PAST WINNERS AND HONOREES
THE WALTER AWARD, TEEN CATEGORY
Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam, illustrated by Omar T. Pasha
THE WALTER HONOR BOOKS, TEEN CATEGORY
We Are Not Free by Traci Chee
Almost American Girl by Robin Ha
THE WALTER AWARD, YOUNGER READERS CATEGORY
When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed, with color by Iman Geddy
THE WALTER HONOR BOOKS, YOUNGER READERS CATEGORY
King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender
Everything Sad Is Untrue (a true story) by Daniel Nayeri
The 2021 Judging Committee
Morika Tsujimura (Committee Chair), Cathy Berner (Events Coordinator and Children’s/YA Specialist, Blue Willow Bookshop), Lindsay Hall (Lower School Librarian, Sidwell Friends School), Alicia K. Long (Access Services Supervisor/Librarian, State College of Florida), Gregory Lum (Library Director, Jesuit High School, Portland OR), J. Joseph Prince (Curriculum & Outreach Educator, Curriculum Resource Center, Jerome Library, Bowling Green State University), and Hadeal Salamah (Lower/Middle School Librarian, Georgetown Day School)
THE WALTER AWARD, TEEN CATEGORY
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Rosemary Valero-O'Connell
The Walter Honor Books, Teen Category
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
The Walter Award, Younger Readers Category
The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman
The Walter Honor Books, Younger Readers Category
A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée
Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga
The 2020 Judging Committee
Derek Ivie (Chair), L. Lee Butler, Shelley Diaz, Sandra Farag, Nikki Santiago, Morika Tsujimura, and Ny'ilah Whitaker
The Walter Award, Teen Category
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
The Walter Honor Books, Teen Category
Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan
The Walter Award, Younger Readers Category
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
The Walter Honor Books, Younger Readers Category
They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems by David Bowles
The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani
The 2019 Judging Committee
Maria Salvadore (Chair), L. Lee Butler, Laretta Henderson, Julia López-Robertson, Candice (Wingyee) Mack, Kathie Meizner, and John Williams
The Walter Award, Teen Category
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
The Walter Honor Books, Teen Category
You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins
Disappeared by Francisco X. Stork
The Walter Award, Younger Readers Category
Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Eric Velasquez
The Walter Honor Book, Younger Readers Category
Forest World by Margarita Engle
The 2018 Judging Committee
Terry Hong (Co-Chair), Maria Salvadore (Co-Chair), Derek Ivie, Ruth McKoy Lowery, Dora L. Maher, Nayantara Mhatre, and Deborah Taylor
The 2017 Judging Committee
Kathie Weinberg (Co-Chair), Terry Hong (Co-Chair), Derek Ivie, Shannon Lake, Karen Lemmons, and Nayantara Mhatre
The Walter Award
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
The Walter Honor Books
Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir by Margarita Engle, illustrated by Edel Rodriguez
X: A Novel by Ilyasah Shabazz and Kekla Magoon
Take a look at our reading guide for All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely.
The 2016 Judging Committee
Kathie Weinberg (Co-Chair), Dhonielle Clayton (Co-Chair) Christine Taylor Butler, Edi Campbell, Sarah Park Dahlen, Maria E. Gentle, Todd Kreuger, Angie Manfredi, Rita E. Painter, Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada, Rafe Posey, Adeeba Afshan Rana, and Mindy Rhiger
