Announcing the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award 2022 Finalists

New York, N.Y–(December 3, 2021)–The Jane Addams Peace Association is delighted to announce the finalist titles under consideration for the 2022 Jane Addams Children’s Book Award. Please find the exemplary 2022 Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Finalists for Younger and Older Children listed at the conclusion of this release.

The Peace Association will announce winning and honor books from among these finalists on January 14, 2022. Awards will be presented to the winning and honored authors and illustrators at a hybrid ceremony in late Spring 2022. All are invited, whether they be in classrooms, libraries or at home.

Since 1953, the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award has annually recognized children’s books of literary and aesthetic excellence that effectively engage children in thinking about peace, social justice, global community, and equity for all people. A national committee of members with passion for and expertise in children’s literature and social justice is responsible for making the choices each year.

We believe that these books and others like them can open up conversations between children and their adult–teachers, librarians and caregiver–about what is happening in the world around them and how they can be changemakers in their own families and communities. We hope that promoting our final contenders in this way will serve to highlight a greater number of excellent children’s books that can deepen understanding of peace and justice.

A special thanks to the Hastings Peace and Justice Fund for their generous support of the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award for many years.

2022 Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Finalist Titles for Younger Children

Ambitious Girl. Meena Harris, illustrated by Marissa Valdez. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Be Strong. Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Jen Hill. Roaring Brook Press.

The Highest Tribute; Thurgood Marshall’s Life, Leadership and Legacy. Kekla Magoon, illustrated by Laura Freeman. Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins.

Nicky & Vera: A Quiet Hero of the Holocaust and the Children he Rescued. Peter Sis, illustrated by Peter Sis. Norton Young Readers.

Nina: A Story of  Nina Simone. Traci N. Todd, illustrated by Christian Robinson. G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers.

Opening the Road: Victor Hugo and His Green Book. Keila V. Dawson, illustrated by Alleanna Harris. Beaming Books.

The People’s  Painter: How Ben Shahn Fought For Justice With Art Cynthia Levinson, illustrated by Evan Turk. Abrams Books for Young Readers.

Runaway: The Daring Escape of Ona Judge. Ray Anthony Shepard, illustrated by Keith Mallett. Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers.

She Caught the Light: Williamina Stevens Fleming: Astronomer. Kathryn Lasky, illustrated by Julianna Swaney. HarperCollins.

Shirley Chisholm Dared: The Story of the First Black Woman in Congress. Alicia D. Williams, illustrated by April Harrison. Anne Schwartz Books.

Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre. Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper. Carolrhoda Books.

We Are Still Here: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know. Traci Sorrell, illustrated by Frane Lessac. Charlesbridge Publishing.

2022 Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Finalist Titles for Older Children

Barefoot Dreams of  Petra Luna. Alda P. Dobbs. Sourcebooks Young Readers.

How To Find What  You’re Not Looking For. Veera Hiranandani. Kokila.

Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem  Renaissance. Nikki Grimes, Illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton, Cozbi A. Cabrera, Nina Crews, Pat Cummings, Laura   Freeman, Jan Spivey Gilchrist, Ebony Glenn, Xia Gordon, April Harrison, Vashti Harrison, Ekua Holmes, Cathy Ann Johnson, Keisha Morris, Daria Peoples-Riley, Andrea Pippins, Erin Robinson, Shadra Strickland, Nicole Tadgell, and Elizabeth Zunon. Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

Linked. Gordon Korman. Scholastic Inc.

Ophie’s Ghosts. Justina Ireland. Balzer & Bray/HarperTeen.

Race Against Time:  The Untold Story of  Scipio Jones and The Battle To SaveTwelve Innocent Men. Sandra Neil Wallace & Rich Wallace. Calkins Creek Books.

Rez Dogs. Joseph Bruchac. Dial Books.

Stamped (For Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You. Jason Reynolds and IBram X. Kendi, adapted by Sonja Cherry-Paul, illustrated by Rachelle Baker. Little, Brook Books for Young Readers.

Starfish. Lisa Fipps. Nancy Paulsen Books.

Strong as Fire, Fierce As Flame. Supriya Kelkar. Tu Books.

Treasure of the World. Tara Sullivan. G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books For Young Readers.

Unsettled. Reem Faruqi. HarperCollins.