2026 Youth Media Awards

"Two eleven-year-olds, one in the China of 731 and the other in Manhattan's Chinatown in 1931, embark on challenging journeys to save their families from peril"-- Provided by publisher. In 731 Chang'An, China, Han Yu rises every day with the first beat of the city drums to sell steamed buns in a bustling market full of whispers about his ability to summon tigers. In 1931 Chinatown, New York, Luli Lee spends her evenings gazing out at the city from...

Page-turning WW2 hidden history masterfully told by award winner Daniel Nayeri 1941. The German armies are storming across Europe. Iran is a neutral country occupied by British forces on one side, Soviet forces on another. Soldiers fill the teahouses of Isfahan. Nazi spies roam the alleyways. Babak and his little sister have just lost their father. Now orphans, fearing they will be separated, the two devise a plan. Babak will take up his father's...

Part poem, part portable fireworks display with a vertical gatefold, this POB picture book from the award-winning team of Matthew Burgess and Catia Chien highlights the simple delights of a steamy July day in the city as two siblings eagerly await a spectacular fireworks display. POP! As a hot day sizzles into evening, everyone on stoops and sidewalks looks skyward on this special summer night--the Fourth of July! Words and art blossom into flowers...

Two grieving brothers visit the lake their father took them to for the first time.

"A look at the author's hometown of El Paso, where the sun reigns over the vast desert and shapes all that it touches"-- Provided by publisher.

During the land rush of 1889, African American Will and his father journey from Texas to Oklahoma, racing thousands of others to stake their claim.

In the small town of Great Mountain, Mississippi, all eyes are on Henson Blayze, a thirteen-year-old football phenom who many have wondered if he was super-human. The predominately white townsfolk have been waiting for Henson to play high-school ball, and now they're overjoyed to finally possess an elite Black athlete of their own. Until a horrifying incident forces Henson to speak out about injustice. Until he says that he might not play football...

Set at a classic drive-in restaurant that seems to exist in every Native community, this anthology unites the stories of teens from all kinds of backgrounds through the shared theme of Native joy, with stories and poems reflecting hope, healing, humor, love, friendship, romance, and joy. The road to Sandy June's Legendary Frybread Drive-In slips through every rez and alongside every urban Native hangout. The menu offers a rotating feast, including...

"A teen baseball star who "has it all"--looks, wealth, and a pro-MLB father--grapples with an impossible choice: reveal his abuse at the hands of his father and risk being separated from his younger brother in the foster care system, or remain silent and risk his brother experiencing that same abuse"-- Provided by publisher. Crawford "Craw" Cope has anger issues. Or so they say. When Craw is sentenced to community service for hitting his father in...

"Ever since Lucy Smith's father died five years ago, 'home' has been more of an idea than a place. She knows being on the run is better than anything waiting for her as a 'ward of the state'. But when the sharp-eyed and kind Mr. Jameson with an interest in her case comes looking for her, Lucy wonders if hiding from her past will ever truly keep her safe. Five years in the foster system has taught her to be cautious and smart. But she wants to believe...