2020 MLA YOUPER (Young Person) AWARD

The YouPer Award Work Group, chaired by Killian Weston, Youth Services Librarian, Bloomfield Township Public Library, read a total of 128 titles and logged more than 2080 hours reading, evaluating and discussing the best chapter books for youth published in 2019.

2020 YouPer Award Work Group

Chair: Killian Weston, Bloomfield Township Public Library
Vice-chair: Brittany Wesner, Clinton-Macomb Public Library
Lisa Boyd, Canton Public Library
Robert Chartrand, Capital Area District Libraries
Heather Draft, Cromaine District Library
Whitney Hagen, Paw Paw District Library
Jessica Keeler, Wayne State University
Jamie Klos, Clarkston Independence District Library
Nakenya Lewis-Yarbrough, Belleville Area District Library
Lynn Pearce, Clinton-Macomb Public Library
Andrea Smalley, Portage District Library

group photo of 2020 Youper work group

Pictured left to right: Lynn Pearce, Robert Chartrand, Nakenya Lewis-Yarbrough, Brittany Wesner, Killian Weston, Jamie Klos Not pictured: Lisa Boyd, Heather Draft, Whitney Hagen, Jessica Keeler, Andrea Smalley (Photo taken in 2019)

2020 YouPer Award Winner

Planet Earth Is Blue book cover with YouPer Award winner seal The winner of the 2020 YouPer (Young Person) award is Planet Earth Is Blue by Nicole Panteleakos, published by Wendy Lamb Books.

In Planet Earth is Blue, Nova has passed from foster home to foster home, along with her older sister Bridget, for most of her life. When she finds herself in a new foster home without her sister – the only person who didn’t dismiss her as severely autistic and nonverbal – Nova clings to their shared love of astronomy and Bridget’s promise that they would watch the upcoming launch of the Challenger together.

"In the YouPer Award Work Group's final vote, Planet Earth is Blue became the clear winner for the year. While many of the titles we read were wonderful, the group felt the book’s main character, Nova, is entirely unique in children’s literature and offers readers a different perspective on autism than our group had seen represented before. This representation allows for a greater understanding of neurodiversity among readers," said Work Group Chair Killian Weston, Youth Services Librarian, Bloomfield Township Public Library. "Ultimately, we chose a winner we felt had an exceptionally unique protagonist who gives readers a window into a world not easily expressed, offered opportunities for parents and children to discuss more recent history, and was so beautifully written that it tugged at everyone’s heartstrings."

2020 YouPer Award Honor Books

Images of 2020 YouPer honor book covers with text that says Honor Books

The 2020 YouPer Award Honor Books include The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James by Ashley Herring Blake, published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Sal & Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez, published by Rick Riordan Presents; Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia, published by Rick Riordan Presents.