2022 Gwendolyn Brooks Youth Poetry Awards Winners

Illustration by: Asha Edwards

Congratulations to all of the winners and honorable mentions of the 2022 Gwendolyn Brooks Youth Poetry Awards! Gwendolyn Brooks began the Youth Poetry Awards in 1969 during her tenure as Illinois Poet Laureate and continued to administer the awards until her passing in 2000. The original youth poetry awards were born out of Ms. Brooks’ belief that a poet laureate, “should do more than wear a crown – [she] should be of service to the young.” This year Illinois Humanities has partnered with the Poetry Foundation, Brooks Permissions, Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts and many more to honor Brook's tremendous legacy.

“The young people who submitted poems this year are powerful observers, documenters, and interrogators of their lives and the worlds they engage with,” said Gabrielle Lyon, executive director of Illinois Humanities. “These poems – submitted from every corner of the state – are part of an annual tradition that, each year, powerfully reminds us, that poetry can help us find our shared humanity.”

Join us Saturday, August 20th at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts to celebrate these young poets. This event is free

and open to the public, though RSVP is required. RSVP HERE.

Below you'll find a list of the winners and honorable mentions by grade. Many of them have graciously shared their favorite books and poems with us, and we are delighted to share them with you. Browse their favorites below!

KINDERGARTEN

• “The Stars and the Sun and the Moon” by Sherlin Dominguez, Peori
• Favorite Book: The Belly Button Book by Sandra Boynton
• “Lion Pet” by Willa Bedwell, Oak Park
• Favorite Books: Beezus and Ramona series by Beverly Cleary
• Honorable Mention: “My Sister and Me” by Harper Causley, Peoria

1ST GRADE

• “I see something yellow” by Samantha Chansiri, Chicago
• Favorite Book: I am Whole by Shola Oz
• “There are bunnies” by Lucy Orr, Oak Park
• Favorite Book: Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
• Honorable Mention: “Sunset of the Flowers” by Charlotte Tyler, Peoria
• Favorite Book: Dragon Masters: Power of the Fire Dragon by Tracy West

2ND GRADE

• “A Wonderful Morning” by Aiden Hampton, Chicago
• Favorite Books: The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
• “Dear America” by Emily Watkins, Chicago
• Favorite Book: Witches of Brooklyn by Sophie Escabasse
• Honorable Mention: “The Way” by Violet Locke, Peoria

3RD GRADE

• “Venus” by Sofie Pop, Skokie
• Favorite Book: Alone in the Woods by Rebecca Behrens
• “Life of Loneliness” by Mathew Bohanon, Skokie
• Favorite Poem: 'A Friend' by Douglas Florian from Poem Depot: Aisles of Smiles
• Honorable Mention: “The wind is wishing” by Olive Morton, Oak Park
• Favorite Book/Poem: Babysitters Club Graphic Novel and This Is Just To Say by William Carlos Williams

4TH GRADE

• “Sunrays” by Rayaan Ansari, Skokie
• Favorite Poem: Rain by Shel Silverstein
• “Space” by Jackson Best, Skokie
• Favorite Book: The Boys Next Door by Jennifer Echols
• Honorable Mention: “The Valkyries’ Silken Touch” by Caroline Field, Skokie
• Favorite Book: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

5TH GRADE

• “White Rabbit” by Laila Garay, Skokie
• “King Cobra” by Taksh Taware, Lisle
• Favorite Book: Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics by Chris Grabenstein
• Honorable Mention: “The bloomy, gloomy forest” by Julian Liss, Oak Park
• Favorite Book: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

6TH GRADE

• “We Are All Americans: My Grandma’s Story” by Lyra Rivera, Evanston
• Favorite Book: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
• “So you want to be a hustler” by Julian Cromwell, Chicago

• Favorite Poem: We Wear the Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar

• Honorable Mention: “On the Kitchen Table” by Luke Sindt, Oak Park
• Favorite Book: The Hobbit by J R R Tolkien

7TH GRADE

• “Frolics of Spring” by Hannah Hufana, Skokie
• Favorite Book/Poem: Legendborn by Tracy Deonn and Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley
• “The Little Things” by Maddy Lehman, Lake Forest
• Favorite Book: Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
• Honorable Mention: “The Concrete Jungle” by Shawn Dengler, Waukegan

8TH GRADE

• “Earth” by Nathan Louie, Skokie
• Favorite Book: Animal Farm by George Orwell
• “I speak to the twilight” by MiKaylah Brown, Caseyville
• Favorite Book/Poem: The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley and Beauty by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Honorable Mention: “Front Row Seat” by Daniela Kasalo, Skokie
• Favorite Book: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

9TH GRADE

• “Staring at Pretty Magazines” by Angelina Wyrwas, Chicago
• Favorite Book: Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
• “Home, said I, a thing of central” by Franklin Hughes, Chicago
• Favorite Book: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

10TH GRADE

• “The Mindspace” by Reginald Armstrong Jr., Chicago
• Favorite Poem: Harlem by Langston Hughes
• Honorable Mention: “Joy vs. Abyss” by Brooks Lansana, Chicago
• Favorite Book: Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas

11TH GRADE

• “Great-Grandmother” by Trinity Arias, Oswego
• Favorite Book: The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
• “An Ode to Whiskey and Cigars” by Allie Petraitis, Aurora
• Favorite Book: Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
• Honorable Mention: “Putting a Tie on a White Tee” by Michael Hightower, Chicago
• Favorite Book: Divergent by Veronica Ross

12TH GRADE

• “A Sinner’s Confession” by Kaleena Vose, Oswego
• “Jesus to blk boys” by Kae Osei, Plainfield
• Favorite Book: Commando by E'mon Lauren
• Honorable Mention: “Life in Key of C” by Katie Dunn, Aurora
• Favorite Book: Looking for Alaska by John Green