Kirkus Best Books of the Year - Empowering Picture Books (Awarded by Kirkus)

Awards List

2023

What Happened to You?
(*)
James Catchpole

We Are Here
(*)
Tami Charles

Sometimes It's Nice to Be Alone
(*)
Amy Hest

Friends Beyond Measure
(*)
Lalena Fisher

My Powerful Hair
(*)
Carole Lindstrom

Big
(*)
Vashti Harrison

The Good Hair Day
(*)
Christian Trimmer

When You Can Swim
(*)
Jack Wong

Salat in Secret
(*)
Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow

Greenlight
(*)
Breanna Carzoo

Everybody Has a Body
(*)
Molli Jackson Ehlert

The Artivist
(*)
Nikkolas Smith

Mole Is Not Alone
(*)
Maya Tatsukawa

Not He or She, I'm Me
(*)
A.M. Wild

2022

Samira Surfs
(*)
Rukhsanna Guidroz

The Year We Learned to Fly
(*)
Jacqueline Woodson

Beauty Woke
(*)
Nonieqa Ramos

I Am Golden
(*)
Eva Chen

Gibberish
(*)
Young Vo

The Great Zapfino
(*)
Mac Barnett

Tomatoes in My Lunchbox
(*)
Costantia Manoli

Everything in Its Place
(*)
Pauline David-Sax

Patchwork
(*)
Matt De La Pena

Black Gold
(*)
Laura Obuobi

My Fade Is Fresh
(*)
Shauntay Grant

Award Categories

Affirming Picture Books

Bedtime Books

Beginning Readers

Board Books

Book Club Fiction

Books for Beginning Readers

Debut Fiction

Empowering Picture Books

Environmental Fiction

Fiction

Fiction in Translation

Fictional Families

Fictional Voices

Funniest Picture Books

Historical Fiction

Informational Picture Books

Joyous Picture Books

Middle-Grade About Speaking Up

Middle-Grade Activist

Middle-Grade Adventures

Middle-Grade Family Stories

Middle-Grade Fantasy and SF

Middle-Grade Fiction

Middle-Grade Friendship Stories

Middle-Grade Graphic Fiction

Award Years

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019