2025 Northern Lights Book Awards Winners!
It’s A Tie!
This marks the first time since launching Northern Lights Book Awards in 2018 that we have a tie for Picture Book of the Year!!
Picture Book of the Year
Flora and the Jazzers
Author/Illustrator: Astrid Sheckels
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Picture Book of the Year
Tonight is Krampus Night!
Author: Kyle Sullivan
Illustrator: Zoe Persico
Publisher: Hazy Dell Press
Winner of the Middle-Grade Book of the Year
Touching Grass
Author: Kristy Jackson
Illustrator: Rhael McGregor
Publisher: HarperCollins
Winner of the Picture Book – Preschool Category
The Adventures of Marie and LeeLee
Author: Lisa Cortez
Illustrator: Laura Watson
Publisher: Lisa Cortez
Winner of the Picture Book – Preschool Category
Monsters Don’t Say Meep
Author: Bridgetta Tomarchio
Publisher: Plot Twist Ink
Winner of the Picture Book 4-8 Category
Jack the Library Cat
Author/Illustrator: Marietta Apollonio
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
Winner of the Picture Book 4-8 Category
Bound to Dream: An Immigrant Story
Author: Charles Ghigna
Illustrator: Anna Forlati
Publisher: Schiffer Publishing
Winner of the Picture Book – All Ages Category
Painting Wonder: How Pauline Baynes Illustrated the Worlds of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien
Author/Illustrator: Katie Wray Schon
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Winner of the Picture Book – All Ages Category
Wind, Stop Blowing!
Author: Laura Alary
Illustrator: Sue Teodoro
Publisher: Skinner House Books
Winner of the Best Illustrations Category
Blue Boat Home
Author: Peter Mayer
Illustrator: Sue Todd
Publisher: Skinner House Books
Winner of the Author/Illustrator Category
Hector Fox and the Daring Flight
Author/Illustrator: Astrid Sheckels
Publisher: Islandport Press
Winner of the Author/Illustrator Category
Hector Fox and the Map of Mystery
Author/Illustrator: Astrid Sheckels
Publisher: Islandport Press
Winner of the Picture Book Family Category
Gloriana, Presente: A First Day of School Story
Author: Alyssa Reynoso-Morris
Illustrator: Doris Rodríguez
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Winner of the Picture Book Non-Fiction Category
Where Are the Women?: The Girl Scouts’ Campaign for the First Statue of Women in Central Park
Author/Illustrator: Janice Hechter
Publisher: Red Chair Press
Winner of the Sports Category
This Skirt Won’t Work!: How Women Athletes Changed Their Clothes and Changed the Game
Author: Jennifer Cooper
Illustrator: Eva Byrne
Publisher: Sourcebooks Explore
Winner of the Animals/Pets Category
Camilla The Tail-Wagging Tutor
Author: Jennifer Brandt
Illustrator: Carolyn Williams
Publisher: KWE Publishing
Winner of the Emotional Health Category
The Gift
Author: Laura-Lee Blackmore
Illustrator: Paul Schultz
Publisher: Miriam Laundry Publishing
Winner of the Emotional Health Category
The Most Amazing Machine
Author: Emily Dunckle
Illustrator: Danika Runyan
Publisher: Dolan Publishing
Winner of the Best Book Series Category
Freddie the Fly: Seeing Through Another Lens
Author: Kimberly Delude
Illustrator: Brian Martin
Publisher: Boys Town Press
Winner of the Poetry Category
Where Do Butterflies Go at Night?
Author: Jeanne Balsam
Illustrator: Stella Mongodi
Publisher: Jeanne Balsam
Winner of the Mindfulness Category
The Thing to Remember about Stargazing
Author: Matt Forrest Esenwine
Illustrators: Sonia Possentini
Publisher: Tilbury House Publishers
Winner of the Mindfulness Category
Just Keep Going
Author: Lynn Smith
Illustrator: Lauren Gallegos
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Winner of the Religious/Spiritual Category
Birth of the Chosen One: A First Nations Retelling of the Christmas Story
Author: Terry Wildman
Illustrators: Hannah & Holly Buchanan
Publisher: IVP Kids
Winner of the Holiday Category
Just Enough Room for Christmas
Author: Robin Currie
Illustrator: Estelle Corke
Publisher: Good Books/Sky Horse
Winner of the Graphic Novel Category
Trial and Error
Author: Robin Newman
Illustrator: Deborah Zemke
Publisher: Creston Books
Winner of the Community Category
Down Syndrome Out Loud: 20+ True Stories of Disability and Determination
Author: Melissa Hart
Illustrator: María Perera
Publisher: Sourcebooks Explore
Winner of the Humor Category
No Purchase Necessary
Author: Maria Marianayagam
Publisher: HarperCollins
Winner of the Middle-Grade Fantasy Category
Cascadia’s Call
Author: Neha Hewitt
Publisher: Koehler Books
Winner of the Middle-Grade Fiction Category
Racing the Clouds
Author: Sydney Dunlap
Publisher: Jolly Fish Press
Winner of the Middle-Grade Fiction Category
Something’s Up with Arlo
Author: Matteo L. Cerilli
Publisher: HarperCollins
Winner of the Middle-Grade Historical Fiction Category
Charlotte’s Ghosts: The Mystery of the Vanishing Boy
Author: L.P. Simone
Publisher: Dragon Song Publishing
Winner of the Middle-Grade Cultural Category
Lola Reyes Is So Not Worried
Author: Cindy L. Rodriguez
Publisher: HarperCollins
