2024 Northern Lights Book Awards Winners!
Picture Book of the Year
Hidden Hope: How a Toy and a Hero Saved Lives During the Holocaust
Author: Elisa Boxer
Illustrator: Amy June Bates
Publisher: Abrams
Middle Grade Book of the Year
Tig
Author: Heather Smith
Publisher: Tundra Books
Winner of the Concept Category
Splish, Splash! First to Last
Author: Nancy Viau
Illustrator: Michelle Hazelwood Hyde
Publisher: Schiffer Kids
Winner of the Picture Book – Preschool Category
The Littlest Airplane
Author: Brooke Hartman
Illustrator: John Joseph
Publisher: Alaska Northwest Books
Winner of the Picture Book – Preschool Category
Harriet’s Hungry Worms
Author: Samantha Smith
Illustrator: Melissa Johns
Publisher: EK Books
Winner of the Picture Book 4-8 Category
A Gift for Nai Nai
Author/Illustrator: Kim-Hoa Ung
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Winner of the Picture Book 4-8 Category
Ollie, the Acorn, and the Mighty Idea
Author: Andrew Hacket
Illustrator: Kaz Windness
Publisher: Page Street Kids
Winner of the Picture Book – All Ages Category
Because Barbara: Barbara Cooney Paints Her World
Author: Sarah Mackenzie
Illustrator: Eileen Ryan Ewen
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Winner of the Picture Book – All Ages Category
Smudges
Author: Lauren Emerson
Illustrator: Kim Soderberg
Publisher: Brown Books Kids
Winner of the Author/Illustrator Category
Sea Dog
Author/Illustrator: Astrid Sheckels
Publisher: Down East Books
Winner of the Best Illustrations Category
Our Nipa Hut: A Story in the Philippines
Author: Rachell Abalos
Illustrator: Gabriela Larios
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Winner of the Family Category
More Than You Imagine
Author: Thelia Hutchinson
Illustrator: Adriana Predoi
Publisher: Soaring Kite Books
Winner of the Family Category
A Grandpa Joe Day!
Author/Illustrator: Bill Shea
Publisher: KWE Publishing, LLC
Winner of the Arts Category
Dancing the Tinikling
Author: Bobbie Peyton
Illustrator: Diobelle Cerna
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Winner of the Arts Category
Lupita’s Brown Ballet Slippers
Author: Steena Hernandez
Illustrator: Melissa Castillo
Publisher: Beaming Books
Winner of the Underrepresented Category
Wherever I Go
Author: Mary Wagley Copp
Illustrator: Munir D. Mohammed
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Winner of the Underrepresented Category
The Girl Who Figured It Out: The Inspiring True Story of Wheelchair Athlete Minda Dentler Becoming An Ironman World Champion
Author: Minda Dentler
Illustrator: Stephanie Dehennin
Publisher: Sourcebooks Explore
Winner of the Picture Book Biography Category
Gifts from the Garbage Truck: A True Story About The Things We (Don’t) Throw Away
Author: Andrew Larsen
Illustrator: Oriol Vidal
Publisher: Sourcebooks Explore
Winner of the Picture Book Biography Category
Skybound! Starring Mary Myers as Carlotta, Daredevil Aeronaut and Scientist
Author: Sue Ganz-Schmitt
Illustrator: Iacopo Bruno
Publisher: Calkins Creek
Winner of the Nature Category
A Stone is a Story
Author: Leslie Barnard Booth
Illustrator: Marc Martin
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Winner of the Animals/Pets Category
Sammie and Pumpkin
Author: Alanna Albano
Illustrator: JiaJia Hamner
Publisher: Miriam Laundry Publishing
Winner of the Animals/Pets Category
Rocki And Her Famous Tree: The (Mostly) True Story of One Owl’s Unexpected Trip to Rockepller Plaza
Authors: Analise & Ryan Duques
Illustrator: Varya Shambrook
Publisher: Ryan Duques
Winner of the Emotional Health Category
Into the Mighty Sea
Author: Arlene Abundis
Illustrator: Cynthia Alonso
Publisher: HarperCollins
Winner of the Educational Category
The Oddball Book of Armadillos
Author: Elizabeth Shreeve
Illustrator: Isabella Grott
Publisher: Norton Young Readers
Winner of the Cultural Category
The Light Within You
Author: Namita Moolani Mehra
Illustrator: Kamala Nair
Publisher: Two Lions
Winner of the Cultural Category
V Malar: Greatest Host Of All Time
Author: Suma Subramaniam
Illustrator: Archana Sreenivasan
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Winner of the Community Category
Painting the Sky with Love: A Celebration of Love and Community
Author: Mary E. Haque
Illustrator: Tatiana Gardel
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Winner of the Community Category
The Little Church Beside the Sea
Author: Lana Shupe
Illustrator: Elizabeth M. Gales
Publisher: Morning Dove Press
Winner of the Humor Category
Who’s Writing This Story?!
Author: Robin Newman
Illustrator: Deborah Zemke
Publisher: Creston Books
Winner of the Humor Category
Skrum
Author & Illustrator: Bernard Gumz
Publisher: The Little Press
Winner of the Holiday Category
Hanukkah Pajamakkahs
Author: Dara Henry
Illustrator: Olga & Aleksey Ivanov
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Winner of the Holiday Category
BroomMates: A Brewing Boundary Battle
Authors: Lynne Marie & Brenda Reeves Sturgis
Illustrator: Nico Ecenarro
Publisher: The Little Press
Winner of the Food Category
Peaches
Author: Gabriele Davis
Illustrator: Kim Holt
Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers
Winner of the Myth Category
Klyde the Kraken Wants a Friend
Author: Brooke Hartman
Illustrator: Laura Borio
Publisher: Hazy Dell Press
Winner of the Poetry Category
Bless The Earth
Edited By: June Cotner & Nancy Tupper Ling
Illustrator: Keum Jin Song
Publisher: Penguin Random House (Convergent)
Winner of the Poetry Category
Song of the Seasons
Author: Glenys Nellist
Illustrator: C. B. Canga
Publisher: Paraclete Press
Winner of the Mindfulness Category
We Are One
Author: Jackie Azúa Kramer
Illustrators: Raissa Figueroa & Niña Mata
Publisher: Two Lions
Winner of the Mindfulness Category
Shiny Friends Super Squad: Express YourS.E.L.f Soical-Emotional Learning Journal
Author: Leigh Reagan Alley
Illustrator: Mark Nathan Hurry
Publisher: Piggy Bank Press
Winner of the Religious/Spiritual Category
The Ten Commandments: For All God’s Children
Author: Harold L. Senkbeil
Illustrator: Natasha Kennedy
Publisher: Lexham Press
Winner of the Religious/Spiritual Category
Raven’s Gift: A Feathered Flight of Faith
Author: Claire Annette Noland
Illustrator: Desirée Cordón
Publisher: The Little Press (Bless This Press Imprint)
Winner of the Mystery Category
Ben & Blue: Searching for Lucky #3002
Author: Ellen Melissa Cohen
Illustrator: Donald Wu
Publisher: Red Chair Press
Winner of the Environment Category
At the Edge of the Ice
Author: Carolyn Armstrong
Illustrator: Robin Hann-Leon
Publisher: Carolyn Armstrong Books
Winner of the Middle Grade Fiction Category
Crushing It
Author: Erin Becker
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Winner of the Middle Grade Fiction Category
Just Like Click
Author: Sandy Grubb
Illustrator: L. L. Tisdel
Publisher: Fitzroy Books
Winner of the Middle Grade Cultural Category
Cries from the Moana
Author: ‘Atu Emberson-Bain and Melino & Siale Bain-Vete
Illustrator: Auntie Fonu
Publisher: Hakautapu Publishing
