Introducing The CLCSC List
Moving forward, the Children’s Literature Council of Southern California (CLCSC) will publish a longlist of contenders for the annual CLCSC Awards. The 2022 CLCSC List, consisting of finalists published in 2021, will be revealed on July 5th. The 2022 CLCSC Award Winners will be announced on July 12th.
The CLCSC List, selected each year by the Awards Committee, will include some of the best books created by Southern California authors and illustrators published in the past year. The Committee considers all books written and/or illustrated by Southern California authors and illustrators, published in the year preceding the award year.
To start off this tradition, here are the CLCSC Lists for 2020 and 2021 (for books published in the years 2019 and 2020, respectively). Listed alphabetically by title, bold formatting indicates which creator(s) resided in Southern California at the time of publication. Southern California is defined as San Luis Obispo, Kern, and San Bernardino counties and points south, including Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties. Some creators may have relocated out of Southern California since their book was published. Winners are indicated with an asterisk (*) after the winner or winners’ name(s).
The 2020 CLCSC List
Picture Books
Butterflies in Room 6: See How They Grow by Caroline Arnold*
Hey, Water! By Antoinette Portis
I Am Perfectly Designed by Karamo Brown and Jason “Rachel” Brown, illustrated by Anoosha Syed
Kitten Lady’s Big Book of Little Kittens by Hannah Shaw
My Grandma and Me by Mina Javaherbin, illustrated by Lindsey Yankey
My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero, illustrated by Zeke Peña
One is a Piñata: A Book of Numbers by Roseanne Thong*, illustrated by John Parra
Please Don’t Eat Me by Liz Climo
The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
What Riley Wore by Elana K. Arnold, illustrated by Linda Davick
Middle Grade
The Echo Park Castaways by M.G. Hennessey
A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée
Spy Runner by Eugene Yelchin
Summer of a Thousand Pies by Margaret Dilloway*
To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer
Young Adult
A Place to Belong by Cynthia Kadohata
Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera
Frankly in Love by David Yoon
Lovely War by Julie Berry
The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee
The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White
The Library of Lost Things by Laura Taylor Namey*
The Revolution of Birdie Randolph by Brandy Colbert
When I Was Summer by J.B. Howard
Wild and Crooked by Leah Thomas
The 2021 CLCSC List
Picture Books
A Garden in Your Belly: Meet the Microbes in Your Gut by Masha D’yans*
A Ride to Remember: A Civil Rights Story by Sharon Langley and Amy Nathan, illustrated by Floyd Cooper
Hike by Pete Oswald
Lift by Minh Lê, illustrated by Dan Santat
Malina’s Jam by Tammi Sauer, illustrated by Svetla Radivoeva
Our Favorite Day of the Year by A.E. Ali, illustrated by Rahele Jomepour Bell
Test This Book!: A Laugh-Out-Loud Picture Book about Experiments and Science! by Louie Zong
The Only Woman in the Photo: Frances Perkins and Her New Deal for America by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by Alexandra Bye
The Paper Kingdom by Helena Ku Rhee, illustrated by Pascal Campion
Waa’aka’: The Bird Who Fell in Love with the Sun by Cindi Alvitre (Tongva) and Carly Lake*
Middle Grade
Birdie and Me by J.M.M. Nuanez
Connect the Dots by Keith Calabrese*
Efrén Divided by Ernesto Cisneros*
Hide and Seeker by Daka Hermon
Stand Up, Yumi Chung! By Jessica Kim
Young Adult
House of Dragons by Jessica Cluess
Jo and Laurie by Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz
Just Our Luck by Julia Walton
Last Girls by Demetra Brodsky
Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera
Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko*
Redemption Prep by Samuel Miller
Super Fake Love Song by David Yoon
Teen Killers Club by Lily Sparks
The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
The CLCSC Awards Committee convenes in January each year. Submissions of books published in the prior year may be sent directly to the Awards Chair for awards consideration. Please include an official submission form with each entry.
