| Year | Category | Recipient | Title | Citation | Reference |
| 2004 | Young Children | Glenna Lang | Looking Out For Sarah | Winner | [9] |
| Middle School | Wendy Mass | A Mango Shaped Space | Winner |
| Teen | Andrew Clements | Things Not Seen | Winner |
| 2005 | Young Children | Diane Bertrand Gonzales, illustrated by Robert L. Sweetland | My Pal Victor/Mi amigo, Victor | Winner | [10] |
| Middle School | Pam Muñoz Ryan | Becoming Naomi León | Winner |
| Teen | Samantha Abeel | My Thirteenth Winter: A Memoir | Winner |
| 2006 | Young Children | Myron Uhlberg, illustrated by Colin Bootman | Dad, Jackie and Me | Winner | [11] |
| Middle School | Kimberly Fusco Newton | Tending to Grace | Winner |
| Teen | Adam Rapp | Under the Wolf, Under the Dog | Winner |
| 2007 | Young Children | Paul DuBois and Pete Seeger, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie | The Deaf Musicians | Winner | [12] |
| Middle School | Cynthia Lord | Rules | Winner |
| Teen | Louis Sachar | Small Steps | Winner |
| 2008 | Young Children | Andrea Stenn Stryer, illustrated by Bert Dodson | Kami and the Yaks | Winner | [13] |
| Middle School | Tracie Vaughn Zimmer | Reaching for Sun | Winner |
| Teen | Ginny Rorby | Hurt Go Happy | Winner |
| 2009 | Young Children | Robert Andrew Parker | Piano Starts Here: The Young Art Tatum | Winner | [14] |
| Middle School | Leslie Connor | Waiting for Normal | Winner |
| Teen | Jonathan Friesen | Jerk, California | Winner |
| 2010 | Young Children | Bonnie Christensen | Django | Winner | [15] |
| Middle School | Nora Raleigh Baskin | Anything But Typical | Winner |
| Teen | Francisco X. Stork | Marcelo in the Real World | Winner |
| 2011 | Young Children | George Ella Lyon, illustrated by Lynne Avril | The Pirate of Kindergarten | Winner | [16] |
| Middle School | Jordan Sonnenblick | After Ever After | Winner |
| Teen | Antony John | Five Flavors of Dumb | Winner |
| 2012 | Young Children | No award given | No award given | None | [17] |
| Middle School | Joan Bauer | Close to Famous | Winner |
| Middle School | Brian Selznick | Wonderstruck | Winner |
| Teen | Wendelin Van Draanen | The Running Dream | Winner |
| 2013 | Young Children | Claire Alexander | Back to Front and Upside Down! | Winner | [17] |
| Middle School | Sarah Lean | A Dog Called Homeless | Winner |
| Teen | Harry Mazer and Peter Lerangis | Somebody, Please Tell Me Who I Am | Winner |
| 2014 | Young Children | Jen Bryant and illustrated by Melissa Sweet | A Splash of Red : The Life and Art of Horace Pippin | Winner | [18] |
| Middle School | Merrie Haskell | Handbook for Dragon Slayers | Winner |
| Teen | Elizabeth Wein | Rose Under Fire | Winner |
| 2015 | Young Children | Alan Rabinowitz, illustrated by Catia Chien | A Boy and a Jaguar | Winner | [19] |
| Middle School | Ann M. Martin | Rain Reign | Winner |
| Teen | Gail Giles | Girls Like Us | Winner |
| 2016 | Young Children | Laurie Ann Thompson, illustrated by Sean Qualls | Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah | Winner | [20] |
| Middle School | Lynda Mullaly Hunt | Fish in a Tree | Winner |
| Middle School | Kimberly Brubaker Bradley | The War That Saved My Life | Winner |
| Teen | Teresa Toten | The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B | Winner |
| 2017 | Young Children | Jen Bryant, illustrated by Boris Kulikov | Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille | Winner | [21] |
| Middle School | Jason Reynolds | As Brave As You | Winner |
| Teen | Emery Lord | When We Collided | Winner |
| 2018 | Young Children | Allen Say | Silent Days, Silent Dreams | Winner | [22] |
| Middle School | Shari Green | Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess | Winner |
| Teen | Whitney Gardner | You're Welcome, Universe | Winner |
| 2019 | Young Children | Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes, illustrated by Scott Magoon | Rescue and Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship | Winner | [23] |
| Young Children | Jessie Oliveros, illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte | The Remember Balloons | Honor |
| Middle School | Leslie Connor | The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle | Winner |
| Middle School | Jacqueline West | The Collectors | Honor |
| Teen | Mark Oshiro | Anger is a Gift | Winner |
| Teen | Kelly Jensen (ed.) | (Don't ) Call Me Crazy: 33 Voices Start the Conversation About Mental Health | Honor |
| 2020 | Young Children | Sonia Sotomayor, illustrated by Rafael López | Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You | Winner | [24] |
| Young Children | Jenn Bailey, illustrated by Mika Song | A Friend For Henry | Honor |
| Middle School | Kelly Lynne | Song for a Whale | Winner |
| Middle School | Pablo Cartaya | Each Tiny Spark | Honor |
| Teen | Karol Ruth Silverstein | Cursed | Winner |
| Teen | Alison Gervais | The Silence Between Us | Honor |
| 2021 | Young Children | Jordan Scott, illustrated by Sydney Smith | I Talk Like a River | Winner | [25] |
| Young Children | Annette Bay Pimentel, illustrated by Nabi H. Ali | All the Way to the Top: How One Girl's Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything | Honor |
| Young Children | Tracy Newman, illustrated by Abigail Halpin | Itzhak: A Boy who Loved the Violin | Honor |
| Middle School | Ann Clare LeZotte | Show Me a Sign | Winner |
| Middle School | Sarah Kapit | Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen! | Honor |
| Middle School | Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed, illustrated by Victoria Jamieson, color by Iman Geddy | When Stars Are Scattered | Honor |
| Teen | I. W. Gregorio | This Is My Brain In Love | Winner |
| 2022 | Young Children | Darren Lebeuf, illustrated by Ashley Barro | My City Speaks | Winner | [26] |
| Young Children | Hudson Talbott | A Walk in the Words | Honor |
| Young Children | Bahram Rahman, illustrated by Peggy Collins | A Sky-Blue Bench | Honor |
| Middle School | Alison Green Myers | A Bird Will Soar | Winner |
| Middle School | Jason Reynolds, illustrated by Raúl the Third | Stuntboy, in the Meantime | Honor |
| Middle School | Elle McNicoll | A Kind of Spark | Honor |
| Teen | Asphyxia | Words in My Hands | Winner |
| Teen | Ariel Henley | A Face for Picasso: Coming of Age with Crouzon Syndrome | Honor |
| 2023 | Young Children | Shannon Stocker, illustrated by Devon Holzwarth | Listen: How Evelyn Glennie, a Deaf Girl, Changed Percussion | Winner | [27] |
| Young Children | Erin Hourigan | In the Blue | Honor |
| Middle School | C.C. Harrington | WILDOAK | Winner |
| Middle School | Natalie Lloyd | Hummingbird | Honor |
| Middle School | Gillian Dunn | Honestly Elliott | Honor |
| Teen | Erin Stewart | The Words We Keep | Winner |
| Teen | Natalia Sylvester | Breathe and Count Back from Ten | Honor |
| 2024 | Young Children | Jenn Bailey, illustrated by Mika Song | Henry, Like Always | Winner | [28] |
| Young Children | Joanna Que and Charina Marquez, illustrated by Fran Alvarez | Dancing Hands | Honor |
| Young Children | James Catchpole, illustrated by Karen George | What Happened to You? | Honor |
| Middle School | Sally J. Pla | The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn | Winner |
| Middle School | Meg Eden Kuyatt | Good Different | Honor |
| Middle School | Erin Bow | Simon Sort of Says | Honor |
| Teen | Mariama J. Lockington | Forever Is Now | Winner |
| Teen | Claire Forrest | Where You See Yourself | Honor |
| Teen | Mazey Eddings | Tilly in Technicolor | Honor |
| 2025 | Young Children | Sarah Kurpiel | A Little Like Magic | Winner | [29] |
| Young Children | Karen Kane and Jonaz McMillan, illustrated by Dion MBD | Monster Hands | Honor |
| Young Children | James and Lucy Catchpole, illustrated by Karen George | You're So Amazing! | Honor |
| Middle School | Rob Harrell | Popcorn | Winner |
| Middle School | John Schu | Louder Than Hunger | Honor |
| Middle School | Sherri Winston | Shark Teeth | Honor |
| Young Adult | Maya Van Wagenen | Chronically Dolores | Winner |
| Young Adult | Lauren Seal | Light Enough to Float | Honor |
| Young Adult | Anna Sortino | On the Bright Side | Honor |