Award-Winners
Find out about the annual winners of the Newbery Medal, Caldecott Medal, Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, and Pura Belpré Illustrator Award — as well as other children's book awards from the American Library Association and other literacy organizations. Many organizations end the year with a "best of" list of children's books. Here are links to the awards and lists that we like, including selections from the Children's Book Council, School Library Journal, Horn Book, Parent's Choice, The New York Times, and many more.
In this section:
2021 Newbery Medal
The Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the American Library Association to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. One or more Honor books are recognized each year as well.

When You Trap a Tiger
by Tae Keller
2021 Caldecott Medal
The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the American Library Association to the author of the most distinguished American picture book for children. One or more Honor books are recognized each year as well.

We Are Water Protectors
Illustrated by Michaela Goade
2021 Coretta Scott King Awards
The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are awarded annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values. One or more Honor books are recognized each year as well.
2021 Coretta Scott King Author Award

Before the Ever After
by Jacqueline Woodson
2021 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award

RESPECT: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul
Illustrated by Frank Morrison
2021 Pura Belpré Awards
The Pura Belpré is awarded annually by the American Library Association honoring a Latino writer illustrator whose children’s books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience. One or more Honor books are recognized each year as well.
2021 Pura Belpré Author Award

Efrén Divided
by Ernesto Cisneros
2021 Pura Belpré Illustrator Award

¡Vamos! Let’s Go Eat
Illustrated by Raúl the Third
More awards from the American Library Association
Awards from American Library Association Affiliates
Other notable awards
- American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books
- Bank Street College of Education's Irma Black Award
- Boston Globe's Horn Book Awards
- Charlotte Zolotow Awards
- Children’s Africana Book Awards
- Children's Literature Association's Phoenix Award
- Comstock-Gág Read Aloud Book Awards Winners
- IBBY Hans Christian Andersen Awards
- National Book Award for Young People's Literature
- NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children
- NCTE Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children
- NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
- Pacific Northwest Library Association's Young Reader's Choice Award
- Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
- We Need Diverse Books' Walter Dean Myers Award
International English-language children's book awards
- Book of the Year for Children Award from the Canadian Library Association
- Book of the Year Awards by the Children’s Book Council of Australia
- Children's Books Ireland (CBI) Book of the Year Awards
- CILIP Carnegie Medal
- CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal
- Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
- New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults
“Best of” annual lists
- Notable Children's Books, American Library Association
- Best Children's Books of the Year, Bank Street College of Education
- Best Children's Picture Books, Publishers Weekly
- Notable Children's Books of 2016, The New York Times
Other book lists
- Recommended Books by Theme, Reading Rockets
- 100 Great Children's Books, New York Public Library
- Hot Off the Press, Children's Book Council
- Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, National Council for the Social Studies
- Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens, Capitol Choices
- Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12, National Science Teachers Association
- Parents' Choice Award Winners, Parents' Choice Foundation