First presented in 1967, the annual Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards celebrate the very best in literature for children and young people. This year’s awards are particularly notable, said Elissa Gershowitz, The Horn Book’s editor-in-chief, because the venerable publication is celebrating its centennial year.
“This is a very special year for The Horn Book, and this slate of Boston Globe-Horn Book awardees — bold, daring, emotional, and authentic — reflects that uniqueness,” said Gershowitz in a statement. “The fluidity of genre is particularly exciting, and we are awarding our first Special Citation since 2008. As we look back at the past hundred years, as well as to the future, we are humbled and exhilarated to be at the forefront of the vibrant children’s literature industry.”
Announced June 20, this year’s fiction winner is “Remember Us,” by Jacqueline Woodson, a past National Book Award winner who served as the sixth National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature in 2018-2019. “Do You Remember?” written and illustrated by Sydney Smith, won for picture books.
Linda Henry, CEO of Boston Globe Media, congratulated the organization on its 100th year in a statement. “The Boston Globe has been honored to partner with The Horn Book for almost 60 of those years to recognize the talent and creativity of children’s book authors, illustrators, and luminaries,” she said. “We are delighted to continue the tradition of the prestigious Boston Globe-Horn Book honor and celebrate the authors and illustrators of children’s and young adult’s literature.”
On Monday, the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art announced that The Horn Book itself will be recognized with one of the most prestigious awards in children’s literature. Bestowed by the Amherst-based museum, The Horn Book will receive the Carle Honors Mentor Award at a New York gala in September.
“What an honor it is, indeed, to receive the Carle Honors Mentor Award from the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art,” said Gershowitz in an email. “We are thrilled and humbled by this recognition — in our centennial year — and look forward to another hundred years of collaboration and partnership with our wonderful children’s literature community.”
![“The New Brownies’ Book: A Love Letter to Black Families” by Karida L. Brown and Charly Palmer; “The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity” by Nicholas Day, illustrated by Brett Helquist; and “Kin: Rooted in Hope” by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Jeffery Boston Weatherford, were among the honorees of the 2024 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards.](https://www.todaysauthormagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/KDEHAIC7EVB7HLQOIDSQYWATCU.jpg)
Among this year’s Boston Globe-Horn Book winners are “Kin: Rooted in Hope” by Carole Boston Weatherford; illustrated by Jeffery Boston Weatherford, for poetry, and for nonfiction, “The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity” by Nicholas Day; illustrated by Brett Helquist.
“The New Brownies’ Book: A Love Letter to Black Families” by Karida L. Brown and Charly Palmer received a special citation. The book is an homage and updated companion to the Harlem Renaissance-era magazine created for Black children by W. E. B. DuBois and Jessie Redmon Fauset.
A full list of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards winners and honorees is below. Winning titles must be first US editions of books published between June 2023 and May 2024 but may be written or illustrated by citizens of any country.
The 2024 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winners:
Picture Book:
“Do You Remember?” by Sydney Smith (Neal Porter Books, an imprint of Holiday House)
Fiction Award:
“Remember Us” by Jacqueline Woodson (Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House)
Nonfiction Award:
“The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity” by Nicholas Day; illustrated by Brett Helquist (Random House Studio, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House)
Poetry Award:
“Kin: Rooted in Hope” by Carole Boston Weatherford; illustrated by Jeffery Boston Weatherford (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division)
Special Citation:
“The New Brownies’ Book: A Love Letter to Black Families” by Karida L. Brown and Charly Palmer (Chronicle Books)
Other honored books:
Picture books:
“I’m From” by Gary R. Gray Jr.; illustrated by Oge Mora (Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)
“Ode to a Bad Day” by Chelsea Lin Wallace; illustrated by Hyewon Yum (Chronicle Books)
Fiction:
“The Blood Years” by Elana K. Arnold (Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)
“Rez Ball” by Byron Graves (Heartdrum, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)
Nonfiction:
“Fungi Grow” by Maria Gianferrari; illustrated by Diana Sudyka (Beach Lane Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division)
Kate Tuttle, a freelance writer and critic, can be reached at kate.tuttle@gmail.com.