On Wednesday, May 29, 2019, at SLJ's Day of Dialog, Horn Book editor in chief Roger Sutton announced the 2019 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winners. If you missed the Facebook Live stream (or if you just want to relive the excitement!), you can watch the archived video here:

THE BOSTON GLOBE–HORN BOOK AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED
Prestigious Program Honors Excellence in Literature for Children and Young Adults

New York, NY — May 29, 2019 — Today The Horn Book, Inc., announced the 2019 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winners at School Library Journal’s Day of Dialog in New York City. First presented in 1967, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards celebrate excellence in children’s and young adult literature.

A winner and two honor books were selected in each of three categories: Picture Book, Fiction and Poetry, and Nonfiction. The winning titles must be first U.S. editions of books published between June 2018 and May 2019, but may be written or illustrated by citizens of any country.

“Now this is diversity with a small and capital D!,” said Roger Sutton, Editor in Chief, The Horn Book, Inc. “I’d like to thank the judges for their discriminating choices and commitment to finding ‘excellence’ — the only criterion used by the BGHB Awards — among the vast number of nominations.”

“The Boston Globe has been a proud partner of this prestigious award for more than fifty years, and once again we are privileged to join with The Horn Book, Inc., to celebrate and honor authors and illustrators of children's and young adult literature," said Linda Henry, Boston Globe Managing Director. “By sharing their talents, each of the award winners and honorees is inspiring the imaginations of young readers. We celebrate each of them for the contributions they've made to the literary community.”

The 2019 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winners are: 

PICTURE BOOK AWARD WINNER:
The Patchwork Bike written by Maxine Beneba Clarke; illustrated by Van Thanh Rudd (Candlewick)

Read The Horn Book's review.

FICTION AND POETRY AWARD WINNER:
The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon (Wendy Lamb Books/Random House)

Read The Horn Book's review.

NONFICTION AWARD WINNER:
This Promise of Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equality by Jo Ann Allen Boyce and Debbie Levy (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)

Read The Horn Book's review.

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PICTURE BOOK HONOR BOOKS: 

• Dreamers written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales (Neal Porter Books/Holiday House)


• We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga written by Traci Sorell; illustrated by Frané Lessac (Charlesbridge)

Read The Horn Book's reviews.

FICTION AND POETRY HONOR BOOKS: 

• Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram (Dial Books/Penguin Random House)


• On the Come Up by Angie Thomas (Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins)

Read The Horn Book's reviews.

NONFICTION HONOR BOOKS: 

• Hey, Kiddo written and illustrated by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Graphix/Scholastic)


• Nine Months: Before a Baby Is Born written by Miranda Paul; illustrated by Jason Chin (Neal Porter Books/Holiday House)

Read The Horn Book's reviews.

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The awards are chosen by an independent panel of three judges appointed by Sutton. The 2019 Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards judges are: chair Monica Edinger, educator, author, and reviewer, New York, NY; Dr. Kim Parker, Assistant Director of the Teacher Training Center, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA; and Cynthia Ritter, Associate Editor, The Horn Book, Inc., Boston, MA.

Winners and honorees will receive their awards at the Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards ceremony on Friday, October 4, 2019, at Simmons University in Boston. The event will feature speeches by the awardees, an autographing session, and a celebratory evening reception.

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About The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe, winner of twenty-six Pulitzer Prizes, is New England’s largest news organization, providing more news, analysis, and information about community events, sports, and entertainment than any other local media.

About The Horn Book, Inc.
First published in 1924, The Horn Book Magazine provides its readership with in-depth reviews of the best new books for children and young adults as well as features, articles, and editorials. Its companion publication, The Horn Book Guide, comprehensively reviews all new recommended hardcover books for young people published in the United States each year. The Horn Book Magazine and Guide are publications of Media Source, Inc., which is also the parent company of Library Journal, School Library Journal, and the Junior Library Guild.

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The 2019 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winners and honors were announced at SLJ's Day of Dialog and via Facebook Live on May 29th, 2019. For reviews of the winning titles and more, click on the tag BGHB19.