Lee B. Hopkins Poetry Award Teaching Toolbox

Sunday, July 15, 2018

2018 Winner: ONE LAST WORD

The 2018 winner of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award is:

Grimes, Nikki. 2017. One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance. Bloomsbury.

For more information, check out the Pennsylvania Center for the Book.

Friday, February 17, 2017

2017 Winner: SOMOS COMO LAS NUBES/WE ARE LIKE THE CLOUDS

The 2017 winner of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award is:

Argueta, Jorge. 2016. Somos como las nubes/We are Like the Clouds. Toronto: Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press.

Jama Rattigan features this book in a lovely post here.

In addition, an honor book was selected-- Garvey's Choice by Nikki Grimes (Boyds Mills Press/Wordsong, 2016).

Friday, February 26, 2016

2016 Winner: ENCHANTED AIR

The 2016 winner of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award is:

Engle, Margarita. 2015. Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir. New York: Atheneum.

Click HERE for a reader's guide to Enchanted Air and HERE for Margarita Engle's website.

Friday, September 18, 2015

2015 Winner: THE CROSSOVER

The 2015 winner of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award is:

Alexander, Kwame. 2014. The Crossover. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Click HERE for a readers' guide for The Crossover.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

About the Award

The Lee Bennett Hopkins award was established in 1993 and is presented annually to an American poet or anthologist for the most outstanding new book of children's poetry published in the previous calendar year.

It is co-sponsored by Mr. Hopkins himself, the Pennsylvania State University Libraries, the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, and an additional sponsor, Pennsylvania School Librarians Association.

Since its inception, the winning poet or anthologist has received a handsome plaque and a $1000 honorarium made possible by Mr. Hopkins, himself a poet and anthologist.

Check out the official award web site here.

Lee Bennett Hopkins Award and Honor Books

2017 WINNER

Argueta, Jorge. 2016. Somos como las nubes/We are Like the Clouds. Toronto: Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press.

2017 HONOR BOOK

*Grimes, Nikki. 2016. Garvey's Choice by Nikki Grimes. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press/Wordsong.

2016 WINNER

Engle, Margarita. 2015. Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir. New York: Atheneum.

2015 HONOR BOOKS

*Brown, Calef. 2015. Hypnotize a Tiger: Poems About Just About Everything. New York: Henry Holt.

*Nelson, Marilyn. 2015. My Seneca Village. namelos.

2015 WINNER

Alexander, Kwame. 2014. The Crossover. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

2015 HONOR BOOK

*Janeczko, Paul. Ed. 2014. Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems. Ill. by Melissa Sweet. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

2014 WINNER

Cheng, Andrea. 2013. Etched in Clay: The Life of Dave, Enslaved Potter and Poet. Lee & Low Books.

2014 HONOR BOOKS

*Koertge, Ron. 2013. Coaltown Jesus. Candlewick Press.

*Singer, Marilyn. 2013. Rutherford B., Who Was He?: Poems About Our Presidents. Ill. by John Hendrix. Disney-Hyperion.

2013 WINNER

Coombs, Kate. 2012. Water Sings Blue: Ocean Poems. Ill. by Meilo So. San Francisco: Chronicle.

(No honor books were selected.)

2012 WINNER

Wardlaw, Lee. 2011. Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku. Henry Holt.

2012 HONOR BOOK

Frost, Helen. 2011. Hidden. Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

2011 WINNER

Millen, C. M. 2010. The Ink Garden of Brother Theophane. Charlesbridge.

2011 HONOR BOOK

Sidman, Joyce. 2010. Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

2010 WINNER
Schertle, Alice. 2009. Button Up. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

2010
HONOR BOOKS

*Franco, Betsy. 2009. A Curious Collection of Cats. Tricycle Press.

*Frost, Helen. 2009. Crossing Stones. Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

*Hoberman, Mary Ann and Winston, Linda. 2009. The Tree that Time Built; A Celebration of Nature, Science, and Imagination. Sourcebooks.

2009 WINNER

Frost, Helen. 2008. Diamond Willow. Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

2009 HONOR BOOKS

*McKissack, Patricia. 2008. Stitchin’ and Pullin’ a Gee’s Bend Quilt. Random House.

*Engle, Margarita. 2008. The Surrender Tree; Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom. Henry Holt.

2008 WINNER

Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2007. Birmingham, 1963. Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.

2008 HONOR BOOKS

*Grandits, John. 2007. Blue Lipstick: Concrete Poems. Clarion.

*Sidman, Joyce. 2007. This is Just to Say; Poems of Apology and Forgiveness. Houghton Mifflin.

2007 WINNER

Myers, Walter Dean. 2006. Jazz. Holiday House.

2007 HONOR BOOKS

*Prelutsky, Jack. 2006. Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant. Greenwillow.

*Frost, Helen. 2006. The Braid. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

*Siebert, Diane. 2006. Tour America: A Journey through Poems and Art. Chronicle.

2006 WINNER

Sidman, Joyce. 2005. Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems. Houghton Mifflin.

2006 HONOR BOOKS

*Nelson, Marilyn. 2005. A Wreath for Emmett Till. Houghton Mifflin.

*Nye, Naomi Shihab. 2005. A Maze Me: Poems for Girls. Greenwillow.

2005 WINNER

Myers, Walter Dean. 2004. Here in Harlem: Poems in Many Voices. Holiday House.

2005 HONOR BOOKS

*Nye, Naomi Shihab, ed. 2004. Is This Forever, or What? Poems and Paintings from Texas. Greenwillow.

*Singer, Marilyn. 2004. Creature Carnival. New York: Hyperion.

2004 WINNER

Mitchell, Stephen. 2003. The Wishing Bone and Other Poems. Candlewick.

2004 HONOR BOOKS

*Ackerman, Diane. 2003. Animal Sense. Knopf.

*Keyser, Samuel Jay. 2003. The Pond God and Other Stories. Front Street.

*Myers, Walter Dean. 2003. Blues Journey. Holiday House.

*Smith, Hope Anita. 2003. The Way a Door Closes. Henry Holt.

2003 WINNER

Levy, Constance. 2002. Splash! Poems of Our Watery World. Orchard.

2003 HONOR BOOKS

*Adoff, Jaime. 2002. The Song Shoots Out of My Mouth. Dutton.

*Testa, Maria. 2002. Becoming Joe DiMaggio. Candlewick.

*Wayland, April Halprin. 2002. Girl Coming in for a Landing: A Novel in Poems. Knopf.

2002 WINNER

Hines, Anna Grossnickle. 2001. Pieces: A Year in Poems and Quilts. Greenwillow.

2002 HONOR BOOKS

*High, Linda Oatman. 2001. A Humble Life: Plain Poems. Eerdmans.

*Janeczko, Paul B, comp. 2001. A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems. Candlewick.

*Smith, Charles R., Jr. 2001. Short Takes: Fast-Break Basketball Poetry. New York: Dutton.

2001 WINNER

Rosenberg, Liz, ed. 2001. Light-gathering Poems. Henry Holt.

2001 HONOR BOOK

Janeczko, Paul B, comp. 2000. Stone Bench in an Empty Park. Orchard.

2000 WINNER

Nye, Naomi Shihab, comp. 1999. What Have You Lost? Greenwillow.

2000 HONOR BOOKS

*Johnston, Tony. 1999. An Old Shell: Poems of the Galapagos. Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

*Wong, Janet. 1999. The Rainbow Hand: Poems about Mothers and Children. Margaret McElderry.

1999 WINNER

Johnson, Angela. 1998. The Other Side: Shorter Poems. Orchard.

1998 WINNER

George, Kristine O’Connell. 1997. The Great Frog Race and Other Poems. Clarion.

1997 WINNER

Bouchard, Dave. 1996. Voices from the Wild. Chronicle.

1996 WINNER

Esbensen, Barbara Juster. 1995. Dance with Me. HarperCollins.

1995 WINNER

Florian, Douglas. 1994. Beast Feast: Poems and Paintings. Harcourt Brace.

1994 WINNER

Wood, Nancy. 1993. Spirit Walker. Doubleday.

1993 WINNER

Bryan, Ashley. 1992. Sing to the Sun. HarperCollins.

Award Criteria

The award criteria specify that “good poetry is imaginative. It deals with emotion and has significance beyond the act of creation. It uses figurative language, yet is compact in thought and expression. Good poetry has an element of beauty and truth which appears unstable outside of the poem. The book which wins the Lee Bennett Hopkins Award for Children's Poetry must be accessible to children and its presentation must serve the poem or poems in an attractive and appropriate manner.” In recent years, the committee has also cited several honor books each year.

Want help selecting and sharing the best books of poetry for young people?