Award Winners

The Américas Award review committee provides an annotated list of the award winners, honorable mentions, and commended titles each year. For complete details, see the yearly lists below.

For quick reference regarding all Américas Award winners, see list of winners

Purchase award seals for the winning books here.

2022 – Annotated List of 2022 Titles

Award Winners
Child of the Flower-Song People by Gloria Amescua and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh (Abrams ComicArts, 2021)
My Two Border Towns by David Bowles and illustrated by Erika Meza (Kokila, 2021)

Honorable Mention Titles
Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna by Alda P. Dobbs (Sourcebooks Young Readers, 2021)
Niños: Poems for the Lost Children of Chile by María José Ferrada and illustrated by María Elena Valdez (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2021)
The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera (Levine Querido, 2021)

2021 – Annotated List of 2021 Titles

Award Winners
Digging for Words by Angela Burke Kunkel and illustrated by Paola Escobar (Schwartz & Wade, 2020)
Land of the Cranes by Aida Salazar (Scholastic Books, 2020)

Honorable Mention Titles
Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez (Algonquin Press, 2020)
If Dominican Were a Color by Sili Recio and illustrated by Brianna McCarthy (A Denene Millner Book. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2020)
Vamos! Let’s Go Eat by Raúl the Third, colors by Elaine Bay (Versify, 2020)

2020 – Annotated List of 2020 Titles
Award Winners
Beast Rider by Tony Johnston and Maria Elena Fontanot De Rhoads (Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams, 2019)
Between Us and Abuela by Mitali Perkins and illustrated by Sara Palacios (Farrar Straus Giroux, 2019)

Honorable Mentions
My Papi has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero and illustrated by Zeke Peña (Penguin Young Readers Group, 2019)
The Moon Within by Aida Salazar (Arthur A. Levine Books, 2019)
The Other Half of Happy by Rebecca Balcárcel (Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 2019)

2019 – Annotated List of 2019 Titles
Award Winners
Islandborn by Junot Díaz and illustrated by Leo Espinosa (Dial Books, 2018)
Undocumented: A Worker’s Fight by Duncan Tonatiuh (Abrams Books, 2018)
Honorable Mentions
Auntie Luce’s Talking Paintings by Francie Latour and illustrated by Ken Daley (Groundwood Books, 2018)
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (HarperCollins, 2018)

2018 – Annotated List of 2018 Titles
Award Winners
American Street by Ibi Zoboi (HarperCollins Publishers, 2017)
Danza!: Amalia Hernández and el Ballet Folklórico de México by Duncan Tonatiuh (Abrams Books, 2017)
Honorable Mentions
All the Way to Havana by Margarita Engle and illustrated by Mike Curato (Godwin Books, Henry Holt and Company, 2017)
Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar (Penguin Random House, 2017)

2017 – Annotated List of 2017 Titles
Award Winners
The Only Road by Alexandra Diaz (Simon & Schuster, 2016)
Ada’s Violin by Susan Hood and illustrated by Sally Wern Comport (Simon & Schuster, 2016)
Honorable Mentions
Malaika’s Costume by Nadia L. Hohn and illustrated by Irene Luxbacher (Groundwood Books, 2016)
The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande (Simon and Schuster, 2016)

2016 – Annotated List of 2016 Titles
Award Winners
Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan (Scholastic Press, 2015)
Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope-Pérez (Carolrhoda Lab, 2015)
Honorable Mentions
Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh (Harry N. Abrams, 2015)
Growing Up Pedro: How the Martinez Brothers Made it from the Dominican Republic All the Way to the Major Leagues written and illustrated by Matt Tavares (Candlewick Press, 2015)

2015 – Annotated List of 2015 Titles
Award Winners
Separate is Never Equal written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh (Abrams Books, 2014)
Silver People: Voices from the Panama Canal by Margarita Engle (HMH Books for Young Readers, 2014)
Honorable Mentions
Migrant by José Manuel Mateo and Javier Martinez Pedro (Abrams Books, 2014)
Strike! The Farm Workers’ Fight for their Rights by Larry Dane Brimner (Calkins Creek, 2014)

2014 – Annotated List of 2014 Titles
Award Winners
Parrots Over Puerto Rico by Cindy Trumbore; illustrated by Susan Roth (Lee & Low Books, 2013)
Honorable Mentions
Diego Rivera: An Artist for the People by Susan Goldman Rubin
Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh

2013 – Annotated List of 2013 Titles
Award Winners
The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano by Sonia Manzano (Scholastic, 2012)
Honorable Mentions
Martín de Porres, the Rose in the Desert by Gary D. Schmidt; illustrated by David Díaz (Clarion Books, 2012)

2012 – Annotated List of 2012 Titles
Award Winners
Hurricane Dancers by Margarita Engle. (Henry Holt & Co., 2011)
Pablo Neruda: Poet of the People by Monica Brown and illustrated by Julie Paschkis (Henry Holt & Co., 2011)
Honorable Mentions
Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall (Lee & Low Books, 2011)
The Queen of Water by Laura Resau and María Virginia Farinango (Delacorte Press, 2011)

2011 – Annotated List of 2011 Titles
Award Winners
Clemente! by Willie Perdomo; illustrated by Bryan Collier (Holt, 2010)
The Dreamer by Pam Muñoz Ryan; illustrated by Peter Sís (Scholastic, 2010)
Honorable Mentions
The Firefly Letters by Margarita Engle (Holt, 2010)

2010 – Annotated List of 2010 Titles
Award Winners
Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez (Knopf, 2009)
What Can You Do With a Paleta? / Â¿Qué puedes hacer con una paleta? by Carmen Tafolla; illustrated by Magaly Morales (Tricycle Press, 2009)
Honorable Mentions
Gringolandia by Lyn Miller-Lachmann (Curbstone Press, 2009)
I Know the River Loves Me / Yo sé que el río me ama by Maya Christina González (Children’s Book Press, 2009)
My Papa Diego and Me: Memories of My Father and His Art / Mi pap Diego y yo: Recuerdos de mi padre y su arte by Guadalupe Rivera Marín and Diego Rivera (Children’s Book Press, 2009)

2009 – Annotated List of 2009 Titles
Award Winners
Just in Case: A Trickster Tale and Spanish Alphabet Book by Yuyi Morales (Roaring Brook Press, 2008)
The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle (Holt, 2008)
Honorable Mentions
The Best Gift of All: The Legend of La Vieja Belén / El mejor regalo del mundo: La leyenda de la vieja belén by Julia Alvarez; Illustrated by Ruddy Nuñez (Alfaguara/Santillana, 2008)
Dark Dude by Oscar Hijuelos (Atheneum, 2008)
The Storyteller’s Candle / La velita de los cuentos by Lucía González; illustrated by Lulu Delacre (Children’s Book Press, 2008)

2007-2008 – Annotated List of 2007-08 Titles
Award Winners
Red Glass by Laura Resau (New York: Delacorte, 2007)
YUM! Â¡MMMM! Â¡QUE RICO!: America’s Sproutings by Pat Mora; illustrated by Rafael López (New York: Lee & Low, 2007)
Honorable Mentions
Nochecita/Little Night by Yuyi Morales (Roaring Brook Press, 2007)
Raining Sardines by Enrique Flores-Galbis (Roaring Brook Press, 2007)

2006 – Annotated List of 2006 Titles
Award Winners
Josias, Hold the Book by Jennifer Elvgren; illustrated by Nicole Tadgell (Boyds Mill, 2006)
The Poet Slave of Cuba by Margarita Engle; illustrated by Sean Qualls (Holt, 2006)
Honorable Mentions
What the Moon Saw by Laura Resau (Delacorte, 2006)

2005 – Annotated List of 2005 Titles
Award Winners
Cinnamon Girl: letters found inside a cereal box by Juan Felipe Herrera (HarperCollins, Joanna Cotler Books, 2005)
Honorable Mentions
A Season for Mangoes by Regina Hanson; illustrated by Eric Velasquez (Clarion, 2005)
The Tequila Worm by Viola Canales (Random House, 2005)

2004 – Annotated List of 2004 Titles
Award Winners
My Name is Celia/Me llamo Celia by Monica Brown; illustrated by Rafael López (Luna Rising, 2004)
Sammy & Juliana in Hollywood by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (Cinco Puntos, 2004)
Honorable Mentions
Call Me María by Judith Ortiz Cofer (Orchard, 2004)

2003 – Annotated List of 2003 Titles
Award Winners
Just a Minute by Yuyi Morales (Chronicle, 2003)
The Meaning of Consuelo by Judith Ortiz Cofer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003)
Honorable Mentions
Cuba 15 by Nancy Osa (Delacorte, 2003)
Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull; illustrated by Yuyi Morales (Harcourt, 2003)

2002 – Annotated List of 2002 Titles
Award Winners
Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez (Knopf, 2002)
Honorable Mentions
Behind the Mountains by Edwidge Danticat (Orchard, 2002)
Frida by Jonah Winter; Illustrated by Ana Juan (Scholastic, 2002)

2001 – Annotated List of 2001 Titles
Award Winners
A Movie in My Pillow/Una película en mi almohada by Jorge Argueta; illustrated by Elizabeth Gómez (Children’s Book Press, 2001)
Breaking Through by Francisco Jiménez (Houghton Mifflin, 2001)
Honorable Mentions
In the Days of the Vaqueros: America’s First True Cowboys by Russell Freedman (Clarion, 2001)

2000 – Annotated List of 2000 Titles
Award Winners
The Color of My Words by Lynn Joseph (HarperCollins, 2000)
The Composition by Antonio Skármeta; illustrated by Alfonso Ruano (Groundwood, 2000)
Honorable Mentions
Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan (Scholastic, 2000)
My Very Own Room / Mi propio cuarto by Christina Gonzalez (Children’s Book Press, 2000)

1999 – Annotated List of 1999 Titles
Award Winners
CrashBoomLove by Juan Felipe Herrera (University of New Mexico Press, 1999)
Honorable Mentions
Cuba: After the Revolution by Bernard Wolff (Dutton, 1999)
Magic Windows / Ventanas mágicas by Carmen Lomas Garza; translated by Francisco X. Alarcón (Children’s Book Press, 1999)

1998 – Annotated List of 1998 Titles
Award Winners
Barrio: José’s Neighborhood by George Ancona (Harcourt Brace, 1998)
Mama and Papa Have a Store by Amelia Lau Carling (Dial, 1998)
Honorable Mentions
Cendrillon: A Caribbean Cinderella by Robert D. San Souci; illustrated by Brian Pinkney (Simon and Schuster, 1998)

1997 – Annotated List of 1997 Titles
Award Winners
The Circuit by Francisco Jiménez (University of New Mexico Press, 1997)
The Face at the Window by Regina Hanson; illustrated by Linda Saport (Clarion, 1997)
Honorable Mentions
Fruits: A Caribbean Counting Poem by Valerie Bloom; illustrated by David Axtell (Henry Holt, 1997)
Mayeros: A Yucatec Maya Family by George Ancona (William Morrow, 1997)

1996 – Annotated List of 1996 Titles
Award Winners
In My Family/En mi familia by Carmen Lomas Garza (Children’s Book Press, 1996)
Parrot in the Oven by Victor Martínez (HarperCollins, 1996)
Honorable Mentions
Down by the River: Afro-Caribbean Rhymes, Games and Songs for Children by Grace Hallworth; illustrated by Caroline Binch (Scholastic, 1996)
So Loud a Silence by Lyll Becerra de Jenkins (Lodestar, 1996)

1995 – Annotated List of 1995 Titles
Award Winners
Tonight, by Sea by Frances Temple (Orchard, 1995)
Honorable Mentions
An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio by Judith Ortiz Cofer (Orchard Books, 1995)
Chato’s Kitchen by Gary Soto; illustrated by Susan Guevara (Putnam’s Sons, 1995)
Heart of a Jaguar by Marc Talbert (Simon & Schuster, 1995)

1994 – Annotated List of 1994 Titles
Award Winners
The Mermaid’s Twin Sister by Lynn Joseph (Clarion, 1994)

1993 – Annotated List of 1993 Titles
Award Winners
Vejigante Masquerader by Lulu Delacre (Scholastic, 1993)