In the midst of a tumultuous, cold winter, the 2026 American Library Association Youth Media Awards gave the employees of Lerner Publishing Group a much-welcomed morning of joy and celebration. Gathering in the conference room, we cheered as seven books received eight ALA awards. We are honored and grateful to share these extraordinary titles with you.
The Library in the Woods wins the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award and a Coretta Scott King Author Honor Distinction
The Library in the Woods by playwright Calvin Alexander Ramsey and illustrated by renown artist R. Gregory Christie tells the story of a young boy named Junior who moves to Roxboro in 1959. His new friends new friends bring him to an incredible place: a library for African American residents. This story is a tribute to the power of books and the resourcefulness of the Black community.
This beautiful picture book has won both a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award and received a Coretta Scott King Author Honor. It is exceedingly rare that a book is recognized for both a CSK author and illustrator award or honor. The combination has only occurred seven times in the award’s history.
“Receiving the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for The Library in the Woods is an honor, I am grateful for it and I do not take it lightly,” said illustrator R. Gregory Christie. “I said yes to this project because I love being attached creatively to books rooted in history or culture, especially stories that reveal our shared humanity. Overall, I am here to build bridges with my art and to offer possibilities that will develop the minds and characters of young readers. A children’s book travels along a long road before it reaches a child. What stays with me is that final moment, when the work becomes personal and the story meets a reader without instruction or agenda.
“The Library in the Woods holds a specific history while remaining open beyond it. I am grateful that the Coretta Scott King committee recognized what this book carries and chose to lift it up. I hope it finds its way into young hands and creates space for reflection, pride, or strength.”
Author Calvin Alexander Ramsey shared his thoughts on the experience saying, “I am overwhelmed by this award and the Lerner family that allowed R. Gregory Christie and myself to join forces. I lived in Atlanta for many years and would see Mrs. Coretta Scott King at various events. This award not only honors our team but the spirit of Mrs. Coretta Scott King and her vision that still exists.”
The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are given annually to celebrate “outstanding books for young adults and children by African American authors and illustrators that reflect the African American experience.”
The Library in the Woods | Calvin Alexander Ramsey; illus. by R. Gregory Christie | Interest Level: Grade 2-5 | Reading Level: Grade 3 | 32 Pages | HC: 978-1-5415-9912-3
The Pecan Sheller wins the Pura Belpré Children’s Author Award
The Pecan Sheller, written by Lupe Ruiz-Flores has won the Pura Belpré Children’s Author Award. Named after the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library, this award “is presented 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.”
In this gripping historical fiction set in 1930s San Antonio, thirteen-year-old Petra dreams of going to college and becoming a writer. But she must drop out of school to work at a pecan-shelling factory to help support her factory. But after the unhealthy environment leads to tragedy and workers’ already low wages are cut, Petra knows things need to change. She and her coworkers go on strike for higher wages and safer conditions, risking everything they have for the hope of a better future.
Author Lupe Ruiz-Flores received the call the day before the awards and was taken aback. “All I can say is that I was stunned. When I got the call on a Sunday, I was leery. Who does business on a weekend? We were in the middle of a winter blast here in Texas and I was running around making sure I had enough water, candles, batteries and all the stuff one needs when the power goes out. At first, I thought it was a joke or a spam call. Mostly I just listened. When Pura Belpre Awards was mentioned, I perked up. ‘Do you know about the Pura Belpre Awards?’ Gia, the lady who called, asked. ‘Of course,’ I replied.
“I was so nervous by then and don’t remember if she said my book was an Honor book or a medalist. I called my daughter, Carolyn, and told her what had happened. ‘Did you win the Honor or did you medal?’ I had no idea. On the following Monday, she recorded the conference and when I returned from a doctor’s visit, she was all excited. ‘Mother,’ she said. ‘You just won the medal.’
“I feel honored to have my book amongst the company of so many talented writers and poets.”
The Pecan Sheller | Lupe Ruiz Flores | Interest Level: Grade 5 – 8 | Reading Level: Grade 5 | 256 Pages | HC: 979-8-7656-1052-7
The Red Car to Hollywood wins the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature in the Young Adult Category
The Red Car to Hollywood by Jennie Liu is a journey of self-discovery set in the vibrant, drama-filled era of early Hollywood. In LA’s Chinatown in 1924, sixteen-year-old Ruby Chan rebels against her parents’ conventional plans for her future. A friendship with nineteen-year-old Anna May Wong, a rising Hollywood film star, opens up new possibilities.
After receiving a starred review from Booklist and a New York Public Library Best Books for Teens distinction, this young adult novel won an Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature in the Young Adult Category. The award honors and recognizes individual works by Asian/Pacific American authors that highlight Asian/Pacific American cultures and experiences.
When asked what winning the award meant to her, author Jennie Liu stated, “In 2020, enraged at the targeted racism against Asians, I started writing Ruby’s story to spotlight the struggle and alienation of first and second-generation Americans. It was a murky time, and working on the book helped me to appreciate the progress we’ve made as a country in the past century towards accepting and valuing others. Unfortunately, in the last year, it seems we’re going backwards again, terribly backwards, but the recognition from ALA for The Red Car to Hollywood reminds me that, unlike a hundred years ago, there is now a swell of support and respect for marginalized groups and immigrants from huge numbers of individuals and organizations. And for that, I am thrilled and deeply grateful.”
The Red Car to Hollywood | Jennie Liu | Interest Level: Grade 9-12 | Reading Level: Grade 7 | 256 Pages | HC: 978-1-7284-9321-3
Kahoʻolawe wins the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature in the Pasifika Picture Book Category
The Pasifika category of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature was announced in 2025, created to recognize authors and illustrators of Pasifika heritage. Kahoʻolawe: The True Story of an Island and Her People by Kamalani Hurley and illustrated by Harinani Orme is the very first winner of this award. The picture book shares the story of the smallest Hawaiian island, a place sacred to Native Hawaiians, from its formation long ago to its present-day restoration as a protected site.
“I am over the moon that Kahoʻolawe is the APALA Pasifika Picture Book award winner for 2026!” author Kamalani Hurley said. “The reason for writing this story was to help share the difficult history of this sacred Hawaiian island. I am hopeful that this award will inspire more kids and their grownups to learn about the island and about the resilient people who work every day to restore her culturally and environmentally. This book was indeed a team effort. Mahalo nui to the amazing illustrator Harinani Orme and to my dream editor Carol Hinz and the wonderful editing and art teams at Lerner for ushering the book into being. I am grateful, too, for my agent James McGowan who, from the very start, believed in me and in the project.”
Kahoʻolawe: The True Story of an Island and Her People | Kamalani Hurley; illustrated by Harinani Orme | Interest Level: Grade 2-5 | Reading Level: Grade 3 | 32 Pages | HC: 979-8-7656-0501-1
Sometimes the Girl was named a Stonewall Honor Book for Young Adult Literature
ALA Rainbow Round Table has named Sometimes the Girl a Stonewall Honor Book for Young Adult Literature. The Stonewall Book Award is “the first and most enduring award for LGBTQIA+ books” and celebrates books of “exceptional merit relating to the LGBTQIA+ experience.”
The novel’s story follows eighteen-year-old Holiday, an aspiring writer, when gets a short-term job sorting through the attic of an acclaimed elderly author. The author’s attic contains secrets that change Holi’s views on art, life, and the way they intertwine, as she grapples with choices that will redefine her own path.
This is the first time in Lerner Publishing Group’s history that a title has been recognized by the Stonewall Book Award, and we couldn’t be happier.
Author Jennifer Mason-Black shared our sentiment saying, “Last week I had to define joy. In the moment, I said it was a place where boundaries fade, replaced by deep connectedness. When the Stonewall Award Committee called to tell me that they’d selected Sometimes the Girl as one of their Honor books, I felt exactly that. I think that authors, especially those writing for children and young adults, weave spells into their work. Ones about the things we want for our readers, the growth and happiness and resilience we wish for them. I wrote all the love I could into Holi’s story: for her; for the kids now whose stories we will not allow to be erased; for everyone once taught they didn’t exist—those of us left to unlearn the lesson and those who refused to accept it. The gift of that call is in the reminder that so many people carry those same wishes, weave that same love into their work on behalf of young readers, and how precious it is to celebrate it together in these hard times.”
Sometimes the Girl | Jennifer Mason-Black | Interest Level: Grade 9-12 | Reading Level: Grade 9 | 304 Pages | HC: 978-1-7284-9329-9
I’m a Dumbo Octopus! was named a GNCRT Outstanding Comics Award Honor Book
I’m a Dumbo Octopus!: A Graphic Guide to Cephalopods by Anne Lambelet is a fun, factually robust look at some of the most gifted creatures under the sea. Dumbo octopus Grimpy presents a tour of the whole cephalopod class and discovers why his own species is so cool.
In 2024, the Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table (GNCRT) established a brand new ALA award: the Outstanding Comics Award. This award aims to “increase the awareness of the graphic novel medium” by recognizing “exceptional graphic novels that appeal to adults, teens, and children in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, and series.” The GNCRT Outstanding Comics Award Honor Book distinction for I’m a Dumbo Octopus! is another historic first for the Lerner team and for author/illustrator Anne Lambelet.
“The ALA YMA’s have always felt like the Oscars of kid lit,” Anne told us. “Ever since I knew what they were, I dreamed about them the way that the lead in a high school play dreams about getting nominated for Best Actress. ‘Wouldn’t it be just so amazing and crazy if the impossible did happen someday?’ And it did feel impossible, especially considering that, up until this year, there wasn’t even really a prize that considered comics like Dumbo. And it does feel crazy. And it does feel amazing. I still can’t believe it, and I’m so beyond grateful to so many people….to everyone who helped with Dumbo, who edited and critiqued and cheered on, to everyone who read Dumbo, to the people who decided that it was actually deserving of attention, even maybe of an honor like this. Thank you from me and from my little octopus guy. It means more than words can say.”
Be on the lookout for the second book in Anne Lambelet’s Marine Life Graphic Guides series coming out March 3rd 2026: We Are Dwarf Sperm Whales!: A Graphic Guide to Cetaceans
I’m a Dumbo Octopus!: A Graphic Guide to Cephalopods | Anne Lambelet | Interest Level: Grade 2 – 5 | Reading Level: Grade 2 – 3 | 72 Pages | HC: 979-8-7656-0305-5 PB: 979-8-7656-6137-6
Clack, Clack! Smack! Produced by Live Oak Media wins the Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production for Children
Clack, Clack! Smack!: A Cherokee Stickball Story written by Traci Sorell and illustrated by Joseph Erb won the Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production for Children. This award honors the best audiobook produced for children or young adults, available in English in the United States.
The fast-paced story follows a game of social stickball played by children from two Cherokee communities in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the capital of the Cherokee Nation. Interspersed with the exciting play-by-play of the game is the Tsalagi language (called Cherokee in English), which reflects the importance of keeping the language alive. With the coach’s encouragement to work together—gadugi—an important Cherokee value, and the help of his best friend Jesse, Vann overcomes his self-doubt in this uplifting story of team spirit and collaboration.
Live Oak Media is a longtime publishing partner of Lerner Publishing Group and offers exceptional word-for-word audio recordings that are intended to be listened to while following along in the book. We congratulate them on this incredible recognition!
For the official Lerner press release, please visit our press room and of course follow us on our socials for more exciting announcements.