‘Fireworks’ wins Caldecott, Newbery is awarded to ‘All the Blues in the Sky’
The best books for children and young adults were awarded the country’s top honors by the American Library Association on Monday.
Illustrator Cátia Chien and author Matthew Burgess took home the Caldecott Medal for the book Fireworks. The Caldecott is given annually to the most distinguished American picture book for children. Fireworks follows two young siblings as they eagerly await the start of a July 4th fireworks show. Paired with Chien’s vibrant illustrations, Burgess’ poetic language enhances the sensory experience of fireworks.” When you write poems with kids, you see how immediately they get this,” Burgess told NPR in 2025 in a conversation about his book Words with Wings and Magic Things. “If you read a poem aloud to kids, they start to dance in their seats.”
The Newbery Medal, awarded for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature, went to Renée Watson for All the Blues in the Sky. This middle-grade novel, also told in verse, follows 13-year-old Sage, who struggles with grief following the death of her best friend. Watson is also the author of Piecing Me Together, which won the 2018 Coretta Scott King Award and was also a Newbery Medal honor book. “I hope that my books provide space for young people to explore, and say, “Yeah, I feel seen,” Watson told NPR in 2018. “That’s what I want young people to do — to talk to each other and to the adults in their lives.”
This year’s recipients of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards include Will’s Race for Home by Jewell Parker Rhodes (author award) and The Library in the Woods, by Calvin Alexander Ramsey and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (illustrator award). Arriel Vinson’s Under the Neon Lights received the Coretta Scott King-John Steptoe Award for New Talent.
Los Angeles based artist Kadir Nelson was honored with the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. His work has appeared in more than 30 children’s books.
This year’s Newbery Honor Books were The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli, by Karina Yan Glaser; A Sea of Lemon Trees: The Corrido of Roberto Alvarez by María Dolores Águila and The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story by Daniel Nayeri.
Caldecott Honors books were Every Monday Mabel by Jashar Awan, Our Lake by Angie Kang, Stalactite & Stalagmite: A Big Tale from a Little Cave by Drew Beckmeyer, and Sundust by Zeke Peña.
Edited by Jennifer Vanasco and Beth Novey.
Bitter cold grips the eastern U.S. as storm deaths rise and power outages linger
Three Texas siblings who died in an icy pond are among several dozen deaths in U.S. states gripped by frigid cold. A massive storm dumped deep snow across more than 1,300 miles from Arkansas to New England.
Italian officials voice outrage at the presence of U.S. ICE agents at the 2026 Olympics
U.S. Homeland Security agents provided security support at past Olympics. But after violence by ICE agents in Minneapolis, some Italian officials say an ICE unit is unwelcome in Milan Cortina.
Ex-FIFA president Sepp Blatter joins those calling for boycott of World Cup in U.S.
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter is backing a proposed fan boycott of World Cup matches in the United States because of the conduct of President Trump and his administration at home and abroad.
A crackdown on immigration is leading to a sharp drop in U.S. population growth
A sharp drop in net immigration has led to a slowdown in U.S. population growth. The Census Bureau says the population grew only about half as fast in the year ending last June as it did the previous year.
A crackdown on immigration is leading to a sharp drop in U.S. population growth
A sharp drop in net immigration has led to a slowdown in U.S. population growth. The Census Bureau says the population grew only about half as fast in the year ending last June as it did the previous year.
A crackdown on immigration is leading to a sharp drop in U.S. population growth
A sharp drop in net immigration has led to a slowdown in U.S. population growth. The Census Bureau says the population grew only about half as fast in the year ending last June as it did the previous year.
