The Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards are a set of American literary awards conferred by The Boston Globe and The Horn Book Magazine annually from 1967. One book is recognized in each of three categories: Fiction and Poetry, Nonfiction, and Picture Book. The official website calls the awards "among the most prestigious honors in children's and young adult literature".
The Awards follow a school-year calendar. Taking the 2011–2012 cycle for illustration: books published June 2011 to May 2012 were eligible; submissions from publishers were accepted until May 15; the awards and honors were announced during June (when U.S. school years end), only one to twelve months after the eligible books were released.
From 1967 to 1975 there were only two award categories, fiction and picture book. The Nonfiction award was introduced in 1976 and the fiction category was revised to "Fiction and Poems" in 2001, when that award recognized Carver: A Life in Poems by Marilyn Nelson. There have been five "Special Citations": fourth awards conferred in five different years from 1977 to 1999.
Generally the books under consideration have been submitted by their publishers but the panel of judges may honor any eligible book. Before 2011–2012 the publishers were permitted to submit only a limited number of candidates.
Winners +Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winners Year Category Title Writer Illustrator 1967 Fiction The Little Fishes Picture Book London Bridge Is Falling Down 1968 Fiction The Spring Rider Picture Book Tikki Tikki Tembo 1969 Fiction A Wizard of Earthsea Picture Book The Adventures of Paddy Pork 1970 Fiction The Intruder Picture Book Hi, Cat! 1971 Fiction A Room Made of Windows Picture Book If I Built a Village . . . 1972 Fiction Tristan and Iseult Picture Book Mr. Gumpy's Outing 1973 Fiction The Dark Is Rising Picture Book King Stork 1974 Fiction M. C. Higgins, the Great Picture Book Jambo Means Hello 1975 Fiction Transport 7-41-R Picture Book Anno's Alphabet 1976FictionUnleavingNonfictionVoyaging to CathayAlfred Tamarin and Shirley GlubokPicture BookThirteen 1977FictionChild of the OwlNonfictionChance, Luck and DestinyPicture BookGranfa' Grig Had a Pig Special CitationThe Changing City and The Changing Countryside1978FictionThe Westing GameNonfictionMischling, Second DegreePicture BookAnno's Journey1979FictionHumbug MountainNonfictionThe Road from HomePicture BookThe Snowman 1980FictionConrad's WarNonfictionBuilding: The Fight Against Gravity and Christopher RagusPicture BookThe Garden of Abdul Gasazi Special CitationGraham Oakley's Magical Changes1981FictionThe LeavingNonfictionThe Weaver's Gift Picture BookOutside Over There 1982FictionPlaying Beatie BowNonfictionUpon the Head of the GoatPicture BookA Visit to William Blake's Inn 1983FictionSweet Whispers, Brother RushNonfictionBehind Barbed WirePicture BookA Chair for My Mother 1984FictionA Little FearNonfictionThe Double Life of PocahontasPicture BookJonah and the Great Fish 1985FictionThe Moves Make the ManNonfictionCommodore Perry in the Land of the ShogunPicture BookMama Don't Allow Special Citation1,2,3 1986FictionIn Summer LightNonfictionAuks, Rocks, and the Odd DinosaurPicture BookThe Paper Crane 1987FictionRabble StarkeyNonfictionThe Pilgrims of PlimothPicture BookMufaro's Beautiful Daughters 1988FictionThe Friendship NonfictionAnthony Burns: The Defeat and Triumph of a Fugitive SlavePicture BookThe Boy of the Three-Year Nap 1989FictionThe Village by the SeaNonfictionThe Way Things Work Picture BookShy Charles 1990FictionManiac MageeNonfictionThe Great Little MadisonPicture BookLon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from ChinaSpecial CitationValentine and Orson1991FictionThe True Confessions of Charlotte DoyleAviNonfictionAppalachia: The Voices of Sleeping Birds Picture BookThe Tale of the Mandarin Ducks1992FictionMissing MayNonfictionTalking with ArtistsPicture BookSeven Blind Mice1993FictionAjeemah and His SonNonfictionSojourner Truth: Ain't I a Woman? and Frederick McKissackPicture BookThe Fortune Tellers 1994FictionScooterNonfictionEleanor Roosevelt: A Life of DiscoveryPicture BookGrandfather's Journey 1995FictionSome of the Kinder PlanetsNonfictionAbigail Adams: Witness to a RevolutionPicture BookJohn Henry 1996FictionPoppyAvi NonfictionOrphan Train Rider: One Boy’s True StoryPicture BookIn the Rain with Baby Duck 1997FictionThe Friends with Cathy Hirano (trans.)NonfictionA Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder Picture BookThe Adventures of Sparrowboy1998FictionThe Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant ChildNonfictionLeon’s Story Picture BookAnd If the Moon Could Talk 1999FictionHolesNonfictionThe Top of the World: Climbing Mount EverestPicture BookRed-Eyed Tree Frog Special CitationTibet: Through the Red Box2000FictionThe Folk KeeperNonfictionSir Walter Ralegh and the Quest for El DoradoPicture BookHenry Hikes to Fitchburg2001Fiction and PoetryCarver: A Life in PoemsNonfictionThe Longitude Prize Picture BookCold Feet 2002Fiction and PoetryLord of the DeepNonfictionThis Land was Made for You and Me: The Life and Songs of Woody GuthriePicture Book“Let’s Get a Pup!” Said Kate2003Fiction and PoetryThe Jamie and Angus Stories NonfictionFireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. HarveyPicture BookBig Momma Makes the World 2004Fiction and PoetryThe Fire-EatersNonfictionAn American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793Picture BookThe Man Who Walked Between the Towers 2005Fiction and PoetryThe Schwa Was HereNonfictionThe Race to Save the Lord God BirdPicture BookTraction Man Is Here! 2006Picture BookLeaf Man Fiction and PoetryThe Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane NonfictionIf You Decide to Go to the Moon 2007Picture BookDog and Bear: Two Friends, Three Stories Fiction and PoetryThe Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume 1: The Pox PartyNonfictionThe Strongest Man in the World: Louis Cyr 2008Picture BookAt NightFiction and PoetryThe Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian NonfictionThe Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain 2009Picture BookBubble Trouble Fiction and PoetryNationNonfictionThe Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary2010Picture BookI Know HereFiction and PoetryWhen You Reach MeNonfictionMarching for Freedom: Walk Together, Children, and Don't You Grow Weary2011Picture BookPocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes Fiction and PoetryBlink & CautionNonfictionThe Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism, & Treachery2012Picture BookExtra Yarn FictionNo Crystal Stair: A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem Bookseller NonfictionChuck Close: Face Book with others 2013Picture BookOpen This Little BookPicture BookBuilding Our HouseFictionEleanor & ParkNonfictionElectric Ben: The Amazing Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin2014Picture BookMr. Tiger Goes WildFictionGrasshopper JungleNonfictionThe Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights2015Picture BookThe Farmer and the ClownFictionCartwheeling in ThunderstormsNonfictionThe Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia2016Picture BookJazz Day: The Making of a Famous PhotographFictionThe Lie TreeNonfictionMost Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War2017Picture BookFreedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life FictionThe Hate U GiveNonfictionVincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers2018Picture BookThey Say Blue Fiction and PoetryThe Poet XNonfictionPhotographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide 2019Picture BookThe Patchwork Bike Fiction and PoetryThe Season of Styx Malone NonfictionThis Promise of Change: One Girl's Story in the Fight for School Equality and Debbie Levy2020Picture BookSaturdayFiction and PoetryKing and the DragonfliesNonfictionInfinite Hope2021Picture BookI Talk Like a RiverFiction and PoetryA Sitting in St. JamesNonfictionFrom a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial that Galvanized the Asian American Movement2022Picture BookAin't Burned All the Bright Fiction and PoetryAll My Rage NonfictionBlack Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre2023Picture BookWhen You Can SwimJack WongFiction and PoetryWarrior Girl Unearthed Angeline BoulleyNonfictionSunshineJarrett J. Krosoczka2024 *This year saw slight category changes due to the Horn Book's centennial celebrationPicture BookDo You Remember?Sydney SmithSydney SmithPoetryKin: Rooted in HopeCarole Boston WeatherfordJeffery Boston WeatherfordNonfictionThe Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global CelebrityNicholas DayBrett HelquistFictionRemember UsJacqueline WoodsonSpecial CitationThe New Brownies' Book: A love Letter to Black FamiliesKarida L. Brown and Charly Palmer2025Picture BookI Know How to Draw an Owl Hilary Horder HippelyMatt JamesFiction and PoetryEverything We Never HadRandy RibayNonfictionDeath in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of JonestownCandace Fleming2026Picture BookNavigating NightJulie LeungAngie KangFiction and PoetryA Scar like a RiverLisa GraffNonfictionA World Without Summer: A Volcano Erupts, a Creature Awakens, and the Sun Goes OutNicholas DayYas Imamura
Repeat winners
Author Virginia Hamilton and illustrator Ed Young have both won three Awards, both in two categories. and have both won three Awards, all in the Nonfiction category.
Mitsumasa Anno, Avi, Nicholas Day, Jean Fritz, Cynthia Rylant, Allen Say, , and Vera B. Williams have all won two Awards.
See also
Newbery Medal Caldecott Medal
References
External links
Boston Globe–Horn Book Award at lovethebook Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards at smallfrybooks