Roger Sutton and Rebecca Stead chat with picture book winner Jonathan Bean after the announcement.

“The Boston Globe-Horn Book awards have always had an independent spirit and this year is no different,” Sutton says. “Each of the judges brings a unique perspective on children’s literature, which combined always makes for a wonderful variety and high quality of winners and honor books and almost always provides us with a few surprises as well.”

Celebrating its 46th year, the awards showcase the best in children’s and young adult literature in each of three categories: picture book, fiction and poetry, and nonfiction.

PICTURE BOOK AWARD
The best picture book is Building our House (Farrar), which is written and illustrated by Jonathan Bean. Honor winners in the category are Open this Little Book (Chronicle) by Jesse Klausmeier, illustrated by Suzy Lee, and Black Dog (Candlewick), written and illustrated by Levi Pinfold.

FICTION AWARD
The best young adult fiction book is Eleanor & Park (St. Martin’s Griffin) by Rainbow Rowell. The two honor winners in the category are Seraphina (Random) by Rachel Hartman and A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty (Arthur A. Levine Books).

NONFICTION AWARD
The best nonfiction book is Electric Ben: The Amazing Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin (Dial Books), written and illustrated by Robert Byrd. The two honor winners in the category are Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building (Lee & Low), written and illustrated by Christy Hale, and Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America (Disney) by Andrea Davis Pinkney and illustrated by Brian Pinkney.

The awards are chosen by an independent panel of three judges appointed by Sutton. This year’s judges are: Chair, Sarah Ellis, Horn Book reviewer, author, and teacher at The Vermont College of Fine Arts (Vancouver, B.C.); Pamela Yosca, children’s librarian and library consultant at MATCH Charter Public High School (Jamaica Plain, MA); and Karen Kosko, retired school librarian (Cambridge, MA).

The winning titles must be published in the United States, but they may be written or illustrated by citizens of any country.

The awards will be given at a ceremony on October 4, 2013, to kick off the two-day Horn Book at Simmons Colloquium (October 4 and 5, 2013) in Boston, MA. The following day, the award winners and honorees will be featured in talks, panels, and small group sessions for librarians and educators.