'holocaust'

The American Library Association (ALA) recently announced their 2022 Youth Media Awards which honors books, videos, and other outstanding materials for children and teens. Here are this year's winners and honorees we have in our catalog!

Looking for past award winners? Check out our post about the 2021 ALA Award Winners.

Watercress

by Andrea Wang, illustrated by Jason Chin

Simple text and beautiful illustrations pack a strong emotional punch in this autobiographical picture book about gathering wild watercress that brings a daughter of immigrants closer to her family's Chinese heritage. An author's note in the back shares Andrea's childhood experience with her parents. // Easy // Ages 4 - 8

• Randolph Caldecott Medal (2022 Winner) to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children
• Asian/Pacific American Literature Award (2022 Winner) for outstanding Picture Book about Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage, based on literary and artistic merit
• John Newbery Medal (2022 Honor) to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children

Check out these children's cultural picks:

• Nicky & Vera: A Quiet Hero of the Holocaust and the Children He Rescued written and illustrated by Peter Sis
  Sydney Taylor Book Award (2022 Silver Medalist) // Easy // Ages 6 - 8
• Nina: A Story of Nina Simone illustrated by Christian Robinson, written by Traci N. Todd
  Coretta Scott King Illustrator (2022 Honor) // Easy // Ages 4 - 8
• Soul Food Sunday illustrated by C.G. Esperanza, written by Winsome Bingham
  Coretta Scott King Illustrator (2022 Honor) // Easy // Ages 4 - 8
• Bright Star written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales
  Pura Belpré Award (2022 Honor) // Easy // Ages 4 - 8

Fox at Night

by written and illustrated by Corey R. Tabor

Fox overcomes his fear of monsters when he meets real nocturnal animals. With repeating text bolstered by whimsical illustrations that provide cues to the story’s humorous plot, Tabor deftly uses sensory stimuli of sight, sound and smell to immerse young readers into the perils of the night. // Easy Reader Yellow // Ages 4 - 8

• Theodor Seuss Geisel Award (2022 Winner) for the most distinguished beginning reader book

More award winning kids books:

• Beak & Ally #1: Unlikely Friends written and illustrated by Norm Feuti
  Theodor Seuss Geisel Award (2022 Honor) // Junior Graphic Novel // Ages 6 - 10 years
• Mel Fell written and illustrated by Corey R. Tabor
  Caldecott Medal (2022 Honor) // Easy // Ages 4 - 8 
• Wonder Walkers written and by Micha Archer
  Caldecott Medal (2022 Honor) // Easy // Ages 3 - 7

Firekeeper's Daughter

by Angeline Boulley
[Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians]

When University of Michigan student Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, she reluctantly agrees to go undercover, drawing on her knowledge of chemistry and Ojibwe traditional medicine to track down the source of a new drug. It's a page-turning YA thriller with gorgeous insight into Anishinaabe culture and a healthy dose of romance thrown in. // Junior (also in e-book and e-audiobook) // Ages 14+

• Michael L. Printz Award (2022 Winner) for excellence in literature written for young adults
• William C. Morris Award (2022 Winner) for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature
• American Indian Young Adult Literature Award (2022 Honor) identifies and honors the very best writing and illustrations by and about American Indians and Alaska Natives
• ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults (2022 Top 10) 
• EGF Campbell Library Book Club Selection (April 2022)

More Native American award winners:

• Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
  [Lipan Apache Tribe]
  American Indian Young Adult Literature Award (2022 Honor) // Junior // Ages 12+
• Jo Jo Makoons: The Used-to-Be Best Friend written by Dawn Quigley, illustrated by Tara Audibert
  [Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe] and [Wolastoqey]
  American Indian Youth Literature Award Middle Grade (2022 Honor) // Junior // Ages 6 - 10
• We Are Still Here! Native American Truths Everyone Should Know by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Frané Lessacr
  [Cherokee]
  American Indian Picture Book Award Middle Grade (2022 Honor) // Easy // Ages 7 - 10
• Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee aerospace engineer by Traci Sorell, illustrated by DeLanna Studi
  [Cherokee]
  American Indian Picture Book Award Middle Grade (2022 Honor) // Easy // Ages 7 - 11

Last Night at the Telegraph Club

by Malinda Lo

America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father—despite his hard-won citizenship—Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day. // Junior // Ages 14+

• Stonewall Book Young Adult Literature Award (2022 Winner) for books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience
• Asian/Pacific American Literature Award (2022 Winner) for outstanding Youth Book about Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage, based on literary and artistic merit
• Michael L. Printz Award (2022 Honor) for excellence in literature written for young adults
• ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults (2022 Top 10) 

More award winning books for teens:

• We Are Not Free by Traci Chee
  Asian/Pacific American Award for Youth Literature (2022 Honor) // Michael L. Printz Award (2021 Honor) // Junior // Ages 12+
• Temple Alley Summer written by Sachiko Kashiwaba, illustrated by Miho Satake, translated by Avery Fischer Udagawa
  Mildred L. Batchelder Award (2022 Winner) // Junior // Ages 8 - 13
• Me (Moth) by Amber McBride
  John Steptoe New Talent Award (2022 Winner) // William C. Morris Award (2022 Honor) //  ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults (2022 Top 10) // Junior // Ages 14+
• Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
  William C. Morris Award (2022 Honor) // Junior (also in e-audiobook) // Ages 14+
• Starfish by Lisa Fipps
  Michael L. Printz Award (2022 Honor) // Junior // Ages 10+
• Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
  Michael L. Printz Award (2022 Honor) // ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults (2022 Top 10) // Junior (also in e-book) // Ages 14+
• Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
  Alex Award (2022 Winner) for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences // Science Fiction
• The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec
  Alex Award (2022 Winner) // Science Fiction
• Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwel
  Alex Award (2022 Winner) // Science Fiction
• The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
  Alex Award (2022 Winner) // Fiction (also in e-book)
• Lore Olympus, Vol. 1 by Rachel Smythe
  Alex Award (2022 Winner) // Graphic Novel

I remember the day I fell in love with graphic novels. On the walk home from school my older sister had told me all about a type of Japanese book genre called manga, and the cool stories of headband clad ninjas, flexible pirates, and sword wielding soul reapers that she had been reading with her “big kid” friends. As a kindergartener, I thought everything my sister thought was cool was the best thing in the world. When it came to manga, it turned out to be true; although wearing a dress over jeans, not so much.

Reading and rereading the first and only volume of Naruto we had until the pages were soft and worn was a ritual after school. Every trip to the library my sister and I would run right over to the small rotating bookshelves that housed the manga section and spend hours reading volume after volume standing up. Once I could navigate the internet, my obsession only grew. In addition to the mountains of traditional prose books I inhaled while at school, the manga I read was like candy that I couldn’t stop myself from getting a stomach ache from.

The diversity of genres that the storytelling medium offered broadened my horizons to ways of life, emotions, struggles I had never encountered in my day to day life. It wasn’t until I grew older that I learned about Western style graphic novels that went beyond the classic Marvel or DC superhero stories. While I will always hold manga near and dear to my heart, I have a newfound appreciation for western graphic novels.

If you are hesitant to jump into the deep end of teenager piloting fighting robots and brightly colored protagonists, here are a few western and eastern graphic novels to dip your toes into.

Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman Our generation will soon become one of the last to hear first hand accounts of those that lived through the Holocaust. This meta story of the author listening to his father’s stories of life during this horrific time, is beautifully illustrated and will break your heart over and over.

The Magic Fish by Le Nguyen Trung The art itself is breathtaking, paired with riveting a narrative and take on identity struggles make this one of my all time favorites. Though marked as a junior graphic novel, this is a coming of age story for all ages.

Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka This autobiography graphic novel is a powerful story that tells the tale of comic book artist Jarrett Krosoczka’s upbringing with family addiction and how he found solace in art.

The Color of Earth by Tong-Hwa Kim This series is a Korean graphic novel, also known as a manwha, is about the daughter of a single mother and the budding romances they both experience. It is a look into Korean culture and a unique mother-daughter relationship they share.

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang This award winning graphic novel is full of beautiful dresses, fleshed out characters, and life lessons for all ages.