2022 Walter Awards Winners and Honorees
The Walter Dean Myers Awards for Outstanding Children's Literature recognize diverse authors whose works feature diverse main characters and address diversity in a meaningful way.
Firekeeper's Daughter
By Angeline Boulley
Narrated by: Isabella Star LaBlanc
Length: 14 hours 13 minutes
Firekeeper's Daughter
“Daunis Fontaine, a bi-racial Ojibwe-Italian-American girl has just graduated high school and has deferred enrollment at the University of Michigan to attend the local state school. She plans to spend more time with her best friend Lily, her ailing Grandmother, and her mom who was recently rocked by the sudden death of her brother, Daunis’ uncle. But then tragedy strikes, and Daunis is the eyewitness. And she is thrown headfirst into an FBI investigation of meth addiction and distribution within the reservation her family lives on and the greater Upper Peninsula area. A nuanced and compassionate look at addiction and the justice system and the risks one girl takes to help her friends, her community, and herself. The truth is a tangled web that it seems only Daunis is willing to carefully pick apart to not only expose the criminals but heal the victims as well. A little bit of romance, a little bit thriller, a whole bunch of hockey, STEM nerds, Firekeeper’s Daughter was engaging and gripping. PS I desperately need an Auntie spin-off.”
Cassie, Wellesley Books
Last Night at the Telegraph Club
By Malinda Lo
Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
Length: 12 hours 25 minutes
Acclaimed author of Ash Malinda Lo returns with her most personal and ambitious novel yet, a gripping story of love and duty set in San Francisco's Chinatown during the 1950s.
"That book. It was about two women, and they fell in love with each other." And then Lily asked the question that had taken root in her, that was even now unfurling its... Read more »
Revolution in Our Time
The Black Panther Party's Promise to the People
By Kekla Magoon
Narrated by: Tyla Collier
Length: 7 hours 47 minutes
With passion and precision, Kekla Magoon relays an essential account of the Black Panthers—as militant revolutionaries and as human rights advocates working to defend and protect their community.
In this comprehensive, inspiring, and all-too-relevant history of the Black Panther Party, Kekla Magoon introduces readers to the Panthers’ community... Read more »
Red, White, and Whole
By Rajani LaRocca
Narrated by: Priya Ayyar
Length: 2 hours 38 minutes
Newbery Honor Book! A heartbreakingly hopeful novel in verse about an Indian American girl whose life is turned upside down when her mother is diagnosed with leukemia.
* Walter Award Winner * New England Book Award Winner * An NCTE Notable Verse Novel * Golden Kite Award Winner * Crystal Kite Award Winner * Goodreads Choice Nominee * A...
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Root Magic
By Eden Royce
Narrated by: Imani Parks
Length: 9 hours 54 minutes
“A poignant, necessary entry into the children’s literary canon, Root Magic brings to life the history and culture of Gullah people while highlighting the timeless plight of Black Americans. Add in a fun, magical adventure and you get everything I want in a book!”—Justina Ireland, New York Times bestselling author of Dread Nation
Debut author...
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