children's literature

Arts

Jason Reynolds' favorite thing is being alone

7:00am June 12, 2025

Jason Reynolds writes stories that meet kids where they're at, as full, complex people. He talks with Rachel about the value of being a crier, and his restless approach to living life to its fullest.

Kwame Alexander (left) and Jerry Craft have each won a Newbery Medal for their children's books. Alexander invited Craft on a trip to Kenya this summer to speak to schoolkids about reading. The kids were impressed. So were the authors.

Snow, scorpions, Dr. Seuss: What Kenyan kids talked about with top U.S. kids' authors

7:38am September 17, 2023

Newbery prize winners Kwame Alexander, a poet, and Jerry Craft, an author and illustrator, went on a mission to Kenya to encourage reading. The kids learned a lot. So did the authors.

Nikki Grimes, the winner of the ALA Coretta Scott King - Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement, has written more than 100 children's books.

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2022 was a good year for Nikki Grimes, who just published her 103rd book

5:00am December 23, 2022

by Neda Ulaby

The winner of the ALA Coretta Scott King - Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement has written more than 100 children's books. Her latest, about the pandemic, is called Garvey in the Dark.

"It's thrilling to see Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson's exceptional work recognized by the Caldecott, Newbery, and Coretta Scott King Book Award committees," Cat Onder, senior vice president and publisher of HMH Books for Young Readers, tells NPR of The

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'The Undefeated' Wins Caldecott Medal, While 'New Kid' Picks Up Newbery

4:30pm January 27, 2020

by Colin Dwyer

Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson's book won the Caldecott, the top prize for picture books, and Jerry Craft's novel won the Newbery for kids' books.

Winners of this year's National Book Awards each receive $10,000 along with their prize.

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National Book Awards Handed To Susan Choi, Arthur Sze And More

10:04pm November 20, 2019

by Colin Dwyer

The novelist and poet joined Sarah M. Broom, László Krasznahorkai, Ottilie Mulzet, and Martin W. Sandler as winners Wednesday night — receiving $10,000 and a medallion for their front covers.

Twenty-five books remain in consideration for the five National Book Awards that will be doled out Nov. 20 in New York City. Among the names to be found on the 2019 shortlists: Marlon James, Susan Choi, Jason Reynolds, Carolyn Forche and Laila Lalami, amo

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Here Are The Finalists For The 2019 National Book Awards

10:40am October 08, 2019

by Colin Dwyer

The shortlists this year include Marlon James, Susan Choi, Carolyn Forché, Jason Reynolds and more than two dozen other authors and translators. Winners in five categories will be unveiled next month.

An excerpt of Sophie Blackall's Caldecott-winning Hello Lighthouse.

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'Merci Suárez' Wins Newbery Medal, and 'Hello Lighthouse' Draws Caldecott

4:33pm January 28, 2019

by Colin Dwyer

The world of children's books gave out its most prestigious prizes Monday at the American Library Association's conference in Seattle. Works by Meg Medina and Sophie Blackall won the headline honors.

In the jacket art for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry faces off against Voldemort. It's among the items on display in a new exhibit at the New-York Historical Society.

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Inside The Ever-Expanding Wizarding World: Harry Potter At 20

8:17am October 28, 2018

by Barrie Hardymon

It's hard to remember a world before Harry Potter. But it's been 20 years since readers in the U.S. were first introduced to the boy wizard, whose story has captivated audiences since.

The white clapboard farmhouse where Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote many of the books in her Little House on the Prairie novels still stands in Mansfield, Mo.

Books

Little House On The Controversy: Laura Ingalls Wilder's Name Removed From Book Award

10:36pm June 25, 2018

by Kat Chow

The Association for Library Service to Children voted unanimously to strike Wilder's name from a major children's lit award over concerns about how the author referred to Native Americans and blacks.

The 2017 National Book Awards were announced in New York City on Nov. 15.

Jesmyn Ward, Frank Bidart, Masha Gessen And Robin Benway Win National Book Awards

11:06pm November 15, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

For Ward, who won the fiction prize for Sing, Unburied, Sing, it was her second National Book Award. For Bidart, whose poetry collection spanned 51 years, it was akin to a lifetime achievement honor.