Random House Children’s Books Celebrates our 2025 ALA Award Winners and Honorees

The Wrong Way Home

by Kate O’Shaughnessy

★ “Gripping. A strong, emotionally intelligent story.”— Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ “The suspenseful story is immediately intriguing, skillfully conveying the high-stakes situation and effortlessly drawing the audience in. A tremendous testament to the power in plotting your own course.“—Booklist, starred review

★ “Lovingly crafted with depth and compassion. Nuance suffuses this story of discovery, as Fern’s blind faith grows tenuous.” —The Bulletin, starred review

“Driven by a growing self-awareness that she can choose who and what she believes, this is a moving portrait of a girl undergoing drastic change.” —Publishers Weekly

“This coming-of-age story centers a girl trying to decide what is right as she struggles to change from one culture to another. The first-person narrative is believable and thought-provoking as Fern reconsiders everything she’s thought to be true.”—School Library Journal

“A cleverly written and supremely literary story, while also remaining pretty gripping in its telling.” —SLJ’s Fuse 8

“O’Shaughnessy presents a high stakes situation and zeroes in on a child narrator’s believable emotions. That tight focus on the narrator even when she is misguided or doesn’t have all the facts allows readers to draw their own conclusions.“—The Horn Book Magazine

Twelve-year-old Fern believes she’s living a noble life–but what if everything she’s been told is a lie? This is a huge-hearted story about a girl learning to question everything—and to trust in herself.

Fern’s lived at the Ranch, an off-the-grid, sustainable community in upstate New York, since she was six. The work is hard, but Fern admires the Ranch’s leader, Dr. Ben. So when Fern’s mother sneaks them away in the middle of the night and says Dr. Ben is dangerous, Fern doesn’t believe it. She wants desperately to go back, but her mom just keeps driving.

Suddenly thrust into the treacherous, toxic, outside world, Fern thinks only about how to get home again. She has a plan, but it will take time. As that time goes by, though, Fern realizes there are things she will miss from this place—the library, a friend from school, the ocean—and there are things she learned at the Ranch that are just…not true.

Now Fern will have to decide. How much is she willing to give up to return to the Ranch? Should she trust Dr. Ben’s vision for her life? Or listen to the growing feeling that she can live by her own rules?

Noodles on a Bicycle

illustrated by Gracey Zhang

★ “Lively language honors long-honed skills worth remembering, while ink and gouache spreads capture every detail, right down to labels hand-painted on the soba boxes, in this wonderfully specific snapshot.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ “A fascinating, loving snapshot of a gravity-defying artform lost to time.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ “With vivid descriptions of the sights and sounds of the city, the text sets readers right down in the middle of the scenes, while the writing makes for an animated read-aloud.”—The Horn Book, starred review

★ “Delectably charming … The duo repeat their symbiotic success, nourishing readers with quotidian history ‘worth remembering and celebrating.’”—Shelf Awareness, starred review

★ “Words and art come together seamlessly to reveal a world now long gone, in a loving, memorable tale that children will want to savor time and again.”—BookPage, starred review

“This is a heartwarming tale with an engaging story and beautiful illustrations that are sure to entertain children.”—School Library Journal

A vibrant historical picture book about Tokyo’s bicycle food deliverers, or demae, who balanced towering trays of steaming hot noodles on their shoulders while navigating crowded city streets.

When the deliverymen set off in the morning, the children wait for the flicker of pedal and wheel. It’s the demae– delivery men– setting off to deliver steaming trays of noodles to hungry customers all over the city. They are acrobats: whizzing past other bicycles, soaring around curves, avoiding the black smoke of motorcycles. When the children see them, they want to be them. And so they practice with bowls of wobbling water stacked on trays. The day passes, and, finally, exhausted, the demae return home, to their families, and, yes, to steaming bowls of noodles.

This beautifully crafted, visually exciting story by a powerhouse author and illustrator team is sure to be adored by food lovers, young and old.

Bright Red Fruit

by Safia Elhillo

★ “A stunning work that deeply explores poetry, the complexities of identity, and the longing for love.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ “A mesmerizing verse novel and a gripping exploration of the hyper-policing of Black girls’ bodies and sexuality.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ “Elhillo has created more than a cautionary tale. Much like the tale of Persephone’s abduction, she has crafted a story that contains misery, but at its very core, harbors hope.”—Booklist, starred review

“Elhillo creates a realistic picture of a teenage girl trying to push against unfair perceptions. Readers will appreciate the believable portrayal of a teen who is dealing with complex issues of family, friendship, and romantic love.”—The Horn Book

“Told through emails, letters, and poetry in its many forms, Samira’s story becomes one to remember.”—School Library Journal

An unflinching, honest novel in verse about a teenager’s journey into the slam poetry scene and the dangerous new relationship that could threaten all her dreams. From the award-winning poet and author of Home is Not a Country.

Bad girl. No matter how hard Samira tries, she can’t shake her reputation. She’s never gotten the benefit of the doubt—not from her mother or the aunties who watch her like a hawk.

Samira is determined to have a perfect summer filled with fun parties, exploring DC, and growing as a poet—until a scandalous rumor has her grounded and unable to leave her house. When Samira turns to a poetry forum for solace, she catches the eye of an older, charismatic poet named Horus. For the first time, Samira feels wanted. But soon she’s keeping a bigger secret than ever before—one that that could prove her reputation and jeopardize her place in her community.

In this gripping coming-of-age novel from the critically acclaimed author Safia Elhillo, a young woman searches to find the balance between honoring her family, her artistry, and her authentic self.

Lola

by Karla Arenas Valenti

★ “A quest undertaken for love and healing, replete alike with astonishing marvels and provocative themes.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ “The fantasy here is vividly imagined, but the story itself is ultimately real, painful, and achingly beautiful.“—The Bulletin, starred review

★ “Readers will be lining up to get this book. A must-read for all upper elementary and middle school fantasy fans.”—School Library Journal, starred review

★ “A truly enchanting adventure that both enthralls and entertains.”—Booklist, starred review

“Valenti skillfully incorporates magical realism into this captivating tale, taking the reader on a memorable journey through a different world.”—The Horn Book

A simmering tale of magic, adventure, and the extraordinary bond between a brother and sister who’d journey to the ends of the Earth to save each other. From the acclaimed author of Lotería comes a heartfelt story rooted in Mexican magical realism.

Ten-year-old Lola has always been touched by magic. In her Mexico City home, built around a towering tree, she is accustomed to enchanted blooms that change with the seasons, a sandbox that spits out mysterious treasures, and mischievous chaneques that scuttle about unseen by all but her. Magic has always been a part of her life, but now she must embrace the extraordinary as never before.

Ever since The Thing That Happened, Lola’s brother Alex has been sick. As his condition worsens, something begins eating away at the tree, causing its leaves and blossoms to crumble like ash. The two are related, Lola is sure of it, but how? Seeking a cure, she visits a grocery store oracle who bids her to follow the chaneques down one of their secret passages… into a hidden world.

Here in Floresta, a land of myths and monsters and marvels untold, lies the key to healing her brother. But the kingdom’s young queen stands in the way. Lola must use her wits and face her deepest fears if there’s any hope of saving Alex in time.

Carole Boston Weatherford

Carole Boston Weatherford is a two-time NAACP Image Award winner and the author of All Rise: The Story of Ketanji Brown Jackson, Standing in the Need of Prayer, and The Faith of Elijah Cummings. She is also the author of Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, which won the Coretta Scott King Author and Illustrator Awards, a Caldecott Honor, and a Sibert Honor; the Newbery Honor book Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom; and the Caldecott Honor books Freedom in Congo Square, Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement, and Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom. Born in Baltimore, Weatherford now teaches at Fayetteville State University, in North Carolina.