The Irma Simonton Black and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature (Irma Black Award) goes to an outstanding book for young children—a book in which text and illustrations are inseparable, each enhancing and enlarging on the other to produce a singular whole. The Irma Black Award is unusual in that children are the final judges of the winning book.
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Beth Ferry: 2026 Irma Black Award Silver Medal Acceptance Speech
Beth Ferry
Author Beth Ferry gives an acceptance speech for Evelyn Witch Gets a Pet, illustrated by Charles Santoso (Roaring Brook Press).
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Brianne Farley: 2026 Irma Black Award Silver Medal Acceptance Speech
Brianne Farley
Author and illustrator Brianne Farley gives an acceptance speech for Worm Makes a Sandwich (Penguin Random House)
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Carmen Agra Deedy: 2026 Irma Black Award Silver Medal Acceptance Speech
Carmen Agra Deedy
Author Carmen Agra Deedy gives an acceptance speech for The Peanut Man, illustrated by Raúl Colón (Peachtree Books)
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Charles Santoso: 2026 Irma Black Award Silver Medal Acceptance Speech
Charles Santoso
Illustrator Charles Santoso gives an acceptance speech for Evelyn Witch Gets a Pet, written by Beth Ferry (Roaring Brook Press).
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Dan Santat: 2026 Irma Black Award Gold Medal Acceptance Speech
Dan Santat
Illustrator Dan Santat gives an acceptance speech for Don’t Trust Fish, written by Neil Sharpson (Dial Books for Young Readers)
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Neil Sharpson: 2026 Irma Black Award Gold Medal Acceptance Speech
Neil Sharpson
Author Neil Sharpson gives an acceptance speech for Don’t Trust Fish, illustrated by Dan Santat (Dial Books for Young Readers)
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Raúl Colón: 2026 Irma Black Award Silver Medal Acceptance Speech
Raúl Colón
Illustrator Raúl Colón gives an acceptance speech for The Peanut Man, written by Carmen Agra Deedy (Peachtree Books)
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Bea Jackson: 2025 Irma Black Award Silver Medal Acceptance Speech
Bea Jackson
Illustrator Bea Jackson gives an acceptance speech for Claudette Colvin: I Want Freedom, written by Claudette Colvin and Phillip Hoose (Farrar Straus and Giroux)
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Carl Angel: 2025 Irma Black Award Silver Medal Acceptance Speech
Carl Angel
Illustrator Carl Angel gives an acceptance speech for Pedro’s Yo-Yos: How a Filipino Immigrant Came to America and Changed the World of Toys, written by Rob Peñas (Lee & Low Books)
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Hatem Aly: 2025 Irma Black Award Gold Medal Acceptance Speech
Hatem Aly
Illustrator Hatem Aly gives an acceptance speech for The Book That Almost Rhymed, written by Omar Abed (Dial Books for Young Readers)
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Kusum Mepani: 2025 Irma Black Award Silver Medal Acceptance Speech
Kusum Mepani
Author Kusum Mepani gives an acceptance speech for Meena’s Saturday, illustrated by Yasmeen Ismail (Kokila)
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Omar Abed: 2025 Irma Black Award Gold Medal Acceptance Speech
Omar Abed
Author Omar Abed gives an acceptance speech for The Book That Almost Rhymed, illustrated by Hatem Aly (Dial Books for Young Readers)
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Phillip Hoose: 2025 Irma Black Award Silver Medal Acceptance Speech
Phillip Hoose
Author Phillip Hoose gives an acceptance speech for Claudette Colvin: I Want Freedom Now!, illustrated by Bea Jackson (Straus and Giroux)
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Qing Zhuang: 2024 Irma Black Award Silver Medal Acceptance Speech
Qing Zhuang
Author Qing Zhuang gives an acceptance speech for Rainbow Shopping (Holiday House)
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Rajani LaRocca: 2024 Irma Black Award Silver Medal Acceptance Speech
Rajani LaRocca
Author Rajani LaRocca gives an acceptance speech for Summer Is For Cousins (Abrams)
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Vanessa Roeder: 2024 Irma Black Award Gold Medal Acceptance Speech
Vanessa Roeder
Author Vanessa Roeder gives an acceptance speech for The King Penguin (Dial Books for Young Readers, Penguin Random House)
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Alice B. McGinty: 2023 Irma Black Award Gold Medal Acceptance Speech
Alice B. McGinty
Author Alice B. McGinty gives an acceptance speech for Bathe the Cat, illustrated by David Roberts (Chronicle)
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Jacqueline Woodson: 2023 Irma Black Award Silver Medal Acceptance Speech
Jacqueline Woodson
Author Jacqueline Woodson gives an acceptance speech for The World Belonged to Us, illustrated by Leo Espinosa (Penguin)
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Kate Berube: 2023 Irma Black Award Silver Medal Acceptance Speech
Kate Berube
Illustrator Kate Berube gives an acceptance speech for John's Turn, written by Mac Barnett (Candlewick)
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Mac Barnett: 2023 Irma Black Award Silver Medal Acceptance Speech
Mac Barnett
Author Mac Barnett gives an acceptance speech for John's Turn, illustrated by Kate Berube (Candlewick)
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Pearl AuYeung: 2023 Irma Black Award Silver Medal Acceptance Speech
Pearl AuYeung
Author Pearl AuYeung gives an acceptance speech for The Best Kind of Mooncake, (Page Street Kids)
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Angela Shanté : 2022 Irma Black Award Silver Medal Acceptance Speech
Angela Shanté
Author Angela Shanté gives an acceptance speech for When My Cousins Come to Town, illustrated by Keisha Morris (West Margin Press)
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Kao Kalia Yang : 2022 Irma Black Award Silver Medal Acceptance Speech
Kao Kalia Yang
Author Kao Kalia Yang gives an acceptance speech for From the Tops of the Trees, illustrated by Rachel Wada (Carolrhoda Books)
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Nikkolas Smith : 2022 Irma Black Award Silver Medal Acceptance Speech
Nikkolas Smith
Illustrator Nikkolas Smith gives an acceptance speech for The 1619 Project: Born on the Water; written by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renée Watson (Kokila)
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Rachel Wada : 2022 Irma Black Award Silver Medal Acceptance Speech
Rachel Wada
Illustrator Rachel Wada gives an acceptance speech for From the Tops of the Trees; written by Kao Kalia Yang (Carolrhoda Books)