With so many books to choose from, it's hard to know which books to get for your child and it can feel quite random. At Five Books, we like to keep track of prizewinning books as a way of drawing attention to quality books. These are books picked by juries of librarians who not only believe a book should be a good read, but educational too. Below, you'll find some of the recent winners of prestigious prizes.
Kent State
by Deborah Wiles
***2021 Odyssey Award: Best Audiobook for Children and/or Young Adults***
Most of us know it happened: that during protests against the Vietnam War in the United States, at Kent State University on May 4th, 1970, the National Guard opened fire, killing four students and wounding more. What many of us don't know is exactly how and why it happened. Written in verse and a work of historical fiction, Kent State tells the story and answer those questions in the voices of people who were there.
Everything Sad Is Untrue (a true story)
by Daniel Nayeri
***Winner of the 2021 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature***
Khosrou’s mother converts to Christianity, which leads her to flee Iran with her children in the middle of the night. Following an extended trip via an Italian refugee camp, Khosrou stands in front of his middle school class in Oklahoma explaining how he got there. Doing his best impression of Scheherazade, the legendary storyteller of 1001 Nights, he speaks of blood sacrifices, forbidden love and libraries in the desert. He is weaving memories to help define himself, but his classmates mainly perceive a boy whose lunch smells funny, who makes things up and talks too much about poop. Everything Sad Is Untrue is a true story in that it is autobiographical, but memories are unreliable, they are the stories we choose to tell ourselves. There is sadness (Khosrou - now known as Daniel - will never be able to make new memories with loved ones who are still in Iran) and there is hardship. At the same time, there is truth in the beauty of family tales in jasmine-scented Isfahan, of sensory memories, of food shared, of love and everyday survival.
Lark
by Anthony McGowan
***Winner of the 2020 Carnegie Medal***
Lark by Antony McGowan was the winner of the 2020 Carnegie Medal, the UK's most prestigious children's book prize. It's the fourth book about two brothers, Nicky and Kenny, but was described by the chair of the judges, Julia Hale, as a "standalone masterpiece". The book was published by Barrington Stoke, a publisher that focuses on kids with dyslexia or who find reading a bit tougher. More details are available here.
New Kid
by Jerry Craft
***Winner of the 2020 Newbery Medal***
New Kid by Jerry Craft is wonderful graphic novel about a Black kid who goes to a private school and feels out of place. It won the 2020 Newbery Medal, America's most prestigious prize for a children's book, but is relatable for kids anywhere.
The Poet X
by Elizabeth Acevedo
*** Winner of the 2019 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature***
***Winner of the 2019 Carnegie Medal***
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo has also won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature and the Pura Belpré Award, which celebrates a "Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience."
It's about a girl (with a twin brother) coming of age in Harlem in New York City. Her Mum is religious and would have preferred to be a nun. "If Medusa was Dominican and had a daughter, I think I'd be her," says the narrator, Xiomara, who eventually finds herself through poetry and the support of an inspiring teacher.
