The Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards have celebrated excellence in children’s books, middle grade and young adult novels since 1967. This year marks the Boston Globe’s 150th anniversary and another year of partnering with Horn Book. Awards are chosen by an independent panel of three judges appointed by the Horn Book Editor-in-Chief. This year’s judges are Vicky Smith, Sujin B.E. Huggins and Maura O’Toole. A winner and two honor books are selected in each of three categories: Picture Book; Fiction and Poetry; and Nonfiction. Winners and honorees will be celebrated in October.
Recognizing the impact of children’s books and authors is more important now than ever. “Young people today are living through history,” said Elissa Gershowitz, Acting Editor in Chief of The Horn Book, Inc. “This selection of winners and honorees so beautifully captures this shared moment and the extraordinary issues young people face. At a time of increased book bans and challenges, it’s vital for readers to have access to thought-provoking, mind-expanding, worldview-questioning titles such as these.”
If you missed out, you can watch the archived video of this year’s awards here.
Here are the 2022 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winners:
PICTURE BOOKS:
Ain’t Burned All the Bright (Caitlyn Dlouhy Books/Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing)
Written by Jason Reynolds and illustrated by Jason Griffin
This book captures what it is to be Black in America, right now. Poetry and illustrations are presented as part of a teen’s notebook as he navigates two pandemics — Covid and systemic racism. Through the metaphor of breath, we see what it means to not be able to breathe, really breathe, for generations. The narrator realizes that the people he loves are the ones who provide him with oxygen. Pages scattered with stunning collages of text and illustration will provide teenage readers with a breath of fresh air.
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And the Honor Books Are …
Moon Pops written by Heena Baek and translated by Jieun Kiaer (Owlkids Books)
War written by José Jorge Letria and illustrated by André Letria; translated by Elisa Amado (Aldana Libros/Greystone Kids)
FICTION AND POETRY:
All My Rage (Razorbill/Penguin Random House)
Written by Sabaa Tahir
Following two Pakistani-American teens in California, this contemporary young adult novel captures friendship, young love and belonging. Salahudin must try to save the family hotel when his father succumbs to alcoholism and his mother’s health fails. Noor, who has been friends with Sal since childhood, is sneakily applying to colleges in hopes of escaping her job at her uncle’s liquor store. Chapters with alternating perspectives give a glimpse into the way circumstance drives Sal and Noor together and their determination to defeat the odds.
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And the Honor Books Are …
Rez Dogs written by Joseph Bruchac (Dial Books for Young Readers/Penguin Random House)
Borders written by Thomas King and illustrated by Natasha Donovan (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
NONFICTION:
Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre (Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins Publishers)
Written by Brandy Colbert
The Tulsa Race Massacre remains one of the most deadly and destructive acts of racial violence in American history. A mob descended on a predominantly Black neighborhood and destroyed property, killed hundreds, and terrorized the population. The author investigates this incident and its implications — the resurgence of white supremacist groups, the tone and perspective of the media, and similar contemporary events.
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And the Honor Books Are …
The Waiting Place: When Home Is Lost and a New One Not Yet Found written by Dina Nayeri; photographs by Anna Bosch Miralpeix (Candlewick Press)
Your Legacy: A Bold Reclaiming of Our Enslaved History written by Schele Williams and illustrated by Tonya Engel (Abrams Books for Young Readers)
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