2023 Northern Lights Book Awards Winners!
Picture Book of the Year
A River of Dust: The Life-Giving Link Between North Africa and the Amazon
Author: Jilanne Hoffmann
Illustrator: Eugenia Mello
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Middle Grade Book of the Year
Fetching Dreams
Author: Mary Bleckwehl
Publisher: Immortal Works Press
Winner of the Concept Category
Kitty and Cat: Opposites Attract
Author/Illustrator: Mirka Hokkanen
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Winner of the Picture Book – Preschool Category
Wherever You Are
Author: Glenys Nellist
Illustrator: Sian James
Publisher: Beaming Books
Winner of the Picture Book – Preschool Category
Show the World!
Author: Angela Dalton
Illustrator: Daria Peoples
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Winner of the Picture Book 4-8 Category
Whatever Comes Tomorrow
Author: Rebecca Gardyn Levington
Illustrator: Mariona Cabassa
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Winner of the Picture Book 4-8 Category
Emet’s Box: A Colorful Story About Following Your Heart
Author/Illustrator: Jeni Chen
Publisher: The Little Press
Winner of the Picture Book – All Ages Category
Namaste is a Greeting
Author: Suma Subramaniam
Illustrator: Sandhya Prabhat
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Winner of the Picture Book – All Ages Category
A Poem Grows Inside You
Author: Katey Howes
Illustrator: Heather Brockman Lee
Publisher: The Innovation Press
Winner of the Author/Illustrator Category
Elegy for an Elephant
Author/Illustrator: Ryan Abramowitz
Publisher: Narratives of Nature
Winner of the Author/Illustrator Category
My Love for You is Like a Garden
Author/Illustrator: Laura Smetana
Publisher: Flying Cardinal Press
Winner of the Best Illustrations Category
Lullaby for the King
Author: Nikki Grimes
Illustrator: Michelle Carlos
Publisher: Beaming Books
Winner of the Family Category
Dear Star Baby
Author: Malcolm Newsome
Illustrator: Kamala Nair
Publisher: Beaming Books
Winner of the Family Category
Milko
Authors: Samuel Narh and Freda Narh
Illustrator: Alisa Knatko
Publisher: Chasing a Spider Publishing
Winner of the Arts Category
My Bollywood Dream
Author/Illustrator: Avani Dwivedi
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Winner of the Community Category
Can We Please Give the Police Department to the Grandmothers?
Author: Junauda Petrus
Illustrator: Kristen Uroda
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Winner of the Underrepresented Category
How This Book Got Red
Author: Margaret Chiu Greanias
Illustrator: Melissa Iwai
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Winner of the Picture Book Non-Fiction Category
The Upside-Down Book of Sloths
Author: Elizabeth Shreeve
Illustrator: Isabella Grott
Publisher: Norton Young Readers
Winner of the Picture Book Biography Category
She Sang for India: How M.S. Subbulakshmi Used Her Voice for Change
Author: Suma Subramaniam
Illustrator: Shreya Gupta
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Winner of the Environment Category
The Girl Who Heard the Music: How One Pianist and 85,000 Bottles and Cans Brought New Hope to an Island
Authors: Marni Fogelson and Mahani Teave
Illustrator: Marta Alvarez Miguens
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Winner of the Nature Category
Nature is a Sculptor: Weathering and Erosion
Author: Heather Ferranti Kinser
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group
Winner of the Nature Category
Finding Calm in Nature: A Guide for Mindful Kids
Author: Jennifer Grant
Illustrator: Erin Brown
Publisher: Beaming Books
Winner of the Animals/Pets Category
Shoshi’s Shabbat
Author: Caryn Yacowitz
Illustrator: Kevin Hawkes
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Winner of the Emotional Health Category
Brave Like Mom
Author: Monica Acker
Illustrator: Paran Kim
Publisher: Beaming Books
Winner of the Health Category
Katie Can’t Eat Nuts: The Ordinary Extraordinary Life of a Girl with Food Allergies
Author: Katherine A. Kise
Illustrator: Alex Ferror
Publisher: KWE Publishing
Winner of the Humor Category
Mr. Patches is Bored!
Author: Nick Schonfeld
Illustrator: Julie Arnoult
Publisher: Independently Published
Winner of the Humor Category
How to Hatch a Reader
Author: Kari Ann Gonzalez
Illustrator: Rachel Suzanne
Publisher: Gnome Road Publishing
Winner of the Holiday Category
Hazel and the Spooky Season
Author: Kyle Sullivan
Illustrator: Jess Mason
Publisher: Hazy Dell Press
Winner of the Holiday Category
Willow Witch Saves Christmas
Author: Melissa Ahonen
Illustrator: Leo Brown
Publisher: Dandelion Dreams Publishing
Winner of the Myth Category
How Raven Got His Crooked Nose: An Alaskan Dena’ina Fable
Authors: Barbara J. Atwater and Ethan J. Atwater
Illustrator: Mindy Dwyer
Publisher: Alaska Northwest Books
Winner of the Poetry Category
Since the Baby Came: A Sibling’s Learning-to-Love Story in 16 Poems
Authors: Kathleen Long Bostrom
Illustrator: Janet Samuel
Publisher: Waterbrook & Multnomah
Winner of the Poetry Category
The 20 Little Poems for 20 Little Gnomes
Author: Raven Howell
Illustrator: Nazli Tarcan
Publisher: Handersen Publishing
Winner of the Mindfulness Category
The Light She Feels Inside
Author: Gwendolyn Wallace
Illustrator: Olivia Duchess
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Winner of the Mindfulness Category
For Every Little Thing: Poems and Prayers to Celebrate the Day
Poems Selected By: Nancy Tupper Ling and June Cotner
Illustrator: Helen Cann
Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
Winner of the Book with Merchandise Category
Long Goes to Dragon School
Author: Helen H. Wu
Illustrator: Mae Besom
Publisher: Yeehoo Press
Winner of the Religious/Spiritual Category
Sparrow’s Prayer
Author: Roger Hutchison
Illustrator: Ag Jatkowska
Publisher: Beaming Books
Winner of the Religious/Spiritual Category
The King of Easter: Jesus Searches for All God’s Children
Author: Todd R. Hains
Illustrator: Natasha Kennedy
Publisher: Lexham Press
Winner of the Early Reader/Chapter Book Category
Willa the Werewolf
Author: Michele Mcavoy
Illustrator: Jan Dolby
Publisher: The Little Press
Winner of the Early Reader/Chapter Book Category
Shiny Friends Super Squad Starr of the Show
Author: Leigh Reagan Alley
Illustrator: Mark Hurry
Publisher: Piggy Bank Press
Winner of the Middle Grade Fantasy Category
The Word Dancer
Author: Maxine Rose Schur
Publisher: Snowy Wings Publishing
Winner of the Middle Grade Fantasy Category
Erift’s Journeys: Secrets of the Sealed Forest
Author: J.T. Tenera
Publisher: Independently Published
Winner of the Middle Grade Fiction Category
The Grover School Pledge
Author: Wanda Taylor
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Winner of the Middle Grade Fiction Category
The House the Captain Built
Author: Jim Sutherland
Illustrator: Greg David
Publisher: Morning Dove Press
Winner of the Middle Grade Mystery Category
The Last Green Dragon
Author: Rud Verhagen
Publisher: Your Nickle’s Worth Publishing
Winner of the Middle Grade Historical Fiction Category
The Spectacular Life of Benito Martin Del Canto
Author: David Towner
Publisher: Splash Marketing
Winner of the Middle Grade Myth/Legend Category
Bigfoot vs Aliens
Author: Kyle Sullivan
Publisher: Hazy Dell Press
