeing on a destination until Rat finds the perfect solution.

Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature promotes Asian/Pacific American culture and heritage

Picture Book Award:
 

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    Aloha Everything

    by Kaylin Melia George; illustrated by Mae Waite

    When Ano, a courageous young girl, begins to dance the hula—a storytelling dance form that carries the knowledge, history and folklore of the Hawaiian people, she comes to understand the true meaning of aloha.

Children's Literature Award:

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    Continental Drifter

    by Kathy MacLeod

    Spending most of the year in Bangkok and then the summer in Maine, Thai American Kathy struggles to fit in and longs to find a place where she truly belongs, but she’s not sure if it’s in America, Thailand...or anywhere.

Youth Literature Award:

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    Everything We Never Had

    by Randy Ribay

    Set in the 1930s to today, four generations of Filipino American boys grapple with identity, masculinity, and father-son relationships.

The Sydney Taylor Book Award for outstanding books that authentically portray the Jewish experience

Picture Book Award:

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    An Etrog from Across the Sea

    written by Deborah Bodin Cohen and Kerry Olitzky; illustrated by Stacey Dressen McQueen

    Papa has promised to bring home a perfect etrog for Sukkot from his journey across the sea. Leah and Aaron go to the docks every day to wait for his ship. But Rosh Hashanah passes, then Yom Kippur, and still Papa’s ship doesn’t arrive. Grandpapa Luis comforts Leah with a beautiful silver etrog cup, but will her papa return in time for Sukkot, bringing the promised etrog?

    Not yet in NYPL's collection

Middle Grade Award:
 

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    The Girl Who Sang: A Holocaust Memoir of Hope and Survival

    by Estelle Nadel and Sammy Savos with Bethany Strout

    When the Nazis invade her small Polish town, Enia Feld is separated from her family and forced into hiding and at the mercy of her neighbors, in this gripping graphic memoir of survival and rediscovering your song during the Holocaust.

Young Adult Award:

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    Night Owls

    by A.R. Vishny

    Owl-shifting female vampires from Jewish tradition, sisters Clara and Molly, who work their historic movie theater by day and feed on men in secret at night, must enter New York’s monstrous underworld to save Molly’s girlfriend, breaking all their rules of love, of life and of death itself. 

     

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

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    Not Like Other Girls 

    by Meredith Adamo

    When her former best friend Maddie disappears after coming to her for help, Jo-Lynn, an outcast ever since her nude photos were leaked, finds a way back inside the clique where she is forced to confront everything she'd rather forget to find the girl who betrayed her.

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults

Summaries provided via NYPL’s catalog, which draws from multiple sources. Click through to each book’s title for more.