Awards & Recognition
Listen to 2023 ALA Youth Media Award Winners on Audio including Newbery Honors, Printz Winner, and many more!
Submitted by Jennifer Rubins on February 3, 2023
These ALA Award Winners deserve a place in all libraries—in all formats! Check those holds and confidently recommend the Listening Library/BOT audio editions of the best in children’s publishing from Newbery Honors, to the Printz Winner, and many more! View all winners and watch a video of the announcement that took place at LibLearnX in New Orleans on January 30, 2023 here. Listen to audiobook clips below and hear why the audio editions of these award winners are vital additions to any school and library.
🎧Click here to learn about our 2023 Odyssey Honor-winning audiobook, THE FIRST HELPING! (Lunch Lady Books 1 & 2) by Jarrett J. Krosoczka, read by Kate Flannery, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, and a Full Cast🎧
Click here to view a collection of all 24 of the ALA Award Winners listed below with the option to sort and download list as an Excel grid. Keep reading for award details and audiobook reviews.
“Narrator Raquel Merediz shines with warmth and compassion in this moving performance. . .Merediz compassionately voices all the characters in an emotionally demanding performance. She jumps from English to Puerto-Rican Spanish seamlessly. Her vocal range is very impressive, and she successfully portrays characters of a variety of ages and genders.”—AudioFile
Also the ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN AWARD FOR YOUTH LITERATURE
“Narrator Yu-Li Alice Shen brings multiple facets to her portrayal of 11-year-old Maizy Chen. . . Shen’s character depth is necessary as Maizy has much to understand. . . The author’s afterword offers personal and historical viewpoints that further contextualize the story.”—AudioFile
PRINTZ AWARD WINNER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • AUDIBLE’S BEST AUDIOBOOK OF 2022
“We were swept away by Sabaa Tahir’s ALL MY RAGE. . . No three voices have ever won our hearts quite like Misbah, Noor, and Sal—first as they broke them, and then (mercifully) put them back together. Beautifully performed.”—Audible
“Telling the story from the perspectives of Misbah (Salahudin’s mother), Salahudin, and Noor, the cast delivers performances true to the full emotional journey of each, the challenges they face, and the bond that connects them.”—Booklist
“A stellar trio of narrators delivers the alternating viewpoints in this superb contemporary debut by YA fantasy author Sabaa Tahir.”—AudioFile Earphones Award
Coretta Scott King Awards
*CORETTA SCOTT KING – AUTHOR HONOR BOOK*
“Narrator Robin Miles’s smooth and honeyed voice alternates with Zoboi’s higher, lighter pitch as the two make the most of the text’s poetry and prose.”—AudioFile
*CORETTA SCOTT KING – ILLUSTRATOR BOOK WINNER*
“Weatherford’s latest deserves to be appreciated in every medium: the ideal experience combines both the print title (and Frank Morrison’s spectacularly vivid art) with Weatherford’s own unforgettable recitation. . . Weatherford brilliantly adapts the original lyrics. . . [and] wondrously sings her radiant achievement. Resonating enchantment awaits.”—School Library Journal, starred review
Schneider Family Book Award Winners
“Read with an appealing Scots lilt, this inspiring story about Scottish Evelyn Glennie is powerful. . .As Evelyn plays each percussion instrument (drums, chimes, cymbals, or marimba), its sound is reproduced with the accompanying instrument. Also, the narrator voices the sounds Evelyn ‘hears’ with creative authenticity. . .This is a positive and powerful message for anyone who lives with a disability.”—Booklist
*SCHNEIDER FAMILY BOOK AWARD FOR TEENS*
“Narrator Phoebe Strole’s youthful tone captures 16-year-old Lily Larkin. . . Strole’s strong characterizations of major and minor characters create an empowering message about voicing the words that matter.”—AudioFile
“Narrator Tomlinson portrays the realistic personalities of Irwins’s characters, adding that touch of entitlement to their upper-class speech.”—Booklist, starred review
“Javier Zamora narrates his memoir with a singular power…Zamora conveys this heartrending listening experience with quiet, beautiful humanity.”—AudioFile Earphones Award
“Flanagan clearly distinguishes each character’s gender and age, believably rendering their range of feelings. . . A subtle sound effect successfully distinguishes ASL from English.”—AudioFile
Congrats to Jason Reynolds, recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement
“Listeners will be delighted with this superhero story.”—AudioFile
“Guy Lockard provides a compelling narration.”—School Library Journal
“Reynolds’ debut novel is read with refreshing authenticity by Adkins, who effortlessly sounds like an urban teen. . . Adkins’ narration of this recommended title is comfortable, relaxed, and authentic.”—Booklist (Named a YALSA Amazing Audiobook 2015)
Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Book
From acclaimed Chinese author Cao Wenxuan, recipient of the Hans Christian Andersen Award, comes a compelling family saga spanning fifty years and three generations.Ah-Mei and her French grandmother, Nainai, share a rare bond. Maybe it’s because Ah-Mei is the only girl grandchild.
Pura Belpré Children’s Author Honor Books
“The talented and capable María José Zuniga narrates this story about kindness at the Mexican-American border. . .Zuniga skillfully switches between a Mexican accent to a neutral American accent, making the English dialogue in the audiobook sound authentic. Words and phrases in Spanish are spoken in a perfect Mexican accent. . .The production starts and ends with Mexican music.”—AudioFile Earphones Award
“First, Villarreal shows the contentment of 12-year-old Adela. . .Villarreal allows listeners a view of how Adela’s life is upended. . .[and] makes credible the intimacy and warmth of Adela’s newfound family.”
Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
“With even pacing and crystal-clear diction, narrator Rosa Howard embodies the charisma and conviction of one woman who stepped up to do what she could during the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955-56. . . Howard’s voice, rich and warm, strong but relatable, conveys the big heart of an ordinary woman who answered the call to help her community fight injustice.”—AudioFile
Stonewall Award Honor Books
From the author of the critically acclaimed novel For Black Girls Like Me, Mariama J. Lockington, comes a coming-of-age story surrounding the losses that threaten to break us and the friendships that make us whole again.Thirteen-year-old Andi feels stranded after the loss of her mother, the artist who swept color onto Andi’s blank canvas.
An Indigenous legend about how four extraordinary individuals of dual male and female spirit, or Mahu, brought healing arts from Tahiti to Hawaii, based on the Academy Award–contending short film.In the 15th century, four Mahu sail from Tahiti to Hawaii and share their gifts of science and healing with the people of Waikiki.
“Torian Brackett’s joyful, ebullient narration sets the tone for this YA novel. . .Brackett’s perfect narration—he truly sounds like two different teenage boys—makes this fantastic book even better.”—AudioFile
“E.R. Fightmaster’s performance is the perfect example of the unique magic that happens when a great narrator is paired with the perfect book. . .Like the author, Fightmaster is nonbinary, making this performance all the more heartfelt.”—AudioFile
“Josh Bloomberg’s resonant voice is perfect for 15-year-old Hoodie Rosen. . .Bloomberg guides listeners expertly through Jewish terms and traditions, Hoodie’s experience of first love, and the hatred mounting in a conflicted community.”—AudioFile
“Three narrators deliver a chilling apocalyptic story. . .haunting, visceral audio.”—AudioFile
“The pair’s evolving relationship plays out amid their families’ Hanukkah and Christmas traditions in scenes that allow listeners to share in the warmth and hilarity of holiday gatherings large and small.”—AudioFile
