We Need Diverse Books Announces

The 2025 Walter Dean Myers Awards and Honor Books

for Outstanding Children’s Literature

Teen and Younger Readers Categories

February 4, 2025

BETHESDA, MD — The We Need Diverse Books Walter Awards Judging Committee has selected the Winners and Honorees for the tenth annual Walter Dean Myers Awards for Outstanding Children’s Literature.

The Awards comprise two categories: Teen (ages 13-18) and Younger Readers (ages 9-13). One Winner and one Honor Book have been named in each category.

2025 Walter Award, Younger Readers Category

Shark Teethby Sherri Winston
(Bloomsbury Children's Books)

2025 Walter Honors, Younger Readers Category

The Creepening of Dogwood House by Eden Royce

(Walden Pond Press, HarperCollins)

2025 Walter Award, Teen Category

Black Girl You Are Atlasby Renée Watson and illustrated by Ekua Holmes
(Kokila/Penguin Random House)

2025 Walter Honors, Teen Category

A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur

(Feiwel & Friends)

The 2025 Walter Awards will be held on Friday, April 11, 2025, in Washington, DC, at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. The event will include a panel discussion with the winners and honorees, centered around the theme “Many Voices, One World,” followed by a Q&A.

The Walter Dean Myers Award, also known as “The Walter,” is named for prolific children’s and young adult author Walter Dean Myers (1937-2014). Myers was the third National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, appointed in 2012 by the Library of Congress. He was a champion of diversity in children’s books. The Walter Awards commemorate Myers’ memory and his literary legacy, as well as celebrate diversity in children’s literature.

The 2025 Walter Awards Judging Committee: Jenell Igeleke Penn (Chair), Dr. Shanetia P. Clark (Vice Chair), Jolynn Asato, Aleksandra (Sasha) Dowdy, Shoshana Flax, Erica Jones, Jabari Sellars, Yasmeen Shorish, Jenna Wolf

Walter Award Co-directors: Kathie Weinberg and Yukari Matsuyama

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About WNDB: is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that runs ten exciting initiatives united under one goal—to create a world where everyone can find themselves in the pages of a book. Established in 2014, WNDB strives to support and amplify diverse literature by mentoring marginalized creators, providing resources to diverse publishing professionals, and donating diverse books to schools and libraries nationwide. Learn more atdiversebooks.org.