Jerry Craft became the first author in the Newbery Medal’s long history to win the Medal for a graphic novel. Craft’s New Kid took home the top honors at the 2020 Youth Media Awards in Philadelphia, while Kadir Nelson won the Caldecott medal for The Undefeated – a book that was also named a Newbery Honor Book. The 2020 Printz Medal went to Dig by A. S. King.
While El Deafo by Cece Bell and Roller Girls by Victoria Jamieson were named Newbery Honor winners in previous years (2015 and 2016, respectively), this is the first time a graphic novel has taken home the top prize. Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, a YA graphic novel, also was recognized as a Printz Honor book.
Here’s the full list of 2020 Printz, Caldecott, and Newbery winners and Honor Books:
2020 Newbery recipients
Winner: New Kid by Jerry Craft
2020 Newbery Honor Books
- The Undefeated, written by Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
- Scary Stories for Young Foxes, written by Christian McKay Heidicker, illustrated by Junyi Wu
- Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga
- Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams
2020 Caldecott recipients
Winner: The Undefeated, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Kwame Alexander
2020 Caldecott Honor Books:
- Bear Came Along, illustrated by LeUyen Pham, written by Richard T. Morris
- Double Bass Blues, illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez, written by Andrea J. Loney
- Going Down Home with Daddy, illustrated by Daniel Minter, written by Kelly Starling Lyons
2020 Printz recipients
Winner: Dig, written by A. S. King
2020 Printz Honor Books:
- The Beast Player, written by Nahoko Uehashi, translated by Cathy Hirano
- Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, written by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell
- Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir by Nikki Grimes
- Where the World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean
