Barnes & Noble revealed the winners of its fourth annual Children’s and YA Book Awards, given to outstanding books for younger readers.
The prizes are given in three categories, with one of those winners named the overall winner. This year, that honor went to The Misfits: A Royal Conundrum, written by Lisa Yee and illustrated by Dan Santat, the winner in the young reader category.
The first in a planned series, the book follows a troubled 12-year-old girl who is enrolled at a “reforming arts school,” where she is recruited as a crimefighter along with some other maverick kids. A critic for Kirkus called the book “a fantastical blend of quirky characters and goofy adventures.”
The winner in the picture book category was Xin Li’s I Lived Inside a Whale, the story of a young girl so desperate for quiet and solitude that she moves into a whale’s mouth. She’s soon joined by a boy whose boisterousness threatens her precious tranquility.
Lauren Roberts won in the young adult category for Powerless, a romantasy about an “ordinary” in a magical kingdom who poses as a psychic and falls for a prince. The book is the first installment in a planned trilogy.
Barnes & Noble’s Children’s and YA Book Awards were first given out in 2021. Previous winners include The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels, written by Beth Lincoln and illustrated by Claire Powell, and Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
