Award-Winning Children's Books

California Young Reader Award

Caldecott Medal

Coretta Scott King Award

John & Patricia Beatty Award

Michael L. Printz Award

Newbery Award

Pura Belpré Award

California Young Reader Medal Winners

The California Young Reader Medal (CYRM) program encourages recreational reading of popular literature among the young people of our state. Since its inception in 1974, millions of California children have nominated, read, and voted for the winners of the California Young Reader Medal.

2010s | 2000s | 1990s | 1980s | 1970s

Find more children's book awards winners here.

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2010s

We Are in a Book! by Mo Willems

Year of Award: 2013

The Giant-Slayer by Iain Lawrence

Year of Award: 2013

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

Year of Award: 2013

Matched by Ally Condie

Year of Award: 2013

Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine and a Miracle by Brian Dennis

Year of Award: 2013

I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll

Year of Award: 2012

Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning by Danette Haworth

Year of Award: 2012

Every Soul a Star  by Wendy Mass

Year of Award: 2012

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Year of Award: 2012

Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine

Year of Award: 2012

Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale by Carmen Agra Deedy

Year of Award: 2011

Zorgamazoo by Robert Paul Weston

Year of Award: 2011

Cracker: The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata

Year of Award: 2011

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Year of Award: 2011

John, Paul, George & Ben by Lane Smith

Year of Award: 2011

Millie Waits for the Mail by Alexander Steffensmeier

Year of Award: 2010

No Talking  by Andrew Clements

Year of Award: 2010

Alabama Moon by Watt Key

Year of Award: 2010

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Year of Award: 2010

Owney: The Mail-Pouch Pooch by Mona Kerby

Year of Award: 2010

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2000s

Stanlely's Wild Ride by Linda Bailey

Year of Award: 2009

Sheep  by Valerie Hobbs

Year of Award: 2009

Heat by Mike Lupica

Year of Award: 2009

Sold by Patricia McCormick

Year of Award: 2009

Mystery at the Club Sandwich by Doug Cushman

Year of Award: 2009

Dex: The Heart of a Hero by (originally published as Superdog: The Heart of a Hero) Caralyn Buehner

Year of Award: 2008

Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles

Year of Award: 2008

The Schwa Was Here by Neal Shusterman

Year of Award: 2008

Private Peaceful by Michael Morpugo

Year of Award: 2008

Mr. Maxwell's Mouse by Frank Asch

Year of Award: 2008

My Lucky Day by Keiko Kasza

Year of Award: 2007

Christopher Mouse: The Tale of a Small Traveler by William Wise

Year of Award: 2007

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko

Year of Award: 2007

Shattering Glass by Gail Giles

Year of Award: 2007

Cats in Krasinski Square by Karen Hesse

Year of Award: 2007

Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook by Michael Garland

Year of Award: 2006

The Good Dog by Avi

Year of Award: 2006

12 Again by Sue Corbett

Year of Award: 2006

After by Francine Prose

Year of Award: 2006

Boxes for Katje by Candace Fleming and Stacey Dressen-McQueen

Year of Award: 2006

Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! by Candace Fleming and G. Brian Karas

Year of Award: 2005

Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech

Year of Award: 2005

Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements

Year of Award: 2005

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz

Year of Award: 2005

Mr. Lincoln's Way by Patricia Polacco

Year of Award: 2005

A Fine, Fine School by Sharon Creech

Year of Award: 2004

The School Story by Andrew Clements

Year of Award: 2004

Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen

Year of Award: 2004

Ties That Bind, Ties That Break by Lensey Namioka

Year of Award: 2004

And the Dish Ran Away With the Spoon by Janet Stevens

Year of Award: 2004

I Will Never, Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child

Year of Award: 2003

Because of Winn Dixie by Kate Dicamillo

Year of Award: 2003

Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen

Year of Award: 2003

Define "Normal" by Julie Anne Peters

Year of Award: 2003

The Babe and I by David Adler

Year of Award: 2003

Hooway for Wodney Wat by Helen Lester

Year of Award: 2002

Million Dollar Shot by Dan Gutman

Year of Award: 2002

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos

Year of Award: 2002

Bad by Jean Ferris

Year of Award: 2002

Weslandia by Paul Fleischman

Year of Award: 2002

Grandpa's Teeth by Rod Clement

Year of Award: 2001

Honus and Me: A Baseball Card Adventure by Dan Gutman

Year of Award: 2001

Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Year of Award: 2001

Armageddon Summer by Jane Yolen and Bruce Coville

Year of Award: 2001

Lost  by Paul Brett Johnson and Celeste Lewis

Year of Award: 2000

Riding Freedom by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Year of Award: 2000

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Year of Award: 2000

Breaking Boxes by A.M. Jenkins

Year of Award: 2000

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1990s

Livingstone Mouse by Pam Edwards

Year of Award: 1999

The 13th Floor: A Ghost Story by Sid Fleischman

Year of Award: 1999

Under the Blood-Red Sun by Graham Salisbury

Year of Award: 1999

The Only Alien on the Planet by Kristin Randle

Year of Award: 1999

Dog Breath by Dav Pilkey

Year of Award: 1998

The Junkyard Dog by Erika Tamar

Year of Award: 1998

The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis

Year of Award: 1998

Ironman by Chris Crutcher

Year of Award: 1998

Don't Fidget a Feather by Erica Silverman

Year of Award: 1997

Jennifer Murdley's Toad by Bruce Coville

Year of Award: 1997

Sparrow Hawk Red by Ben Mikaelsen

Year of Award: 1997

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher

Year of Award: 1997

Stellaluna by Janell Cannon

Year of Award: 1996

Time for Andrew: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn

Year of Award: 1996

Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick

Year of Award: 1996

Shadow of the Dragon by Sherry Garland

Year of Award: 1996

Martha Speaks  by Susan Meddaugh

Year of Award: 1995

Stonewords: A Ghost Story by Pam Conrad

Year of Award: 1995

Rescue Josh McGuire by Ben Mikaelsen

Year of Award: 1995

Downriver by Will Hobbs

Year of Award: 1995

High-Wire Henry by Mary Calhoun

Year of Award: 1994

Scared Stiff by Willo Davis Roberts

Year of Award: 1994

There's a Girl in My Hammerlock by Jerry Spinelli

Year of Award: 1994

We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier

Year of Award: 1994

Julius, the Baby of the World by Kevin Henkes

Year of Award: 1993

Fudge-a-Mania by Judy Blume

Year of Award: 1993

Something Upstairs by Avi

Year of Award: 1993

The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause

Year of Award: 1993

Never Spit on Your Shoes by Denys Cazet

Year of Award: 1992

All About Sam by Lois Lowry

Year of Award: 1992

Sniper by Theodore Taylor

Year of Award: 1992

 

 A Sudden Silence by Eve Bunting

Year of Award: 1992

Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester

Year of Award: 1991

Harry's Mad by Dick King-Smith

Year of Award: 1991

December Stillness by Mary Downing Hahn

Year of Award: 1991

Night Kites by M.E. Kerr

Year of Award: 1991

 

Eyes of the Dragon by Margaret Leaf

Year of Award: 1990

The War with Grandpa by Robert K. Smith

Year of Award: 1990

The Other Side of Dark by Joan Lowery Nixon

Year of Award: 1990

Izzy, Willy Nilly by Cynthia Voigt

Year of Award: 1990

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1980s

What Happened to Patrick's Dinosaurs? by Carol Carrick

Year of Award: 1989

The Castle in the Attic by Elizabeth Winthrop

Year of Award: 1989

The Stalker by Joan Lowery Nixon

Year of Award: 1989

The Face at the Edge of the World by Eve Bunting

Year of Award: 1989

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie  by Laura Joffe Numeroff

Year of Award: 1988

Be a Perfect Person in Just 3 Days by Stephen Manes

Year of Award: 1988

The Root Cellar by Janet Lunn

Year of Award: 1988

Interstellar Pig by William Sleator

Year of Award: 1988

The Napping House by Audrey Wood

Year of Award: 1987

The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright

Year of Award: 1987

You Shouldn't Have to Say Goodbye by Patricia Hermes

Year of Award: 1987

 

Pursuit by Michael French

Year of Award: 1987

Space Case by Edward Marshall

Year of Award: 1986

Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade by Barthe DeClements

Year of Award: 1986

Girl with the Silver Eyes by Willo Davis Roberts

Year of Award: 1986

The Darkangel by Meredith Pierce

Year of Award: 1986

 

 Herbie's Troubles by Carol Chapman

Year of Award: 1985

The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks

Year of Award: 1985

Taking Terri Mueller by Norma Fox Mazer

Year of Award: 1985

 

 The Truth Trap by Frances Miller

Year of Award: 1985

 

Bagdad At It by Phyllis Green

Year of Award: 1984

The Trouble with Tuck by Theodore Taylor

Year of Award: 1984

There's a Bat in Bunk Five by Paula Danziger

Year of Award: 1984

Stranger with My Face by Lois Duncan

Year of Award: 1984

Liza Lou and the Yeller Belly Swamp by Mercer Mayer

Year of Award: 1983

Superfudge by Judy Blume

Year of Award: 1983

Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume

Year of Award: 1983

Summer of Fear by Lois Duncan

Year of Award: 1983

Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard

Year of Award: 1982

 

 Hail, Hail, Camp Timberwood by Ellen Conford

Year of Award: 1982

Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls

Year of Award: 1981

A Summer to Die by Lois Lowry

Year of Award: 1981

Big Bad Bruce by Bill Peet

Year of Award: 1980

The Pinballs by Betsy Byars

Year of Award: 1980

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1970s

Danny, the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl

Year of Award: 1979

 

The Late Great Me by Sandra Scoppettone

Year of Award: 1979

Little Rabbit's Loose Tooth by Lucy Bate

Year of Award: 1978

Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers

Year of Award: 1977

Watership Down by Richard Adams

Year of Award: 1977

How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head by Bill Peet

Year of Award: 1976

How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

Year of Award: 1975

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