LGBTQ-inclusive children’s and young adult books were among the titles honored at the American Library Association’s Youth Media Awards today, winning not only Stonewall Awards for LGBTQ titles, but also awards in several other categories—proving again that those who wish to ban them are keeping kids from some of the best books around.
(Links below are to reviews of picture book and middle grade titles in my Database of LGBTQ Family Books. I don’t usually cover YA, since I need to sleep sometimes, but I’m happy to recognize the YA winners below.)
The Stonewall Book Awards—Mike Morgan and Larry Romans Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award
The Youth Media Awards include the renowned Newbery and Caldecott Medals, but also many other awards that recognize literary and artistic excellence in books published the previous year. This year’s Stonewall Book Award—Mike Morgan and Larry Romans Children’s Literature Award, for a book of “exceptional merit relating to the LGBTQIA+ experience,” went to:
- Halfway to Somewhere, by Jose Pimienta (Random House Graphic)
Two picture books and two middle grade titles were named Stonewall Honor Books:
- Call Me Gray, by Andrew Larsen and Bells Larsen, illustrated by Tallulah Fontaine (Kids Can Press)
- Woods & Words: The Story of Poet Mary Oliver, by Sara Holly Ackerman, illustrated by Naoko Stoop (Beach Lane)
- The Ink Witch, by Steph Cherrywell (Little, Brown)
- Ollie in Between, by Jess Callans (Feiwel & Friends)
The Stonewall Award for Young Adult Books went to:
- One of the Boys, by Victoria Zeller (Levine Querido)
Four Stonewall Honors for Young Adult Books went to:
- Devils Like Us, by L.T. Thompson (Bloomsbury)
- He’s So Possessed With Me, by Corey Liu (Little, Brown)
- Hick: The Trailblazing Journalist Who Captured Eleanor Roosevelt’s Heart, by Sarah Miller (Random House Studio)
- Sometimes the Girl, by Jennifer Mason-Black (Carolrhoda Lab)
All of the Stonewall Awards and Honors are hugely well-deserved. As I’ve said before, though, I would still love to see a third category, splitting out picture books from middle grade. As my own Database of LGBTQ Family Books shows, there are now dozens of books in each age range every year, and some truly excellent ones in each—enough, I believe, to support awards in both age ranges.
Other Awards
A number of LGBTQ-inclusive books also gained awards or honors in non-LGBTQ-specific categories:
American Indian Youth Literature Award Middle Grade Honor
Given to books by and about American Indians and Alaska Natives, and administered by the American Indian Library Association, an ALA affiliate.
- The Ribbon Skirt, by Cameron Mukwa (Graphix)
Asian/Pacific American Award Children’s Literature Honor
Given to books that promote Asian/Pacific American culture and heritage, and administered by the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association, an ALA affiliate.
- Queen Bees of Tybee County, by Kyle Casey Chu (Quill Tree)
- Fresh Start, by Gale Galligan (Scholastic)
Sydney Taylor Honor
Given to books that authentically portray the Jewish experience, and presented by the Association of Jewish Libraries.
- The Rebel Girls of Rome, by Jordyn Taylor (HarperCollins)
Schneider Family Book Award Young Adult Honor Book
Given to a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience.
- The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar, by Sonora Reyes (HarperCollins)
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor
Given to books by African American illustrators.
- André: André Leon Talley—A Fabulously Fashionable Fairy Tale, by Carole Boston Weatherford and Rob Sanders, illustrated by Lamont O’Neal (Henry Holt)
Alex Award
Given to books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults.
- Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert, by Bob the Drag Queen (Gallery Books)
- These Heathens, by Mia McKenzie (Random House)
Morris Award Finalist
Given to a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens.
- Love, Misha, by Jam Aden (First Second)
Sibert Honor
Given to informational books for children.
- Go Tell It: How James Baldwin Became a Writer, by Quartez Harris, illustrated by Gordon C. James (Little, Brown)
Odyssey Young Adult Award
Given to the producer of the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults.
- Trans History: From Ancient Times to the Present Day, by Alex L. Combs and Andrew Eakett (Candlewick), produced by Iris McElroy and Juan García Ticoulat for Listening Library, an imprint of Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group, and narrated by the authors and a full cast.
Odyssey Young Adult Honor
- The Dead of Summer, by Ryan La Sala (PUSH), produced by Zane Birdwell and Paul Gagne for Scholastic Audio, narrated by the author and a full cast
Here is the full list of this year’s ALA Youth Media Award winners. As always, you can find the Stonewall winners from this and previous years (for board, picture, and middle grade books) tagged as such in my database, along with many other books that may not have won awards, but are nevertheless excellent stories that may speak to you or your children.
Let’s take a moment to celebrate all of the above books, their authors and illustrators, and everyone who helps bring these titles into the lives of young people. Then, let’s get to work fighting the epidemic of censorship across the country that is trying to ban or restrict these necessary stories.