2015 Youth Media Awards

View the complete list of awards here.

John Newbery Medal: The Newbery Medal is awarded annually to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The award is administered by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association.

2015 Winner

• The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

Newbery Honor

• El Deafo by Cece Bell, illustrated by Cece Bell
• Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Randolph Caldecott Medal: The Randolph Caldecott Medal is awarded annually , to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. The award is administered by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association.

2015 Winner

• The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend illustrated and written by Dan Santat

Caldecott Honor

• Nana in the City illustrated by Lauren Castillo, written by Lauren Castillo
• The Noisy Paint Box: The  Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art illustrated by Mary GrandPré, written by Barb Rosenstock 
• Sam & Dave Dig a Hole illustrated by Jon Klassen, written by Mac Barnett
• Viva Frida illustrated and written by Yuyi Morales
• The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus illustrated by Melissa Sweet, written by Jen Bryant
• This One Summer illustrated by Jillian Tamaki, written by Mariko Tamaki

Coretta Scott King Book Awards: The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are given 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. The award is administered by the American Library Association's Ethnic and Multicultural Exchange Round Table (EMIERT).

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award

2015 Winner

• Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

King Author Honor

• The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
• How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson 
• How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon

Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award

2015 Winner

• Firebird illustrated by Christopher Myers, written by Misty Copeland 

King Illustrator Honor 

• Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker illustrated by Christian Robinson, written by Patricia Hruby Powell
• Little Melba and Her Big Trombone illustrated by Frank Morrison, written by Katheryn Russell-Brown

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award

2015 Winner

• When I Was the Greatest written by Jason Reynolds

Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement: The Coretta Scott King - Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement is presented in even years to an African American author, illustrator or author/illustrator for a body of his or her published books for children and/or young adults, and who has made a significant and lasting literary contribution. In odd years, the award is presented to a practitioner for substantial contributions through active engagement with youth using award winning African American literature for children and/or young adults, via implementation of reading and reading related activities/programs.

2015 Winner

Deborah D. Taylor is the winner of the Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. The award pays tribute to the quality and magnitude of beloved children’s author Virginia Hamilton. Taylor’s career in public service began more than 40 years ago with the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, where she is currently coordinator of School and Student Services. Her career has been spent as mentor, educator and literacy advocate for young adults. As an inspiring young adult librarian, leader in national associations and university instructor, she has been distinctly effective in introducing young people and her professional colleagues to the outstanding work of African American authors. 

Pura Belpré Awards: The Pura Belpré Award is presented annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth. The award is co-sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), and REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking, an ALA affiliate.

Pura Belpré Illustrator Awards

2015 Winner

• Viva Frida illustrated and written by Yuyi Morales

Belpré Illustrator Honor

• Little Roja Riding Hood illustrated by Susan Guevara, written by Susan Middleton Elya
• Green Is a Chile Pepper illustrated by John Parra, written by Roseanne Greenfield Thong
• Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation illustrated and written by Duncan Tonatiuh

Pura Belpré Author Award

2015 Winner

• I Lived on Butterfly Hill written by Marjorie Agosín, illustrated by Lee White 

Belpré Author Honor

• Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes written by Juan Felipe Herrera, illustrated by Raúl Colón

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award: The Geisel Award is given annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished American book for beginning readers published in English in the United States during the preceding year. The award is administered by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association.

2015 Winner

• You Are (Not) Small written by Anna Kang and illustrated by Christopher Weyant

Geisel Honor Books

• Mr. Putter & Tabby Turn the Page written by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Arthur Howard
• Waiting Is Not Easy! written and illustrated by Mo Willems

Mildred L. Batchelder Award: The Mildred L. Batchelder Award is an annual citation awarded to an American publisher for a children's book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originally published in a foreign language in a foreign country, and subsequently translated into English and published in the United States. The award is administered by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association.

2015 Winner

• Mikis and the Donkey is the 2015 Batchelder Award winner. The book was written by Bibi Dumon Tak, illustrated by Philip Hopman, translated by Laura Watkinson

Batchelder Honor

• Hidden: A Child’s Story of the Holocaust written by Loic Dauvillier, illustrated by Marc Lizano, color by Greg Salsedo, translated by Alexis Siegel
• Nine Open Arms written by Benny Lindelauf, illustrated by Dasha Tolstikova, translated by John Nieuwenhuizen

Schneider Family Book Award: The Schneider Family Book Awards honor an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences. The award is administered by the American Library Association.

2015 Winners

• A Boy and a Jaguar written by Alan Rabinowitz, illustrated by Catia Chien (for children ages 0 to 10)
• Rain Reign written by Ann M. Martin (for children ages 11-13)
• Girls Like Us written by Gail Giles(for children ages 13-18)

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal: The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal is awarded annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished informational book published in the United States in English during the preceding year. The award is administered by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association.

2015 Winner

• The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus written by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet

Sibert Honor Books 

• Brown Girl Dreaming written by Jacqueline Woodson
• The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, & the Fall of Imperial Russia written by Candace Fleming
• Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker written by Patricia Hruby Powell, illustrated by Christian Robinson
• Neighborhood Sharks: Hunting with the Great Whites of California’s Farallon Islands written and illustrated by Katherine Roy
• Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh

Stonewall Book Award - Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award: Stonewall Book Award - Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award is given annually to English-language works of exceptional merit for children or teens relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience. The award is administered by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table of the American Library Association.

2015 Winners

• This Day in June written by Gayle E. Pitman, Ph.D., illustrated by Kristyna Litten 

Honor Books

• Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin, photographed by Susan Kuklin 
• I’ll Give You the Sun written by Jandy Nelson
• Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress written by Christine Baldacchino, illustrated by Isabelle Malenfant

Laura Ingalls Wilder Award: The Laura Ingalls Wilder Award honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children. The award is administered by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association,  and presented every two years.

2015 Winner

• The 2015 winner is Donald Crews, whose award-winning works include “Freight Train,” which was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1979, and “Truck,” a Caldecott Honor Book in 1981. He has been consistently excellent with a wide range of titles, such as “Harbor,” “Parade,” “Shortcut” and “Bigmama’s,” all published by Greenwillow Books.