Winners Announced for 2025 Américas Award
Did you know CLACS was a 1993 co-founder of the Américas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature? CLACS Associate Director Emerita, Julie Kline, teamed up with colleagues at other centers for Latin American studies to establish this honor, which now designates an exceptional (and still growing!) catalogue of titles.
Each year the committee recognizes two winners – one picture book and one young adult or middle-grade book – and may additionally recognize up to four honor books and other titles commended for their cultural and pedagogical value.
Following a record number of submissions for the 2025 award (all books published in 2024), the award committee recently recruited enthusiastic young students to share a joyful announcement video (Instagram / Facebook) to announce the winners and honor titles:
2025 winners
- Daughter of the Light-Footed People, Belen Medina, illustrated by Natalia Rojas Castro
- Libertad, Bessie Flores Zaldivar
2025 honor titles
- Churro Stand, Karina N. Gonzalez, illustrated by Krystal Quiles
- Freedom Braids, Monique Duncan, illustrated by Oboh Moses
- Canto Contigo, Jonny Garza Villa
- When the Mapou Sings, Nadine Pinede
Interested in using these books in your own classroom, or sharing them with other children in your life? Check out these resources!
As a founder of the Américas Award, UWM CLACS receives a copy of all award submissions to continue maintaining the Américas Research Collection at UWM.
The Américas Award serves to: (1) recognize the work of authors and illustrators who sensitively portray Latin American, Caribbean, or Latinx cultures in their work; (2) encourage the publication and circulation of such books; (3) provide teachers with potential classroom resources; and (4) offer librarians suggestions for culturally diverse collection development.
Please share these titles with your local public and school libraries, and stay tuned for a December 2025 storytime event at UWM with past winners!