© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

'When You Trap A Tiger' And 'We Are Water Protectors' Win Top Children's Book Honors

<em>When You Trap a Tiger</em> by Tae Keller won the 2021 Newbery medal.
Penguin Random House
When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller won the 2021 Newbery medal.

America's librarians announced their top children's book picks virtually on Monday – awarding the 2021 Newbery and Caldecott medals, among several other honors.

The John Newbery Medal for the most distinguished children's book in 2020 went to When You Trap A Tiger, by Tae Keller. The book's central character is a girl, Lily, whose family moves in with her dying grandmother — and a tiger from Korean folklore shows up looking for something that was stolen.

All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat, BOX: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Michele Wood, Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly and A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat won Newbery honors.

The Randolph Caldecott Medal, which the American Library Association awards to the most distinguished American picture book for children, went to We Are Water Protectors illustrated by Michaela Goade and written by Carole Lindstrom. The book stresses the urgent need to take care of Earth's water.

<em>We Are Water Protectors</em>, illustrated by Michaela Goade and written by Carole Lindstrom, won the 2021 Caldecott medal.
/ Roaring Brook Press
/
Roaring Brook Press
We Are Water Protectors, illustrated by Michaela Goade and written by Carole Lindstrom, won the 2021 Caldecott medal.

Other Caldecott honor books were: A Place Inside of Me: A Poem to Heal the Heart, illustrated by Noa Denmon and written by Zetta Elliott; The Cat Man of Aleppo, illustrated by Yuko Shimizu and written by Irene Latham & Karim Shamsi-Basha; Me & Mama illustrated and written by Cozbi A. Cabrera; and Outside In, illustrated by Cindy Derby and written by Deborah Underwood.

ALA's Youth Media Awards include many other honors, as well, such as the Coretta Scott King Award, which was awarded to Before the Ever After, by Jacqueline Woodson.

In 2020, the Newbery was awarded to New Kid, written and illustrated by Jerry Craft. The book centers on seventh grader Jordan Banks, who transfers schools and sees privilege all around him.

Last year, the Caldecott medal went to The Undefeated, illustrated by Kadir Nelson and written by Kwame Alexander, which focuses on the Black experience.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Meghan Collins Sullivan is a senior editor on the Arts & Culture Desk, overseeing non-fiction books coverage at NPR. She has worked at NPR over the last 13 years in various capacities, including as the supervising editor for NPR.org – managing a team of online producers and reporters and editing multi-platform news coverage. She was also lead editor for the 13.7: Cosmos and Culture blog, written by five scientists on topics related to the intersection of science and culture.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Related Content