Lerner Publishing Group Receives Eight American Library Association Youth Media Awards

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Lerner Publishing Group™ has received eight 2026 American Library Association (ALA) Youth Media Awards. The Library in the Woods won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award and was named a Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book; The Pecan Sheller won the Pura Belpré Children’s Author Award; Kaho’olawe: The Story of an Island and Her People was named the Asian Pacific American Award for Literature Pasifika Picture Book Winner; The Red Car to Hollywood was named the Asian Pacific American Award for Literature Young Adult Winner; Sometimes the Girl was named a Stonewall Honor Book for Young Adult Literature; I’m a Dumbo Octopus: A Graphic Guide to Cephalopods was named a Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table (GNCRT) Outstanding Comics Award Honor Book in the children’s nonfiction category; and Clack, Clack! Smack!: A Cherokee Stickball Story produced by Live Oak Media won the Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production for Children. The ALA awards were announced this morning at the Youth Media Awards ceremony in Chicago, Illinois.

The Library in the Woods, written by Calvin Alexander Ramsey, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, and published in 2025 by Carolrhoda Books®, won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award and was named a Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book. In 1959 when Junior moves to Roxboro, new friends bring him to an incredible place: a library for African American residents. The Library in the Woods is a tribute to the power of books and the resourcefulness of the Black community. In a starred review, Booklist says “The first-person narrative unfolds with simplicity, clarity, and emotional resonance. Christie’s illustrations, painted with acrylics, capture the tone of events as well as the look of the mid-twentieth-century setting." The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are given annually to an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults.

The Pecan Sheller, written by Lupe Ruiz-Flores and published in 2025 by Carolrhoda Books®, won the Pura Belpré Children’s Author Award. In 1930s San Antonio, thirteen-year-old Petra must drop out of school to work at a pecan-shelling factory. When dangerous conditions lead to tragedy and the already low wages are cut, Petra helps plan a strike. New York Times best-selling author Laurie Halse Anderson says, “Heart-warming and enraging in equal parts, this important American story reveals the power of family, community, and hope." The Pura Belpré awards are presented annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.

Kaho’olawe: The Story of an Island and Her People, written by Kamalani Hurley, illustrated by Harinani Orme, and published in 2025 by Millbrook Press™, was named the Asian Pacific American Award for Literature Pasifika Picture Book Winner, which is presented annually to books by or about Asian Pacific Americans that celebrate Asian/Pacific culture and heritage. Discover the story of the smallest Hawaiian island, a place sacred to Native Hawaiians, from its formation long ago to its present-day restoration as a protected site. A remarkable narrative accompanied by stunning illustrations. In a starred review, Kirkus says Kahoʻolawe is “An incredible, brilliantly told story of persistence, advocacy, and love.”

The Red Car to Hollywood, written by Jennie Liu and published in 2025 by Carolrhoda Lab®, was named the Asian Pacific American Award for Literature Young Adult Winner. In LA’s Chinatown in 1924, sixteen-year-old Ruby Chan rebels against her parents’ conventional plans for her future. A friendship with nineteen-year-old Anna May Wong, a rising Hollywood film star, opens up new possibilities. In a starred review, Booklist says “Readers will be inspired by Ruby’s resilience and dazzled by the historical setting that Liu has painstakingly recreated.”

Sometimes the Girl written by Jennifer Mason-Blacken and published in 2025 by Carolrhoda Lab®, was named a Stonewall Book Awards – Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award Honor Book. In this YA novel, eighteen-year-old Holiday, an aspiring writer, gets a short-term job sorting through the attic of an acclaimed elderly author, but the author’s secrets change how Holi views art and life. In a starred review, Kirkus says “Mason-Black’s prose sparkles with poetic beauty. . . This striking work shows the power of intergenerational relationships to fortify queer artists against erasure.” The book was recognized by the Stonewall Awards committee as work of exceptional merit for children or teens relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience.

I’m a Dumbo Octopus: A Graphic Guide to Cephalopods by Anne Lambelet and published in 2025 by Graphic Universe™, was named a GNCRT Outstanding Comics Award Honor Book in the children’s nonfiction category. In this lively graphic novel, Dumbo octopus Grimpy presents a tour of the whole cephalopod class: cuttlefish, nautiluses, octopuses, and squids. When he dwells on everything he can’t do, the others show him why it’s great to be a dumbo! In a starred review, School Library Journal says I’m a Dumbo Octopus is “Perfect for young marine biologists. . . this title uses humor and fascinating facts to capture the imagination and remind readers that new discoveries are being made every day.” The GNCRT Outstanding Comics Award is a new award which strives to highlight exceptional comics publishing, recognize comics for their contributions to literacy, and promote high-quality works in the comics and library communities.

Clack, Clack! Smack!: A Cherokee Stickball Story produced by Live Oak Media won the Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production for Children. Written by Traci Sorell and illustrated by Joseph Erb, both Cherokee Nation tribal members, this fast-paced story follows a game of social stickball played by children from two Cherokee communities in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the capital of the Cherokee Nation. Interspersed with the exciting play-by-play of the game is the Tsalagi language (called Cherokee in English), which reflects the importance of keeping the language alive. With the coach’s encouragement to work together—gadugi—an important Cherokee value, and the help of his best friend Jesse, Vann overcomes his self-doubt in this uplifting story of team spirit and collaboration.

“Being based in Minneapolis, our community is living with fear, grief, and, for many, terror driven by actions of the federal government,” said Adam Lerner, Publisher and CEO of Lerner Publishing Group. “I try to reassure our staff that through our books, we are doing our part to push back—to bear witness and to stand up for shared human values. Congratulations to Greg, Calvin, Lupe, Kamalani, Harinani, Jennie, Jennifer, Anne, and Traci for affirming this through their work, which powerfully chronicles how the pursuit of learning, work, safety, and dignity is essential to everyone.”

For more information about The Library in the Woods; The Pecan Sheller; Kaho’olawe; The Red Car to Hollywood; Sometimes the Girl; I’m a Dumbo Octopus; and Clack, Clack! Smack! visit lernerbooks.com.

Praise for The Library in the Woods:
“The first-person narrative unfolds with simplicity, clarity, and emotional resonance. Christie’s illustrations, painted with acrylics, capture the tone of events as well as the look of the mid-twentieth-century setting.”— starred, Booklist

“Christie’s striking and contemplative acrylic paintings, drifting effortlessly from spare but glowing landscapes to focused moments of emotion, are a perfect pairing for the slow-paced but affecting prose. Quiet and powerful; purchase wherever picture book historical fiction is in demand.”—starred, School Library Journal

Praise for The Pecan Sheller:
“A powerful, moving story explores the little-known but important story of the six-week pecan shellers’ strike.” —starred, Booklist

“The story deftly explores the nuances of both Petra’s and Amá’s relationship and traumas, as well as the strength and hope to be found in family and community. A poignantly, beautifully written tale.” —starred, Kirkus Reviews

“Using short chapters with quick pacing, Ruiz-Flores (Piece by Piece) unveils intimate and well-researched depictions of the Pecan Shellers Strike of 1938 and its impact on Mexican descendants and beyond.” —starred, Publishers Weekly

Praise for Kaho’olawe:
“An incredible, brilliantly told story of persistence, advocacy, and love.”—starred, Kirkus Reviews

“As one of the few stories of Indigenous life that in the full sweep of history has a positive outcome, this standout title deserves a place on every shelf.”—starred, School Library Journal

Praise for The Red Car to Hollywood:
“As one of the few stories of Indigenous life that in the full sweep of history has a positive outcome, this standout title deserves a place on every shelf.”—starred,Booklist

Praise for Sometimes the Girl:
“A touching coming-of-age novel about healing and connection. Holi’s story models radical empathy, and its conclusion acknowledges that language is the only tool that may bridge the gap between people who seek to understand each other.”―starred,Foreword Reviews

“Mason-Black’s prose sparkles with poetic beauty as Holi engages in introspective musings about collective mourning and how individual healing is possible only in community. . . This striking work shows the power of intergenerational relationships to fortify queer artists against erasure . . . Beautifully written and powerfully uplifting.”—starred,Kirkus Reviews

Praise for I’m a Dumbo Octopus:
“For its debut, the Anne Lambelet’s Marine Life Graphic Guides recruits the cutest little narrator you ever did see: Grimpy, the dumbo octopus . . . This guide is an obvious pick for Science Comics fans, but even kids who don’t typically go for nonfiction will be delighted by the entertaining presentation of information.”―starred, Booklist

“Lambelet offers an enchanting blend of whimsy and well-chosen, creatively expressed facts. . . An informative, buoyant, and wildly original look at some marine marvels.”—starred, Kirkus Reviews

“Perfect for young marine biologists, this title uses humor and fascinating facts to capture the imagination and remind readers that new discoveries are being made every day.” —starred, School Library Journal

CONTACT: Lindsay Matvick
1-800-328-4929, ext. 385
lmatvick@lernerbooks.com.