Books in NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Youth/Teens
The NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work - Youth/Teens recognizes books for young people by or about people of color that celebrate their achievements and experiences. Winners and nominees span middle grade novels, YA fiction, and occasionally picture books (e.g., Harbor Me, Ace of Spades, Before the Ever After). Readership ranges from about age 8 to older teens.
2024
| Book | Author | Award Level | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Everyone’s Thinking It | Aleema Omotoni | Winner | Log In To Like |
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Friday I’m in Love | Camryn Garrett | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Fatima Tate Takes the Cake | Khadijah VanBrakle | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Eb & Flow | Kelly J. Baptist | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Adia Kelbara and the Circle of Shamans | Isi Hendrix | Finalist | Log In To Like |
2023
| Book | Author | Award Level | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Cookies & Milk | Shawn Amos | Winner | Log In To Like |
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Maybe an Artist | Liz Montague | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Opening My Eyes Underwater: Essays on Hope, Humanity, and Our Hero Michelle Obama | Ashley Woodfolk | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Me and White Supremacy (Young Readers' Ed.) | Layla Saad | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Inheritance: A Visual Poem | Elizabeth Acevedo | Finalist | Log In To Like |
2022
| Book | Author | Award Level | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Ace of Spades | Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé | Winner | Log In To Like |
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Happily Ever Afters | Elise Bryant | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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When You Look Like Us | Pamela N. Harris | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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The Cost of Knowing | Brittney Morris | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Wings of Ebony | J. Elle | Finalist | Log In To Like |
2021
| Book | Author | Award Level | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Before the Ever After | Jacqueline Woodson | Winner | Log In To Like |
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Black Brother, Black Brother | Jewell Parker Rhodes | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Dear Justyce | Nic Stone | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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This Is Your Time | Ruby Bridges | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You | Jason Reynolds | Finalist | Log In To Like |
2020
| Book | Author | Award Level | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Around Harvard Square | Christopher John Farley | Winner | Log In To Like |
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Her Own Two Feet: A Rwandan Girl’s Brave Fight to Walk | Meredith Davis | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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I’m Not Dying with You Tonight | Gilly Segal | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Hot Comb | Ebony Flowers | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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The Forgotten Girl | India Hill Brown | Finalist | Log In To Like |
2019
| Book | Author | Award Level | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Harbor Me | Jacqueline Woodson | Winner | Log In To Like |
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We Are Not Yet Equal: Understanding our Racial Divide | Carol Anderson | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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The Journey of Little Charlie | Christopher Paul Curtis | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Chasing King’s Killer: The Hunt for Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Assassin | James L. Swanson | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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A Very Large Expanse of Sea | Tahereh Mafi | Finalist | Log In To Like |
2018
| Book | Author | Award Level | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Clayton Byrd Goes Underground | Rita Williams-Garcia | Winner | Log In To Like |
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The Hate U Give | Angie Thomas | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Solo | Kwame Alexander | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Allegedly | Tiffany D. Jackson | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Long Way Down | Jason Reynolds | Finalist | Log In To Like |
2017
| Book | Author | Award Level | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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As Brave as You | Jason Reynolds | Winner | Log In To Like |
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Riding Chance | Christine Kendall | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Two Naomis | Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Same But Different: Teen Life on the Autism Express | Holly Robinson Peete | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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The Hero Two Doors Down: Based on the True Story of Friendship Between a Boy and a Baseball Legend | Sharon Robinson | Finalist | Log In To Like |
2016
| Book | Author | Award Level | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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X: A Novel | Ilyasah Shabazz | Winner | Log In To Like |
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Rhythm Ride: A Road Trip Through the Motown Sound | Andrea Davis Pinkney | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Untwine | Edwidge Danticat | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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You Are Wonderfully Made: 12 Life-Changing Principles for Teen Girls to Embrace | Gwen Richardson | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Stella by Starlight | Sharon M. Draper | Finalist | Log In To Like |
2015
| Book | Author | Award Level | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Brown Girl Dreaming | Jacqueline Woodson | Winner | Log In To Like |
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The Red Pencil | Andrea Davis Pinkney | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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The Freedom Summer Murders | Don Mitchell | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Revolution | Deborah Wiles | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Because They Marched: The People’s Campaign for Voting Rights That Changed America | Russell Freedman | Finalist | Log In To Like |
2014
| Book | Author | Award Level | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles: America’s First Black Paratroopers | Tanya Lee Stone | Winner | Log In To Like |
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Serafina’s Promise | Ann E. Burg | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Invasion | Walter Dean Myers | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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God’s Graffiti: Inspiring Stories For Teens | Romal J. Tune | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Raising the Bar | Gabrielle Douglas | Finalist | Log In To Like |
2013
| Book | Author | Award Level | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Obama Talks Back: Global Lessons - A Dialogue With America’s Young Leaders | Barack Obama | Winner | Log In To Like |
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Fire in the Streets | Kekla Magoon | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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The Diary Of B. B. Bright, Possible Princess | Alice Randall | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Pinned | Sharon G. Flake | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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The Mighty Miss Malone | Christopher Paul Curtis | Finalist | Log In To Like |
2012
| Book | Author | Award Level | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Jesse Owens: I Always Loved Running | Jeff Burlingame | Winner | Log In To Like |
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Eliza’s Freedom Road: An Underground Railroad Diary | Jerdine Nolen | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Camo Girl | Kekla Magoon | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Planet Middle School | Nikki Grimes | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Kick | Walter Dean Myers | Finalist | Log In To Like |
2011
| Book | Author | Award Level | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Condoleezza Rice: A Memoir of My Extraordinary, Ordinary Family and Me | Condoleezza Rice | Winner | Log In To Like |
2010
| Book | Author | Award Level | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Michelle Obama: Meet the First Lady | David Bergen Brophy | Winner | Log In To Like |
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Just Another Hero | Sharon M. Draper | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Mare’s War | Tanita S. Davis | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice | Phillip Hoose | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Rock and the River | Kekla Magoon | Finalist | Log In To Like |
2009
| Book | Author | Award Level | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Letters to a Young Sister: Define Your Destiny | Hill Harper | Winner | Log In To Like |
2008
| Book | Author | Award Level | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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More Than Entertainers: An Inspirational Black Career Guide | C.B. Schooler | Winner | Log In To Like |
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The Shadow Speaker | Nnedi Okorafor | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow (The Center for Cartoon Studies Presents) | James Sturm | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Body Drama | Nancy Redd | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Divine Confidential | Jacquelin Thomas | Finalist | Log In To Like |
2007
| Book | Author | Award Level | Completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Letters to a Young Brother | Hill Harper | Winner | Log In To Like |
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Maya Angelou | Donna Brown Agins | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Copper Sun | Sharon M. Draper | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott | Russell Freedman | Finalist | Log In To Like |
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Superwoman's Child: Son of a Single Mother | J. L. Woodson | Finalist | Log In To Like |