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My Hands Tell a Story by Kelly Starling Lyons; illus. by Tonya Engel (Reycraft Books).
Like Zoe, author Kelly Starling Lyons grew up baking treats with her Grandma. Now, she celebrates those special moments in stories. Kelly has written many acclaimed children’s books including Caldecott Honor winner Going Down Home with Daddy, Christopher Award winner Tiara’s Hat Parade and Geisel Honor winner, Ty’s Travels: Zip, Zoom. She is a teaching artist and a founding member of The Brown Bookshelf. Kelly lives in North Carolina with her family. Visit her online at www.kellystarlinglyons.com.
Tonya Engel is a self-taught artist born in Texas and has established studios in New York, Miami, Austin, and Houston, where she now lives. Heavily influenced by folk artists of the Deep South and Harlem Renaissance, Tonya’s illustrations speak to image, identity, and relationships. Combining decorative elements, oil paints, and occasional collage, the subjects are mainly women whose facial expressions invite thought and interpretation. Engel has received many awards, including a three-month residency in Paris, France.
Kelly Starling Lyons and Tonya Engel gathered virtually on May 7th for a live read-aloud of their winning book. 2025 also marked the 20th anniversary of Anna Dewdney’s Llama Llama Red Pajama. Anna Dewdney’s daughters, Berol and Cordelia Dewdney, joined us for this year’s virtual event celebrating the winner, with a special reading of this classic title. Videos are linked below.
My Hands Tell a Story Read-Aloud with Kelly Starling Lyons and Tonya Engel
Llama Llama Red Pajama 2025 Read-Aloud with Berol and Cordelia Dewdney
Q&A with the 2025 Anna Dewdney Read-Together Award Winners and Special Guests
The 2025 winner was selected through an open voting process. Votes were cast by librarians, educators, booksellers, and caregivers across the country!
BroomMates: A Brewing Boundary Battle by Lynne Marie & Brenda Reeves Sturgis; illus. Nico Ecenarro (The Little Press)
I’d Rather Be Me by Emily Peace Harrison; illus. Dacil Curbelos (Belle Isle Books)
A Maleta Full of Treasures by Natalia Sylvester; illus. Juana Medina (Dial / Penguin Random House)
Millie Fleur’s Poison Garden by Christy Mandin (Orchard Books / Scholastic)
Not Pop-Pop by Angela De Groot; illus. MacKenzie Haley (WaterBrook / Penguin Random House)
KINDergarten by Vera Ahiyya; illus. by Joey Chou (Random House Studio).
Vera Ahiyya was raised in El Paso, Texas with her wonderful mother and amazing grandparents. Vera has taught Kindergarten and First Grade for the last 18 years. Her online presence is dedicated to influencing other educators by spreading her vast knowledge and love of inclusive children’s books. She is the author of Rebellious Read Alouds, a professional development book for educators. She is also the author of You Have a Voice, Look How Much I’ve Grown in KINDergarten, and the forthcoming Getting Ready series.
Joey Chou is an animation artist and children’s book illustrator. He has illustrated the Little Golden Books, I’m a Reindeer, I’m a Ballerina, I’m a Unicorn, I’m a Dragon, and I’m a Narwhal.
Vera Ahiyya and Joey Chou gathered virtually to record a read-aloud of their winning title, followed by a conversation about their creative process, a Q&A, and a drawing tutorial. Videos are linked below.
KINDergarten Read-Aloud with Vera Ahiyya
Learn How to Draw Leo from KINDergarten with Joey Chou
Rapid-Fire Questions with 2024 Anna Dewdney Read-Together Award Winners
Q&A with 2024 Anna Dewdney Read-Together Award Winners
The 2024 winner was selected through an open voting process. Votes were cast by librarians, educators, booksellers, and caregivers across the country!
Bella & Blue: Bella Meets Blue by Berrie Torgan-Randall (The Little Press)
Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard; illus. Juana Martinez-Neal (Roaring Book/Macmillan)
Only for a Little While by Gabriela Orozco Belt; illus. Richy Sánchez Ayala (Balzar+Bray/HarperCollins)
Say Their Names by Caroline Brewer; illus. Adrian Brandon (Reycraft Books)
Tango Red Riding Hood by Rachel Hobbs; illus. Carolina Vázquez (Gnome Road Publishing)
The Proudest Color by Dr. Sheila Modir and Jeffrey Kashou; illus. Monica Mikai (Familius Books).
Sheila Modir is a pediatric psychologist and Jeffrey Kashou is a marriage and family therapist. As Middle Eastern Americans (Iranian and Palestinian) and as clinicians, they advocate for diversity, equality, and inclusion and work toward promoting resilience in children. While this is their first children’s book together, this happy couple from Southern California has teamed up on publications, presentations, and service work locally and internationally. Visit them at www.theproudestcolor.com.
Monica Mikai is an illustrator and former educator. She has an MFA from the New York Studio School, where she studied painting, and currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, two sons, and her sassy cat, Nima.
Sheila Modir and Jeffrey Kashou gathered virtually to record a read-aloud of their winning title, followed by a conversation about their creative process and Q&A. Watch the video here!
The 2023 winner was selected through an open voting process. Votes were cast by librarians, educators, booksellers, and caregivers across the country!
Listen: How Evelyn Glennie, A Deaf Girl, Changed Percussion, by Shannon Stocker; illus. Devon Holzwarth (Dial Books)
Snow Globe Wishes, by Erin Dealey; illus. Claire Shorrock (Sleeping Bear Press)
The Bad Seed, by Jory John; illus. Pete Oswald (HarperCollins)
Tiny Spoon vs. Little Fork, by Constance Lombardo; illus. Jason Patterson and Dan Abdo (Hippo Park / Astra Publishing)
Never Show a T. Rex a Book by Rashmi Sirdeshpande & Diane Ewen (Kane Miller, A Division of EDC Publishing).
Rashmi Sirdeshpande is a lawyer turned children’s author who writes a mix of uplifting and inspiring picture books and illustrated non-fiction. She loves taking big ideas and making them fun and accessible to young readers and cares deeply about representation in books. Her books have been featured in major national newspapers in the UK and have been shortlisted for a number of awards.
Diane Ewen is a British illustrator based in the West Midlands. Diane handdraws in pencil before painting in watercolor and acrylics, then embellishes using Photoshop. Diane’s books include Never Show a T. Rex a Book, Never Teach a Stegosaurus to Do Sums, Seeking Best Friend, and Coming to England. She is the winner of the Queens Knickers Award 2021 and Jericho Prize 2021.
The 2022 winner was selected through an open voting process. Votes were cast by librarians, educators, booksellers, and caregivers across the country!
Bisa’s Carnaval by Joana Pastro; illus. by Carolina Coroa (Scholastic Inc.)
Chi Chi the Rescue Dog: Never Give Up by Elizabeth Howell; illus. by Blayne Fox (Brown Books Kids)
Don’t Hug Doug (He Doesn’t Like It) by Carrie Finison; illus. by Daniel Wiseman (Penguin Young Readers)
In My Mosque by M.O. Yuskel; illus. by Hatem Aly (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
The Whole World Inside Nan’s Soup by Hunter Liguore; illus. by Vikki Zhang (Yeehoo Press)
Brown Baby Lullaby, by Tameka Fryer Brown and illustrated by AG Ford (Macmillan Children’s Books).
Tameka Fryer Brown’s picture books include Around Our Way on Neighbors’ Day and My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood. Her work also appears in the anthology, We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices. She currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina.
AG Ford is a New York Times bestselling children’s book illustrator and recipient of two NAACP Image Awards (for Our Children Can Soar and What Color is My World). He has over 30 published books for children. Mr. Ford grew up in Dallas, Texas and attended The Columbus College of Art and Design. He lives in Frisco, Texas with his family.
The 2021 winner was selected through an open voting process. Votes were cast by librarians, educators, booksellers, and caregivers across the country!
I am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes, illus. By Gordon C. James (Penguin Young Readers)
If You Ever Want to Bring an Alligator to School, Don’t! By Elise Parsley (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
Nana Akua Goes to School by Tricia Elam Walker, illus. by April Harrison (Random House Children’s Book)
Swashby and the Sea by Beth Ferry, illus. By Juana Martinez-Neal (HMH)
You Matter by Christian Robinson (Simon & Schuster)
Thank You, Omu!, by Oge Mora (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers).
Oge Mora graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in illustration. Her first picture book, Thank You, Omu!, was a Caldecott Honor, a Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent illustrator award winner, an Ezra Jack Keats illustrator award winner, a New York Times Notable Book and Editors’ Choice, and a Junior Library Guild selection. Her second picture book, Saturday, received five starred reviews. She has also illustrated The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read by Rita Lorraine Hubbard. Oge lives in Providence, Rhode Island, and she invites you to visit her website at www.ogemora.com.
The 2020 winner was selected through an open voting process. Votes were cast by librarians, educators, booksellers, and caregivers across the country!
Alma and How She Got Her Name, written and illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal (Candlewick)
Everybody Says Meow, written and illustrated by Constance Lombardo (HarperCollins)
Love is Kind, by Laura Sassi; illus. by Lison Chaperon (Zonderkidz)
Made For Me, by Zack Bush; illus. by Gregorio De Lauretis (Workman, Familius)
Welcome Little One, written and illustrated by Sandra Magsamen (Sourcebooks)
The Rabbit Listened, by Cori Doerrfeld (Penguin Young Readers/Dial Books).
Along with The Rabbit Listened, Cori Doerrfeld has illustrated popular books such as Little Bunny Foo Foo and The True Adventures of Esther the Wonder Pig. Her next book from Dial will be Goodbye, Friend! Hello, Friend! which releases July 2, 2019. She lives with her family in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The 2019 winner was selected through an open voting process. Votes were cast by librarians, educators, booksellers, and caregivers across the country!
Drawn Together, by Minh Lê; illus. by Dan Santat (Disney Hyperion) Dreamers, by Yuyi Morales (Holiday House)
I Am Enough, by Grace Byers; illus. by Keturah A. Bobo (Balzer & Bray/Harper)
Julian is a Mermaid, by Jessica Love (Candlewick)
Thank You, Omu!, by Oga Mora (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
After the Fall (How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again), by Dan Santat (Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group/Roaring Brook Press).
Dan Santat is the Caldecott Medal-winning and New York Times–bestselling author and illustrator of The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend and the road trip/time travel adventure Are We There Yet? His artwork is also featured in numerous picture books, chapter books, and middle-grade novels, including Dav Pilkey’s Ricky Ricotta series. Dan lives in Southern California with his wife, two kids, and many, many pets. His newest picture book is Dude! by Aaron Reynolds.
2018 Selection Committee
Berol Dewdney (Early Childhood Educator, Baltimore, MD
Earl Dizon (a bookseller at Green Bean Books, OR)
Mia Wenjen (Pragmatic Mom blogger)
Rocco Staino (contributing editor, School Library Journal)
Rita Meade (2017 Anna Dewdney Award winner and Brooklyn Public librarian)
Christine Pyles (Youth Services Manager, Euclid Public Library, OH)
Lisa Von Drasek (Curator, Kerlan Children’s Literature Research Collections, University of Minnesota)
Selected after a two-month-long nomination process open to the public are, these titles were reviewed by the selection committee to determine the winner.
Be a Friend, written and illustrated by Salina Yoon (Bloomsbury USA Children’s)
Bunny Slopes, written and illustrated by Claudia Rueda (Chronicle Books)
Come With Me, by Holly M. McGhee; illustrated by Pascal Lemâitre (Penguin/G.P. Putnam’s)
Grandmother Thorn, by Katey Howes; illustrated by Rebecca Hahn (Ripple Grove Press)
Edward Gets Messy, written by Rita Meade; illustrated by Olga Stern (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
Rita Meade is a public librarian who lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Rita is a contributing editor for BookRiot.com and also hosts the Dear Book Nerd podcast, a bi-weekly bookish advice show. She has appeared in various places, including American Libraries Magazine, The Huffington Post, The Village Voice, The Atlantic Wire, The Hairpin, and more. Rita also reviews children’s books for the School Library Journal and occasionally writes about library-related things on her blog Screwy Decimal.
2017 Selection Committee
Berol Dewdney, Early Childhood Educator, Baltimore, MD; Cheryl Lee, Program Coordinator-Branch Manager, Santa Clara City Library- Northside Branch Library, Santa Clara, CA: Kristine Millard, Co-Director and Youth Services Librarian, Lodi Public Library, Lodi, WI; Susannah Richards, Professor, Education, Eastern Connecticut State University, Windham, CT; and Crystal Soltren, Children’s Specialist, WORD Bookstores, Jersey City, NJ.
Selected after a two-month-long nomination process open to the public are, these titles were reviewed by the selection committee to determine the winner.
Last Stop on Market Street, by Matt de la Pena; illus. by Christian Robinson (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers)
Mother Bruce, by Ryan Higgins (Disney)
Toby, by Hazel Mitchell (Candlewick)
Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku, by Lee Wardlaw, illus. by Eugene Yelchin (Random House Children’s Books)