The American Library Association announced the winners of its annual Youth Media Awards, with Dave Eggers and Vashti Harrison receiving two of the prestigious prizes in literature for children and young adults.
The John Newbery Medal, given to “the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature,” went to The Eyes & the Impossible, written by Eggers and illustrated by Shawn Harris. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkus wrote of the book, about a dog who serves as the “eyes” to three bison in a park, “One remarkable creature vividly shows readers that ‘there is so, so much to see.’”
Harrison won the Randolph Caldecott Medal, which honors an outstanding picture book, for Big, which she wrote and illustrated. The book, also a National Book Award finalist, follows a young girl who learns to love herself despite taunts and insults about her size; a Kirkus reviewer gave the book a star and called it “a healing balm with the power to make the world a bit kinder.” Harrison is the first Black woman to win the Caldecott in the 86-year history of the prize.
The winner of the Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award, given to an African American writer, was Ibi Zoboi for Nigeria Jones, while the Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award went to An American Story, illustrated by Dare Coulter and written by Kwame Alexander.
The Michael L. Printz Award for young adult literature went to The Collectors: Stories, edited by A.S. King and written by King, M.T. Anderson, e.E. Charlton-Trujillo, King, David Levithan, Cory McCarthy, Anna-Marie McLemore, G. Neri, Jason Reynolds, Randy Ribay, and Jenny Torres Sanchez. King is the first author to win the Printz Award twice.
The Newbery and Caldecott Medals will be presented at the ALA Annual Conference in San Diego on June 27. A full list of Youth Media Award winners and honorees is available on the ALA website.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
