NEWS

PYR Receives Seventeen 2026 ALA Youth Media Awards!

The American Library Association (ALA) Youth Media Awards (YMA) were announced on Monday, January 26, 2026, during a ceremony in Chicago. These prestigious awards honor the most distinguished books, digital media, and audiobooks for children and young adults published in the previous year.

Penguin Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House, has received seventeen recognitions!

OUR LAKE by Angie Kang (Kokila) has received a Randolph Caldecott Honor.

SUNDUST by Zeke Peña (Kokila) has received a Randolph Caldecott Honor.

THE HISTORY OF WE by Nikkolas Smith (Kokila) has received a Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Honor.

A HERO’S GUIDE TO SUMMER VACATION by Pablo Cartaya (Kokila) has received a Pura Belpré Children’s Author Honor.

THE STORY OF MY ANGER by Jasminne Mendez (Dial Books for Young Readers) has received a Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Honor.

ROSA BY ANY OTHER NAME by Hailey Alcaraz (Viking Books for Young Readers) received a Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Honor.

CITY SUMMER, COUNTRY SUMMER written by Kiese Laymon, illustrated by Alexis Franklin (Kokila) has received a Coretta Scott King Book Award Illustrator Honor.

THE INCREDIBLY HUMAN HENSON BLAYZE by Derrick Barnes (Viking Books for Young Readers) has received a Coretta Scott King Book Award Author Honor.

UNDER THE NEON LIGHTS by Arriel Vinson (Putnam Books for Young Readers) has received a Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award (Author).

WHALE EYES written by James Robinson, illustrated by Brian Rea (Penguin Workshop) has received the Schneider Family Book Award Medal in the Young Adult Literature Category.

OCTOPUS MOON by Bobbie Pyron (Nancy Paulsen Books) has received a Schneider Family Book Award Honor in the Middle Grade Category.

A VAISAKHI TO REMEMBER by Simran Jeet Singh and illustrated by Japneet Kaur (Kokila) has received an APALA Asian American Picture Book Honor.

FIRST LOVE LANGUAGE by Stefany Valentine (Penguin Workshop) is a YALSA 2026 William C. Morris Award Finalist.

BUFFALO DREAMER by Violet Duncan (Nancy Paulsen Books) has received the American Indian Youth Literature Award in the Middle Grade Category.

SHABBAT SHALOM, LET’S REST AND RESET by Suzy Ultman (Rise x Penguin Workshop) has received the Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Picture Book Category.

FANNY’S BIG IDEA: HOW JEWISH BOOK WEEK WAS BORN by Richard Michelson and Alyssa Russell (Rocky Pond Books) has been named a Sydney Taylor Book Award Notable Title in the Picture Book Category.

A WORLD WORTH SAVING by Kyle Lukoff (Dial Books for Young Readers) has been named a Sydney Taylor Book Award Notable Title in the Middle Grade Category.

Read the full Penguin Young Readers press release here.