History-making Wins for LQ!

LQ made history at the Youth Media Awards this week.


Donna Barba Higuera was the 101th Newbery Award winner. (See our Press Release.)

  • She became the third Latinx writer to ever win a Newbery medal—after Matt de la Peña and Meg Medina—according to Lulu Delacre on Twitter.

  • She was also the first author to win the Newbery Medal *AND* the Pura Belpré Medal ever. Confirmed by ALSC.


Darcie Little Badger became the first Native author to receive Newbery recognition.

  • LQ's Tweet confirming the news (Thank you K.T. Horning!) has over 150K impressions and 1.8K Likes.

  • This morning, Newbery committee Chair, Thaddeus Andracki, Tweeted: “this year is also the first time a book with an lgbtqia+ protagonist has received Newbery recognition…and it happened TWICE.”

  • She also received an American Indian Youth Literature Honor for Elatsoe.


Eric Gansworth won the American Indian Youth Literature Award for his memoir-in-verse Apple (Skin to the Core).

David Bowles, María García Esperón, and Amanda Mijangos brought LQ four very first Batchelder Honor for The Sea-Ringed World: Sacred Stories of the Americas.

Lee Wind and Paul Zelinsky named a Sydney Taylor Picture Book Notable for Red and Green and Blue and White.

THE LAST CUENTISTA

by Donna Barba Higuera

WINNER OF THE JOHN NEWBERY MEDAL

Winner of the Pura Belpré Medal

TIME BEST OF THE YEAR 

WALL STREET JOURNAL BEST OF THE YEAR 

MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE BEST OF THE YEAR

BOSTON GLOBE BEST OF THE YEAR

BOOKPAGE BEST OF THE YEAR

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST OF THE YEAR 

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL BEST OF THE YEAR

KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST OF THE YEAR

BANK STREET BEST OF THE YEAR

CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY’S BEST OF THE BEST 

NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST OF THE YEAR 

A JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD SELECTION

CYBILS AWARD FINALIST


“Gripping in its twists and turns, and moving in its themes — truly a beautiful cuento.” New York Times

Clever and compelling … wonderfully subversive.” — The Wall Street Journal

 “A beautifully told story of what makes us human.”Star Tribune

“A thrilling and hopeful work of science fiction.”Boston Globe 

“Teaches young readers about the danger of dogma and the power of storytelling.”—TIME

★ “Thrilling and emotional.”Shelf-Awareness 

★ “Packs a wallop. Exquisite.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred)

★ “Full of storytelling magic.”—Publishers Weekly (starred)

★ "Compulsively readable."School Library Journal (starred)

A SNAKE FALLS TO EARTH

by Darcie Little Badger

National Bestseller 

Newbery Award Honor

National Book Award LongLIST

American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor

Minneapolis Star Tribune Best of the Year

Publishers Weekly’s Best of the Year

Kirkus’ Best the Year

Apple’s Best of the Year 

Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best 

New York Public Library’s Best of the Year 

Autostraddle Best of the Year

Tor.com Best of the Year

Junior Library Guild Gold Standard 


“A spellbinding tale.”—Texas Monthly

“Genre-bending narrative .”—TIME

“Undeniably charming.”—Tor.com

★ “Evokes the timeless feeling of listening to traditional oral storytelling.”Kirkus (starred) 

★ “Fun, imaginative, and deeply immersive.”Publishers Weekly (starred)

★ “Magical, stunning, and wholly original.”Booklist (starred)

APPLE (SKIN TO THE CORE)

by Eric Gansworth

Winner, American Indian Youth Literature Award

Printz Award Honor

National Book Award Longlist

TIME 10 Best YA and Children's Books of the Year

NPR Best of the Year

Shelf Awareness Best of the Year

Publishers Weekly Big Indie Books of Fall

Amazon Best of the Month ​

AMerican indians in children’s literature Best of the Year​

CSMCL Best Multicultural Children's Books of the Year

“Stirring…. Raw and moving.”—TIME

“Beautiful imagery and with words that soar and scald.”—The Buffalo News

“Easily one of the best books to be published in 2020. The kind of book bound to save lives.”— LitHub

“A powerful narrative about identity and belonging.” —Paste Magazine

★ “Timely and important.” Booklist (starred)

★ “Searing yet dryly funny.” The Bulletin (starred)

★ “Exceptional.” Shelf-Awareness (starred)

★​ "Captivating​." —S​chool Library Journal (starred) ​

THE SEA-RINGED WORLD: SACRED STORIES OF THE AMERICAS

by María Garcia Esperón

Illustrated by Amanda Mijangos

Translated by David Bowles


Batchelder Award Honor 

School Library Journal Best of the Year

Kirkus Best of the Year

Booklist Editors’ Choice

Evanston Public Library’s 101 Great Books for Kids

Chicago Public Library’s Best of the Best 

ABC Group Best Books for Young Readers


“Hypnotizing...Provocative...Disarming” —The New York Times

“Evocative and stirring...mesmerizing to read aloud.”  —The Wall Street Journal 

★ “Visually striking...full of vivid language.” Publishers Weekly (starred)

★ “A rich anthology to understand and delght in Native traditions.” —Booklist (starred)

★ “Begs to be read aloud.” —Kirkus (starred)

★ “Impressive, handsome, and universally appealing.” —Horn Book (starred)

★ “Breathtaking and simply beautiful.”School Library Journal (starred)

★ “The language sparkles and the tales beg to be read aloud.” —School Library Connection (starred)

RED AND GREEN AND BLUE AND WHITE

by Lee Wind

Illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky

SYDNEY TAYLOR AWARD NOTABLE BOOK

ASSOCIATION OF JEWISH LIBRARIES BEST OF THE YEAR

“We come together in strength. It's a message the world can use, throughout the year.”—The New York Times

“Affecting. This moving tribute to religious pluralism will uplift children.” —Wall Street Journal

★  “A strong addition to holiday stories, one that can be reread and rediscovered many times and whose theme of community support and friendship is appropriate year-round.” School Library Connection (starred)

★ “[A] moving historical tale that encourages taking a stand.”Publishers Weekly (starred)

★ “Captures the celebratory joys of the season. ”The Horn Book (starred)

★ “A powerful and inspiring example of community, friendship, respect, and love.”School Library Journal (starred)

Team LQ