2019 Best Books for Kids from the American Library Association

It's awards season: we've seen the Grammys and the Golden Globes, and the Oscars take place this Sunday night in Hollywood. But did you know it was awards season for kids' books, too? The American Library Association (ALA) announced the winners of its annual youth media awards for 2019, including the prestigious Newbery and Caldecott medals for children's books.

Since 1922, the John Newbery Medal has been awarded to the author of the most distinguished American children's book by the Association for Library Service for Children (ALSC), a division of the ALA. This year, the Newbury Medal goes to Merci Suárez Changes Gears, written by Meg Medina and published by Candlewick Press. Merci Suárez Changes Gears tells the story of how Merci cycles through life's challenges with the support of her intergenerational Cuban-American Family. Find it at a local Marin library here.

The 2019 runner-up Newbery Honor Books are The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani and The Book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock with illustrations by Ian Schoenherr,

The ALSC began awarding the Caldecott Medal, named after 19th-century British illustrator Randolph Caldecott, to the artist of the most distinguished children's picture book in 1938. This year's medal winner is Hello Lighthouse, illustrated and written by Sophie Blackall and published by Little, Brown and Company. Hello Lighthouse uses colorful ink and watercolor illustrations to illuminate a lighthouse and the lives of the family that lives inside. Find it at the library.

The runner-up Caledecott Honor Books for this year are Alma and How She Got Her Name, illustrated and written by Juana Martinez-Neal; A Big Mooncake for Little Star, illustrated and written by Grace Lin; The Rough Patch, illustrated and written by Brian Lies; and Thank You, Omu!, illustrated and written by Oge Mora,

Find our more about the ALSC 2019 youth media awards and see a complete list of winners at www.ala.org/alsc.