On Monday, June 23, 2025 at 12 pm EDT, Horn Book Editor in Chief Elissa Gershowitz announced the 2025 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winners. If you want to relive the excitement, you can watch the archived video here:

2025 BOSTON GLOBE–HORN BOOK AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Prestigious Program Honors Excellence in Literature for Children and Young Adults

Boston, MA — June 23, 2025 — The Horn Book, Inc., established in 1924, has announced the 2025 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winners. First presented in 1967, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards celebrate excellence in children’s and young adult literature.

Winners and honor books were selected in the following categories: Picture Book, Fiction, and Nonfiction. The winning titles must be first U.S. editions of books published between June 2024 and May 2025 but may be written or illustrated by citizens of any country.

“The Boston Globe and The Horn Book have enjoyed an extraordinary partnership for almost sixty years," said Linda Henry, CEO of Boston Globe Media and Chair of the Boston Globe Foundation. "Our ongoing tradition of hosting the prestigious Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards together gives us the opportunity to celebrate and shine a light on the incredible authors and illustrators who are transforming and enriching the world of children's and young adult literature. It’s an honor to recognize their passion, creativity, and lasting impact on readers of all ages; the stories and artwork honored this year both inspire and compel us to think in new ways.”

“This year’s winners and honorees represent such a wide range of what books for young people can be and say,” said Elissa Gershowitz, Editor in Chief of The Horn Book, Inc. “Especially at a time when creative voices are being threatened and silenced, we are proud to recognize children’s book creators whose work is so uniquely their own. As always, we are thrilled to partner with The Boston Globe in celebration of excellence in literature for young people.”

The 2025 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winners are:

PICTURE BOOK AWARD WINNER:

I Know How to Draw an Owl by Hilary Horder Hippely; illustrated by Matt James (Neal Porter Books, an imprint of Holiday House Publishing, Inc.)

Read the Horn Book's review.

FICTION AWARD WINNER:

Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay (Kokila, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC)

Read the Horn Book's review.

NONFICTION AWARD WINNER:

Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown by Candace Fleming (Anne Schwartz Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC)

Read the Horn Book's review.

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PICTURE BOOK HONOR BOOKS:

• Nose to Nose by Thyra Heder (Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS)
• My Daddy Is a Cowboy by Stephanie Seales; illustrated by C. G. Esperanza (Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS)

Read the Horn Book's reviews.

FICTION HONOR BOOKS:

• Oasis by Guojing (Godwin Books, an imprint of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group)
• Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White (Peachtree Teen, an imprint of Peachtree Publishing Company Inc.)

Read the Horn Book's reviews.

NONFICTION HONOR BOOKS:

• Uprooted: A Memoir About What Happens When Your Family Moves Back by Ruth Chan (Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership)
• Up, Up, Ever Up!: Junko Tabei: A Life in the Mountains by Anita Yasuda; illustrated by Yuko Shimizu (Clarion Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers)

Read the Horn Book's reviews.

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The awards are chosen by an independent panel of three judges appointed by the Horn Book Editor in Chief. The 2025 Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards judges are: chair Susannah Richards, professor, literacy and literature for youth, education, Eastern Connecticut State University; Julie Hakim Azzam, a communications project manager at Carnegie Mellon University and a Calling Caldecott blog coauthor; and Hill Saxton, senior librarian of youth services at the Cambridge (MA) Public Library. Winners and honorees will be celebrated in autumn 2025.

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About Boston Globe Media

Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC ("BGMP") is a 153-year-old modern multimedia organization that provides award-winning news, entertainment, and commentary across multiple brands and platforms. BGMP offers leading integrated advertising solutions that connect communities, ideas, and causes through powerful storytelling and multimedia experiences. BGMP properties include The Boston Globe, Globe.com, Boston.com, STAT, Globe Publishing Services, Globe Events, and Studio/B.

About The Horn Book, Inc.

First published in 1924, The Horn Book Magazine provides its readership with in-depth reviews of the best new books for children and young adults as well as articles, interviews, and editorials. The Horn Book website, hbook.com, provides digital access to the Magazine and additional content including commentary, more reviews, and recommended reading lists. The Horn Book Magazine is a publication of Media Source, Inc., which is also the parent company of Library Journal, School Library Journal, Junior Library Guild, and AKJ Education. For more information, visit hbook.com.

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For reviews of the winning titles and more, click on the tag BGHB25.