The 2022 shortlists for the UK’s longest running and most prestigious book awards for children and young people were announced on Wednesday 16th March.

The Yoto Carnegie Greenaway Awards celebrate outstanding achievement in children’s writing and illustration respectively. This year’s 16 shortlisted books – eight for the Yoto Carnegie Medal and eight for the Yoto Kate Greenaway Medal – were chosen from a longlist of 33 titles by a team of children’s and youth librarians from across the UK. The shortlists include debut as well as established authors and illustrators, including two double Kate Greenaway Medal winners – Sydney Smith (2018 & 2021) and Emily Gravett (2005 & 2008).

Themes of friendship and embracing difference, and a strong emphasis on real-life events are key features across both shortlists, which also include novels in verse, a story told through prose and manga, and two wordless picture books.

Congratulations to all the shortlisted authors and illustrators!

Yoto Carnegie Medal Shortlist 2022

October, October by Katya Balen, illustrated by Angela Harding (Bloomsbury)

Guard Your Heart by Sue Divin (Macmillan Children’s Books)

When the Sky Falls by Phil Earle (Andersen Press)

Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock (Faber)

The Crossing by Manjeet Mann (Penguin Children’s Books)

Tsunami Girl by Julian Sedgwick, illustrated by Chie Kutsuwada (Guppy Books)

Cane Warriors by Alex Wheatle (Andersen Press)

Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam (HarperCollins Children’s Books)

Yoto Kate Greenaway Medal Shortlist 2022

Drawn Across Borders illustrated and written by George Butler (Walker Books)

The Midnight Fair illustrated by Mariachiara Di Giorgio, written by Gideon Sterer (Walker Books)

Too Much Stuff illustrated and written by Emily Gravett (Two Hoots, Macmillan Children’s Books)

Long Way Down illustrated by Danica Novgorodoff, written by Jason Reynolds (Faber)

Milo Imagines the World illustrated by Christian Robinson, written by Matt de la Pena (Two Hoots, Macmillan Children’s Books)

Shu Lin’s Grandpa illustrated by Yu Rong, written by Matt Goodfellow (Otter-Barry Books)

I Talk Like a River illustrated by Sydney Smith, written by Jordan Scott (Walker Books)

The Wanderer illustrated and written by Peter Van den Ende (Pushkin Children’s Books)

Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Shadowing Scheme

The announcement of the shortlists also signals the start of this year’s Shadowing Scheme. Across the country, groups of young people will ‘shadow’ the judging process: reading, discussing and reviewing the shortlisted titles before choosing their winners for the Shadowers’ Choice Awards. The Shadowing Scheme is supported by a range of online resources and author events. For more information on how your school can get involved, click here.

The winners of the Yoto Carnegie Greenaway Awards and the Shadowers’ Choice Awards will be announced at a ceremony on Thursday 16th June at the British Library. Keep an eye out for our winner announcement.