2019 Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Winners and Honor Books

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Van Thanh Rudd. A child in an unnamed village "where we live inside our mud-for-walls home" describes the diversions of daily life, including zooming about with "my crazy brothers" on a "patchwork bike" built of scrap. Clarke's spare, mellifluous language is hand-lettered on Rudd's rough, tactile paintings composed of heavy acrylic paint on recycled cardboard. The illustration choices reflect the book's theme--exposing the harsh reality of life while acknowledging the resilience that comes from homemade joy.

Reviewer: Thom Barthelmess | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2018

(1) K-3 Two "migrantes," a mother and her infant son, arrive on "the other side." Here they meet cultural challenges (customs, language) that are resolved at the San Francisco Public Library, with its "unimaginable" wealth of books that offer paths to literacy, community, even a career. Occasional Spanish words enrich the succinct, gently poetic text, illustrated with rich and vibrant pen-and-ink, acrylic, and collage art. Back matter sets the narrative in personal and historical context. Concurrently published in Spanish as Soñadores.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2018

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Frané Lessac. An extended family engages with activities and traditions that express gratitude and carry on Cherokee history and culture. Simultaneously, the book incorporates modernity and challenges dated images of Indigenous people. Cheerful, richly detailed gouache illustrations in bright, saturated colors cycle through the seasons. The text includes several Cherokee words (their English and Cherokee spellings, phonetic pronunciation, and definition); a complete Cherokee syllabary concludes this attractive and informative book. Glos.

Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2018

(1) 4-6 Narrator Caleb and older brother Bobby Gene meet Styx Malone, a mysterious, lanky, smooth-talking teenager who adds excitement to their otherwise humdrum summer in small-town Indiana. The boys embark on a journey that encompasses rule-breaking, laugh-out-loud humor, and nail-biting adventure, while exploring the importance of family ties and deep friendships. Spending time with Styx, Caleb, and Bobby Gene is an experience no reader will soon forget.

Reviewer: Monique Harris | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2018

(2) YA Sophomore Darius Kellner struggles with clinical depression, disconnection from the Persian half of his heritage, and constant awareness of his (white) father's disappointment in him. While visiting his grandparents in Iran, Darius meets Sohrab, a Bahá'i young man, and a tender and natural friendship begins. Khorram's debut novel is an affectionate portrait of Iran and an exploration of understanding one's identity--both personally and culturally.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2018

(1) YA Sixteen-year-old Bri attends a public arts high school and dreams of being a rapper like her late father. After winning a rap battle in her neighborhood, doors start to open--but at a price Bri isn't sure she's willing to pay. Thomas's sharp, even piercing, characterization includes a remarkably well-rounded cast. A richly woven love letter to hip-hop, with Bri's lyrics and her thought process behind them included throughout.

Reviewer: Christina L. Dobbs | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(2) 4-6 In 1956 Clinton, Tennessee, twelve African American students integrated the all-white high school. Boyce, one of the "Clinton 12," relates (with coauthor Levy) her first-person account in free-verse passages that often include rhyme and employ various poetic forms. Newspaper headlines and clips, excerpts from the Constitution, and more appear throughout this fine addition to books about the integration of public schools during the civil rights era. Reading list, timeline. Bib.

Reviewer: Jonda C. McNair | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019

(1) YA In this sophisticated graphic memoir, Krosoczka recounts the triumphs and tragedies he experienced being raised by his grandparents. Regularly left in the dark regarding his family, Krosoczka eventually learns of his mother's addiction to heroin and of her habitual incarceration. Krosoczka's actual childhood art (from early crayon drawings to high-school gag comics) and handwritten letters are seamlessly inserted into the gracefully rendered, limited-palette illustrations.

Reviewer: Patrick Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2018

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Jason Chin. Nine pithy, five-line stanzas trace a fetus's development in utero; the story also follows a Latinx family happily awaiting a baby's arrival. As the watercolor and gouache illustrations' left-hand pages track the fetus's transformation, right-hand pages show slice-of-life scenes of the mom, dad, and soon-to-be big sister. A clever, joyful celebration of the nine months leading up to a baby's birth, appended with further details about gestational development. Bib.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019