Kirkus Best Books of the Year - Middle-Grade Fiction (Awarded by Kirkus)

Awards List

2023

Tiger Daughter
(*)
Rebecca Lim

The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels
(*)
Beth Lincoln

The Book That No One Wanted to Read
(*)
Richard Ayoade

How to Make a Movie in 12 Days
(*)
Fiona Hardy

The Eyes and the Impossible
(*)
Dave Eggers

The Notorious Scarlett and Browne
(*)
Jonathan Stroud

The Remarkable Rescue at Milkweed Meadow
(*)
Elaine Dimopoulos

How to Stay Invisible
(*)
Maggie C. Rudd

Salsa Magic
(*)
Letisha Marrero

The Dreamatics
(*)
Michelle Cuevas

Flying Up the Mountain
(*)
Elizabeth Irene-Baitie

Pine Island Visitors
(*)
Polly Horvath

Treasure Island
(*)
Jewell Parker Rhodes

2022

Storm
(*)
Nicola Skinner

How to Catch a Queen
(*)
Alyssa Cole

Worser
(*)
Jennifer Ziegler

Shine On, Luz Veliz!
(*)
Rebecca Balcarcel

The Language of Seabirds
(*)
Will Taylor

Iveliz Explains It All
(*)
Andrea Beatriz Arango

Merci Suarez Plays It Cool
(*)
Meg Medina

They Call Her Fregona
(*)
David Bowles

Wildoak
(*)
C.C. Harrington

Holler of the Fireflies
(*)
David Barclay Moore

Lolo's Light
(*)
Liz Garton Scanlon

Nikhil Out Loud
(*)
Maulik Pancholy

The Real Dada Mother Goose
(*)
Jon Scieszka

Roll for Initiative
(*)
Jaime Formato

What the Jaguar Told Her
(*)
Alex V. Mendez

2021

Can You Whistle, Johanna?
(*)
Ulf Stark

Boy Meets Ghoul
(*)
Birdie Milano

Knight of the Cape
(*)
Terry Catasus Jennings

The House That Wasn't There
(*)
Elana K. Arnold

Merci Suarez Can't Dance
(*)
Meg Medina

Jo Jo Makoons: The Used-to-Be Best Friend
(*)
Dawn Quigley

Ways to Grow Love
(*)
Renee Watson

Maya and the Robot
(*)
Eve L. Ewing

Temple Alley Summer
(*)
Sachiko Kashiwaba

Cold-Blooded Myrtle
(*)
Elizabeth C. Bunce

The Mailbox in the Forest
(*)
Kyoko Hara

2020

From the Desk of Zoe Washington
(*)
Janae Marks

Martin McLean, Middle School Queen
(*)
Alyssa Zaczek

Accidental Trouble Magnet
(*)
Zanib Mian

Small Mercies
(*)
Bridget Krone

When You Trap a Tiger
(*)
Tae Keller

Mananaland
(*)
Pam Munoz Ryan

The Only Black Girls in Town
(*)
Brandy Colbert

Stand Up, Yumi Chung!
(*)
Jessica Kim

Efren Divided
(*)
Ernesto Cisneros

Rick
(*)
Alex Gino

What Lane?
(*)
Torrey Maldonado

When Stars Are Scattered
(*)
Victoria Jamieson; Omar Mohamed

Music for Tigers
(*)
Michelle Kadarusman

Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe
(*)
Carlos Hernandez

Santiago's Road Home
(*)
Alexandra Diaz

The Ship We Built
(*)
Lexie Bean

Brother's Keeper
(*)
Julie Lee

In the Role of Brie Hutchens...
(*)
Nicole Melleby

Something to Say
(*)
Lisa Moore Ramee

Everything Sad Is Untrue
(*)
Daniel Nayeri

Fighting Words
(*)
Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Before the Ever After
(*)
Jacqueline Woodson

Boy Meets Hamster
(*)
Birdie Milano

The Canyon's Edge
(*)
Dusti Bowling

Fly on the Wall
(*)
Remy Lai

Land of the Cranes
(*)
Aida Salazar

The Maps of Memory: Return to Butterfly Hill
(*)
Marjorie Agosin

Skunk and Badger
(*)
Amy Timberlake

Flying Over Water
(*)
N.H. Senzai

Yara's Spring
(*)
Sharon McKay

Serena Says
(*)
Tanita S. Davis

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