Book challenges and awards
Newbery Medal winners, 2017 to 2026
The Newbery Medal goes each year to the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children, chosen by a committee of librarians. These are the ten most recent winners, newest first, with the year the medal was given.
Titles, authors and years copied from ALSC's Newbery Medal and Honor Books list (PDF dated March 2026) and checked against the ALA Newbery page, Oct 2026. Checked 2026-10-25. Nobody paid to be here. The buy links are plain search links, not affiliate links, so Peabody earns nothing from them.
All the Blues in the Sky
Renée Watson · Ages 10-14
2026 medal. A middle grade novel by the author of Piecing Me Together, a 2018 Newbery honor book.
Watch for: Preview the first chapters; the author often writes about heavy subjects for this age.
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The First State of Being
Erin Entrada Kelly · Ages 9-13
2025 medal. Kelly also won the 2018 medal for Hello, Universe, which makes her a two-time Newbery winner.
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The Eyes and the Impossible
Dave Eggers · Ages 8-12
2024 medal. A fantasy about a dog who runs free in a park, with illustrations by Shawn Harris.
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Freewater
Amina Luqman-Dawson · Ages 9-13
2023 medal. Historical fiction about siblings who escape slavery and find a hidden community of free people in a swamp.
Watch for: Slavery, violence and family separation.
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The Last Cuentista
Donna Barba Higuera · Ages 9-13
2022 medal. Science fiction about a girl who carries her people's stories on a ship leaving a dying Earth.
Watch for: Includes the deaths of adults and a frightening villain.
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When You Trap a Tiger
Tae Keller · Ages 8-12
2021 medal. A Korean American girl, her sick grandmother and a tiger that may be real.
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New Kid
Jerry Craft · Ages 8-12
2020 medal. A graphic novel about a Black seventh grader at a mostly white private school. It was the first graphic novel to win the Newbery.
Watch for: Everyday racism and microaggressions, handled for middle grade readers.
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Merci SuĂĄrez Changes Gears
Meg Medina · Ages 9-13
2019 medal. Sixth grader Merci deals with school, a bossy classmate and her grandfather's memory loss.
Watch for: A grandparent with dementia.
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Hello, Universe
Erin Entrada Kelly · Ages 8-12
2018 medal. Four sixth graders' lives cross on one summer day after a boy and his guinea pig go missing in a well.
Watch for: Some bullying.
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The Girl Who Drank the Moon
Kelly Barnhill · Ages 9-13
2017 medal. A fantasy about a witch who feeds a baby moonlight, and the town that gives up a child each year.
Watch for: A baby is left in a forest and the story has a grieving mother; the tone is dark at times.
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More lists
Newbery Honor Books, 2023 to 2026
Honor books are the runners-up the Newbery committee also names.
Newbery Medal winners worth reading before middle school
Newbery winners go back to 1922, and many older ones feel dated.
Caldecott Medal winners, 2017 to 2026
The Caldecott Medal honors the most distinguished American picture book for children, judged on the illustrations.
Caldecott Honor Books, 2022 to 2026
Honor books are the Caldecott committee's runners-up, and many of them are the ones children ask to hear again.
Caldecott Medal winners from 1980 to 2016 that are still shelf favorites
Older Caldecott winners are the ones many families already own.
Theodor Seuss Geisel Award winners, 2019 to 2026
The Geisel Award goes to the best book for beginning readers each year.
Geisel Honor Books, 2023 to 2026
The Geisel committee also names honor books, which is where many of the funniest early readers show up.
Coretta Scott King and Pura Belpré awards, 2026 winners and honors
The Coretta Scott King Awards honor Black authors and illustrators; the Pura Belpré Awards honor Latino authors and illustrators.