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Children's Award Winners 2023
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Freewater
by Amina Luqman-Dawson
Newbery Award & Corretta Scott King Author Book Award- After escaping Southerland Plantation with his little sister, 12-year-old Homer becomes part of a secret community called Freewater, where he finally finds a place to call home and the courage to go back and free his mother from enslavement.
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Iveliz explains it all
by Andrea Beatriz Arango
Newbery Honor- Twelve-year-old Iveliz is trying to manage her mental health and advocate for the help and understanding she deserves, but in the meantime her new friend calls her crazy and her abuela Mimi dismisses the therapy and medicine Iveliz needs to feel like herself.
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The last mapmaker
by Christina Soontornvat
Newbery Honor- Joining an expedition to chart the southern seas, 12-year-old mapmaker's assistant Sai, posing as a well-bred young lady with a glittering future, realizes she's not the only one on board harboring secrets when she discovers the ship's true destination.
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Maizy Chen's last chance
by Lisa Yee
Newbery Honor- In Last Chance, Minnesota, with her family, Maizy spends her time at the Golden Palace, the restaurant thats been in her family for generations, where she makes some discoveries requiring her to go on a search for answers.
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Hot dog
by Doug Salati
Caldecott Winner- Tired of the citys sizzling sidewalks, wailing sirens and peoples feet in his face, a hot dog finds inner peace and calm when his owner takes him to the beach, where he happily cools off.
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Ain't burned all the bright
by Jason Reynolds
Caldecott Honor- This smash-up of art and text visually captures what it is to be Black in America and what it means to REALLY breath.
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Berry song
by Michaela Goade
Caldecott Honor- As a young Tlingit girl collects wild berries over the seasons, she sings with her Grandmother as she learns to speak to the land and listen when the land speaks back.
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Choosing brave : how Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till sparked the civil rights movement
by Angela Joy
Caldecott Honor & Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award & Sibert Honor - Brilliantly crafted to be both comprehensive and suitable for young readers, this true account follows Mamie Till-Mobley, who, after the murder of her 14-year-old son in 1955, refocused her unimaginable grief into action for the greater good.
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Knight Owl
by Christopher Denise
Caldecott Honor- After achieving his dream of becoming a knight, a small owl protects the castle from a hungry dragon.
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The talk
by Alicia Williams
Coretta Scott King Author Honor- Told in an age-appropriate fashion, this picture book follows a young boy who just wants to be a kid, as he has The Talk, a conversation that could mean the difference between life and death in a racist world.
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Victory. Stand! : raising my fist for justice
by Tommie Smith
Coretta Scott King Author Award & Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor- A groundbreaking and timely graphic memoir from one of the most iconic figures in American sports-and a tribute to his fight for civil rights. On October 16, 1968, during the medal ceremony at the Mexico City Olympics, Tommie Smith, the gold medal winner in the 200-meter sprint, and John Carlos, the bronze medal winner, stood on the podium in black socks and raised their black-gloved fists to protest racial injustice inflicted upon African Americans. Both men were forced to leave the Olympics, received death threats, and faced ostracism and continuing economic hardships. In his first-ever memoir for young readers, Tommie Smith looks back on his childhood growing up in rural Texas through to his stellar athletic career, culminating in his historic victory and Olympic podium protest. Cowritten with Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Honor recipient Derrick Barnes and illustrated with bold and muscular artwork from Emmy Award-winning illustrator Dawud Anyabwile, Victory. Stand! paints a stirring portrait of an iconic moment in Olympic history that still resonates today.
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Standing in the need of prayer : a modern retelling of the classic spiritual
by Carole Boston Weatherford
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award- Based on the popular spiritual, this inspiring picture book starts in 1619 and spans more than 400 years, chronicling pivotal moments in African American history as well as celebrating those individuals who made an impact for generations to come.
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Me and the boss : a story about mending and love
by Michelle Edwards
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor- To make his big sister, Zora aka the boss proud, Lee learns to sew at the library and secretly sews the ear back on Zora' s stuffed bear, an act of kindness that earns him a special big sister hug.
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Swim team
by Johnnie Christmas
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award- When she has to take Swim 101, middle schooler Bree must face one of her greatest fears, but with a little help from an elderly neighbor and former swim team captain, she becomes her school's best hope to beat their rival. Simultaneous and eBook. Illustrations.
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We deserve monuments
by Jas Hammonds
Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award- Forced to move to Georgia to live with her hostile, terminally ill grandmother, 17-year-old Avery discovers that the racist history of this town is rooted in her family in ways she cant even imagine, jeopardizing her newfound romance with her next-door neighbor, Simone.
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Listen : how Evelyn Glennie, a deaf girl, changed percussion
by Shannon Stocker
Schneider Family Book Award, Young Children - This inspiring biography tells the story of musically gifted Evelyn Glennie, who lost her hearing as a young girl and was told she could never be a musician until she proved everyone wrong by listening in a way others didn't.
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Wildoak
by C. C. Harrington
Schneider Family Book Award, Middle Grades- Agreeing to spend a few weeks in the fresh air of Wildoak Forest, visiting a grandfather she hardly knows, Maggie encounters an abandoned snow leopard cub, and facing danger head on, vows to keep it safe from those who hunt it.
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Hummingbird
by Natalie Lloyd
Schneider Family Book Award, Middle Grades Honor- Twelve-year-old Olive, who is seen as fragile due to brittle bone disease, searches for a magical, wish-granting hummingbird that could possibly make her most desperate, secret wish come true.
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Honestly Elliott
by Gillian McDunn
Schneider Family Book Award, Middle Grades Honor- Struggling with ADHD, loneliness, and connecting with his divorced father who would rather see him embrace sports instead of cooking, sixth-grader Elliott finds an unlikely friend in popular, perfect Maribel when the two are paired in a school-wide contest.
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The words we keep
by Erin Stewart
Schneider Family Book Award, Young Adult, Winner- After her sister Alice was found hurting herself, Lily, who has secret compulsions of her own, learns the healing powers of art while working with a new student who was in the same treatment program as her sister.
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Breathe and count back from ten
by Natalia Sylvester
Schneider Family Book Award, Young Adult, Honor & Belpré Young Adult Author Honor- Verónica has had many surgeries to manage her disability. The best form of rehabilitation is swimming, so she spends hours in the pool, but not just to strengthen her body. Her Florida town is home to Mermaid Cove, a kitschy underwater attraction where professional mermaids perform in giant tanks . . . and Verónica wants to audition. But her conservative Peruvian parents would never go for it. And they definitely would never let her be with Alex, her cute new neighbor. She decides it's time to seize control of her life, but her plans come crashing down when she learns her parents have been hiding the truth from her--the truth about her own body.
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Just a girl : a true story of World War II
by Lia Levi
Mildred L. Batchelder Award - The author recalls her experiences coming of age in Fascist Italy during World War II as she, along with her sisters, hid in a convent where she tried to come to terms with her new life while longing to be just a girl.
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Different : a story of the Spanish Civil War
by Mónica Montañés
Mildred L. Batchelder Honor- Recounts the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939 as told through the voices of 7-year-old Socorro and 9-year-old Paco, siblings who must hide the fact that their father has fled Spain due to his political beliefs in order to survive.
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Dragonfly eyes
by Wenxuan Cao
Mildred L. Batchelder Honor- Taking readers from 1920s France to postwar Shanghai and through the Chinese Cultural Revolution, this compelling family saga follows Ah-Mei and her grandmother, who share a rare bond that gives them the strength to carry on when their family is left with almost nothing.
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João by a thread
by Roger Mello
Mildred L. Batchelder Honor- As João tucks under a lovingly woven quilt, he asks himself: So it's just me now? He curls up, getting cozy in bed, and soon the world of his dreams unspools on the page. The blanket in his bed unravels into deep rivers, lakes, valleys, reservoirs, mountain ranges, fishing nets full of tadpoles and gaping holes, until what's left is just one long thread. When he feels alone and scared in the dark, João "sews words like patchwork" into a new blanket to cover himself up. He weaves the threads of his quilt until they form one long sentence, and soon, the nighttime is peppered with his own silvery, slippery words.
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Stuntboy, in the meantime
by Jason Reynolds
Odyssey Award, Children- While leading a double life as Stuntboy, who secretly keeps all the other superheroes super safe, Portico Reeve tries to keep his parents marriage together, deal with his anxiety and an enemy who vows to prove there is nothing super about him.
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The Honeys
by Sala, Ryan La
Odyssey Award, Young Adult- Mars has always been the lesser twin, the shadow to his sister Caroline's radiance. But when Caroline dies under horrific circumstances, Mars is propelled to learn all he can about his once-inseparable sister who'd grown tragically distant. Mars's genderfluidity means he's often excluded from the traditions -- and expectations -- of his politically-connected family. This includes attendance at the prestigious Aspen Conservancy Summer Academy where his sister poured so much of her time. But with his grief still fresh, he insists on attending in her place. What Mars finds is a bucolic fairytale not meant for him. Folksy charm and sun-drenched festivities camouflage old-fashioned gender roles and a toxic preparatory rigor. Mars seeks out his sister's old friends: a group of girls dubbed the Honeys, named for the beehives they maintain behind their cabin. They are beautiful and terrifying -- and Mars is certain they're connected to Caroline's death. But the longer he stays at Aspen, the more the sweet mountain breezes give way to hints of decay. Mars's memories begin to falter, bleached beneath the relentless summer sun. Something is hunting him in broad daylight, toying with his mind. If Mars can't find it soon, it will eat him alive.
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Three Billy Goats Gruff
by Barnett, Mac
Odyssey Honor Book- Once there was a bridge and a terrible and VERY hungry troll lived underneath it. When the three Billy Goats Gruff decide to clip-clop across the bridge to get to the grassy ridge, the troll is already imagining all the way to prepare a delicious goat dinner. But the troll underestimates those seemingly sweet but oh-so-savvy goats!
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Where wonder grows
by Xelena González
Pura Belpré Youth Illustration Award- When their Grandma invites them to explore her collection of treasures in her special garden, her granddaughters find their imaginations sparked by these objects from nature that each tell a powerful story.
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Frizzy
by Claribel A. Ortega
Pura Belpré Children’s Author Award- Tired of going to the salon to have her curls straightened every weekend, Marlene slowly learns to embrace her natural curly hair with the help of her best friend and favorite aunt.
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Burn down, rise up
by Vincent Tirado
Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Award- When an urban legend rumored to trap people inside subway tunnels seems to be behind mysterious disappearances in the Bronx, sixteen-year-old Raquel and her friends team up to save their city--and confront a dark episode in its history in the process.
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The coquíes still sing / : A Story of Home, Hope, and Rebuilding
by Karina Nicole González
Belpré Youth Illustration Honor Belpré Children’s Author Honor- Co-quí, co-quí! The coquí frogs sing to Elena from her family's beloved mango tree--their calls so familiar that they might as well be singing, "You are home, you are safe." But home is suddenly not safe when a hurricane threatens to destroy everything that Elena knows.
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A land of books : dreams of young Mexihcah word painters
by Duncan Tonatiuh
Belpré Youth Illustration Honor- Paying tribute to Mesoamerican ingenuity and celebrating the universal power of books, this book, as told by a young Aztec girl, shows how her parents and others paint manuscripts to document their history, science, tributes and sacred rituals.
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Magic : once upon a faraway land
by Mirelle Ortega
Belpré Youth Illustration Honor- Growing up on a pineapple farm in Mexico, a young girl discovers the magic in everyday transformations that take place around her.
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Phenomenal AOC : the roots and rise of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
by Anika Denise
Belpré Youth Illustration Honor- In 2019, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest congresswoman in America. How did this young Puertoriqueña become an unstoppable force in politics? Find out in this accessible and engaging book for young readers. AOC's remarkable story begins in her childhood Bronx home and comes full circle the moment AOC became America's youngest Congresswoman. Ocasio-Cortez's empowering journey reminds us that everyone, regardless of their age, race, creed, wealth, or zip code, is capable of being a voice for change.
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Still dreaming = : Seguimos soñando
by Claudia Guadalupe Martinez
Belpré Youth Illustration Honor- A child dreams of a life without borders after he and his parents are forced to leave their home during the Mexican Repatriation.
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Miss Quinces
by Kat Fajardo
Belpré Youth Illustration Honor- Sue just wants to spend the summer reading and making comics at sleepaway camp with her friends, but instead she gets stuck going to Honduras to visit relatives with her parents and two sisters. They live way out in the country, which means no texting, no cable, and no Internet! The trip takes a turn for the worse when Sue's mother announces that they'll be having a surprise quinceañera for Sue, which is the last thing she wants. She can't imagine wearing a big, floofy, colorful dress! What is Sue going to do? And how will she survive all this "quality" time with her rambunctious family?
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The notebook keeper : a story of kindness from the border
by Stephen Briseño
Belpré Children’s Author Honor- Based on a true account, this moving and beautifully illustrated picture follows Noemi and her Mama as they flee their home in Mexico and head for the U.S. border, where an unexpected act of kindness changes their lives forever.
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Tumble
by Celia C. Pérez
Belpré Children’s Author Honor- While trying to make a life-changing decision, 12-year-old Adela Ramirez searches for her birth father, which leads her to the legendary Bravos, professional wrestlers who teach her what it really means to be part of a family.
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High spirits
by Carol J. Perry
Belpré Young Adult Author Honor- Massachusetts transplant Maureen and her dog Finn want to advertise their quaint Florida inn at a holiday film festival and must investigate when a body is discovered there, in the second novel of the series following Be My Ghost.
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The lesbiana's guide to Catholic school
by Sonora Reyes
Belpré Young Adult Author Honor & William C. Morris Honor- Transferred to a Catholic school, 16-year-old Yami Flores finds it hard to fake being straight when she falls for Bo, the only openly queer girl at school, but refuses to follow her heart until she learns to live her full truth out loud.
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A seed grows
by Antoinette Portis
Sibert Honor Books & Geisel Honor- Including a bright fold-out spread of a full-grown sunflower and additional material explaining the life cycle of plants, this transformative story offers a close-up view of each step of the process as a seed becomes a sunflower.
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I did it!
by Michael Emberley
Geisel Award- A girl tries and tries again to learn to ride a bicycle and all her friends provide words of encouragement.
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Fish and wave
by Sergio Ruzzier
Geisel Honor - Fish returns for another adventure at sea in the latest offering in the I Can Read Comics series, an early reader that familiarizes children with the world of graphic novel storytelling and encourages visual literacy in emerging readers.
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Owl and Penguin
by Vikram Madan
Geisel Honor - Told through three nearly wordless stories, two feathered friends Owl and Penguin embrace their differences and solve their problems with creative play.
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The life and crimes of Hoodie Rosen
by Isaac Blum
"Moving to the quiet, mostly non-Jewish town of Tregaron, Hoodie Rosen falls for the daughter of the mayor who is trying to keep Hoodies Orthodox Jewish community out of town, and when antisemitic crimes turn deadly, he must choose between his first love and the only world he's ever known.
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The summer of bitter and sweet
by Jenny Ferguson
William C. Morris - Lou has enough confusion in front of her this summer. She'll be working in her family's ice-cream shack with...her former best friend, King, who is back in their Canadian prairie town after disappearing three years ago...But when she gets a letter from her biological father...Lou immediately knows that she cannot meet him...While King's friendship makes Lou feel safer...when her family's business comes under threat, she soon realizes that she can't ignore her father forever.
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Wake the bones
by Elizabeth Kilcoyne
William C. Morris Honor- When a devil from her past returns to court her, as he did her mother years earlier, tobacco hand and taxidermist Laurel Early must unravel her mothers terrifying legacy and tap into her own magic to save everyone she loves. .
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Hell followed with us
by Andrew Joseph White
Willian C Morris Honor- Sixteen-year-old trans boy Benji is on the run from the cult that raised him--the fundamentalist sect that unleashed Armageddon and decimated the world's population. Desperately, he searches for a place where the cult can't get their hands on him, or more importantly, on the bioweapon they infected him with. But when cornered by monsters born from the destruction, Benji is rescued by a group of teens from the local Acheson LGBTQ+ Center, affectionately known as the ALC. The ALC's leader, Nick, is gorgeous, autistic, and a deadly shot, and he knows Benji's darkest secret: the cult's bioweapon is mutating him into a monster deadly enough to wipe humanity from the earth once and for all. Still, Nick offers Benji shelter among his ragtag group of queer teens, as long as Benji can control the monster and use its power to defend the ALC. Eager to belong, Benji accepts Nick's terms... until he discovers the ALC's mysterious leader has a hidden agenda, and more than a few secrets of his own.
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Harford County Public Library
1221-A Brass Mill Rd Belcamp, Maryland 21017 410-273-5600 hcplonline.org
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