barnes & noble's childrens and young adult book award winners cover collage
Children's

The 2024 Barnes & Noble Children’s & Young Adult Book Award Winners

Excellent picks for readers of children's and young adult literature.

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Barnes & Noble announced the 24 titles in March being considered for the honor of being named the best in the 2024 Barnes & Noble Children’s & Young Adult Book Awards. The annual award highlights the best talent in books for the year, and the titles are voted on by booksellers across the country. The winners in each of three categories–picture book, young reader, and young adult–and one overall winner were announced this week.

This year’s winners, as selected by booksellers nationwide, are:

This year’s overall winner was also The Misfits, written by Lisa Yee and illustrated by Dan Santat.

“Our booksellers have chosen a delightful selection of books for the Book Awards and the winners of each category are truly extraordinary. We look forward to expanding nationwide the young audiences enchanted and encouraged by these books,” said Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt in a press release. “In The Misfits, Newbery Honoree Lisa Yee’s peerless storytelling, complemented by Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat’s immersive illustrations, charmed our booksellers, as surely it will readers for generations to come.”

The annual award announcement serves as the kickoff for Barnes & Noble’s Summer Reading Program. The program is for children in grades 1-6, who will complete a reading journal (available here in English and here in Spanish), and once they read eight books, they are eligible to pick out one free book from the linked lists at the end of summer.

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