2015 Newbery and Caldecott Award-Winning Books For Kids
The Latest Award-Winning Children's Books You'll Want to Add to Your Bedtime Routine
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Your bookshelves are about to become more crammed. This week, the American Library Association announced the winners of the 2015 children's book awards. Among the honorees, Kwame Alexander took home the John Newbery Medal for The Crossover, while Anna Kang's You Are (Not) Small won the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award. The honorees represent the best in the media world, and whether you're a fan of written or illustrated works, there are many you'll want to add to your reading list. Your bedtime reading routine with your kids just got a lot more exciting!
Winner of the John Newbery Medal in children's literature, The Crossover by Kwame Alexander ($17) tells the story of two brothers who are stars on the basketball courts. Part poetry, part hip-hop, and a whole lot of family values exude from this intellectual narrative.
The winner of a Newbery Honor Book, El Deafo by Cece Bell ($11) gives kids a modern-day superhero. Drawn from the author's own hearing loss, the young protagonist Cece learns to fearlessly navigate life with a Phonic Ear.
Jacqueline Woodson brings poetry and growing up in the civil rights movement together to weave a touching story in Brown Girl Dreaming ($17). The receiver of a Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King book award, Woodson's book is relatable and emotionally charged.
Dan Santat's The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend ($17) combines adventure, imagination, and the big city in one breathtaking package. The Randolph Caldecott Medal winner tells the magical story of an imaginary friend who gets tired of waiting to be chosen by a real child and sets out to find his match in a bustling city.
Lauren Castillo's Nana in the City ($17) is the winner of the 2015 Randolph Caldecott Medal. Readers are drawn into a little boy's world as he navigates the big city in a cape made by his nana.
The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art ($18) by Barb Rosenstock tells the story of a real abstract artist in picture book form. It won the Randolph Caldecott Medal.
Sam & Dave Dig a Hole ($17) joins the list as a winner of the Randolph Caldecott Medal. Mac Barnett's story highlights the journey of two boys on a mission to find something spectacular as they dig a hole.
Yuyi Morales showcases the work of Frida Kahlo, one of the world's most famous artists, in Viva Frida ($18), a colorfully illustrated book. It took home the Randolph Caldecott Medal and the Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award.
Jen Bryant won the Randolph Caldecott Medal and Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for her poignant book The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus ($18). A shy young boy named Peter explores his love of writing by making lists of words, and he brings you into the joyful journey of learning.
Receiver of the Randolph Caldecott Medal, This One Summer ($18) by Mariko Tamaki details the hopeful story of a girl on the cusp of childhood. Her life is filled with Summer secrets, sorrow, and growing up.
Misty Copeland's Firebird ($18) is the King Illustrator Book winner. In her debut book, the author shares the story of a young girl who struggles with confidence and how she eventually conquers her fears to become a Firebird.
A Steptoe winner, When I Was the Greatest ($18) by Jason Reynolds captures the heart and hardships of an urban teen growing up in Bedford-Stuyvesant, New York.
In I'll Give You the Sun ($18) by Jandy Nelson, the relationship between a twin sister and brother are captured in a moving narrative. The once-close siblings grow apart as they age, but readers will hold on to the hope that they find their way back to each other. It's the winner of the Michael L. Printz Award.
The receiver of a Schneider Family Book Award, Alan Rabinowitz's A Boy and a Jaguar ($17) focuses on Alan, a young boy who stutters when he talks. When he talks to animals, however, his voice is clear as day. Alan brings you on his journey to discovering his true voice in this real-life tale.
Rain Reign ($17) by Ann M. Martin is the winner of a Schneider Family Book Award for middle schoolers. Rose Howard, who is obsessed with homonyms, tries to find her dog, who also has a name with two homonyms, after a storm hits her rural town.
Girls Like Us ($17) by Gail Giles tells the story of two girls who graduate from their high school's special education program. Although they could not be more different, circumstances bring them together for the better. It won the teens Schneider Family Book Award.
Winner of an Alex Award for the best adult book to appeal to teen audiences, All the Light We Cannot See ($27) by Anthony Doerr touches upon family, survival, and love in Nazi Paris.
Kate Racculia received an Alex Award for Bellweather Rhapsody ($25). The novel combines an eccentric cast of characters with pop culture akin to the hit show Glee.
Bingo's Run: A Novel ($24) by James A. Levine is a funny and moving story that draws on African folklore.
In a dark tale between students and a teacher, Kanae Minato takes readers on a twisting journey in Confessions ($15). The winner of an Alex Award, the revengeful book will keep everyone guessing until the end.
Everything I Never Told You ($27) by Celeste Ng took home an Alex Award for capturing a story about a Chinese American family living in a small Ohio town in the '70s.
John Scalzi's Lock In ($25) is the winner of an Alex Award. The sci-fi crime thriller about a mysterious contagious virus keeps readers hanging on until the very end.
In The Martian ($15) by Andy Weir, Mark Watney is one of the first people to walk on Mars and is also the first person to become stranded on the planet. He has to put his survival skills to the test in this Alex Award-winning book.
In The Terrorist's Son: A Story of Choice ($15) by Zak Ebrahim, a son grows up with a father who is responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Ebrahim explains his own journey and emphasizes that hate is a choice. He received the Alex Award.
Michael Koryta's Those Who Wish Me Dead ($26) tells the story of a 14-year-old boy who witnesses a murder and has to go into hiding. The Alex Award-winning book is a thriller meant to keep readers on edge.
Wolf in White Van ($24) by John Darnielle is his debut novel and winner of an Alex Award. Sean Phillips, a 17-year-old who suffers from a disfiguring injury, invents a role-playing game called Trace Italian. Things go awry when two high school students try to bring the game to real life and Sean has to take responsibility.
The winner of an Andrew Carnegie Medal is Me . . . Jane ($17) by Patrick McDonnell. The author tells a heartwarming story of young Jane Goodall and her stuffed chimpanzee Jubilee. Together they observe the natural world, and Jane realizes one day she wants to live a life of helping animals.
Donald Crews's Freight Train Board Book ($8) received the 2015 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award and previously won the Caldecott Honor Book in 1979. The illustrations bring to life a train moving through night and day in the country and city.
Mikis and the Donkey ($13) is the 2015 Batchelder Award winner. Written by Bibi Dumon Tak, with drawings by Philip Hopman, it hits home for anyone with a soft spot for animals.
In This Day in June ($15) by Gayle E. Pitman, an LGBT community comes to life in a whimsical setting. Included in the book is a guide on how to talk to children about sexual orientation and gender identity in age-appropriate ways. The book is the winner of the Stonewall Book Award.
The perfect bedtime book to cuddle up with, You Are (Not) Small ($17) by Anna Kang is about two fuzzy creatures who can't agree on who is big and who is small. That is, until some surprise guests arrive to settle the dispute. The book received the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award.
Isabel Quintero's Gabi, a Girl in Pieces ($12) won the William C. Morris Award. Gabi Hernandez writes about her last year in high school in her diary. The poetic book captures teen readers alike.
Popular: Vintage Wisdom For a Modern Geek ($19) by Maya Van Wagenen explores the true meaning of popularity and life in middle school. Winner of the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults, the author puts in perspective what is truly important in life.
Marjorie Agosin took home the Pura Belpré (Author) Award for her book I Lived on Butterfly Hill ($9). An 11-year-old girl's world is turned upside turn by a political turmoil, and she must learn to adapt to a new life.
