The children’s publishing industry gathered at the New York Historical in Manhattan on September 17 to celebrate the annual Carle Honors, which spotlight five influential individuals and organizations making strides in children’s literature. This year, guests came to fete Ellen Michelson the International Youth Library, Bryan Collier, Claudia Zoe Bedrick, and Robert L. Forbes.

The Carle Museum’s executive director, Jennifer Schantz, and director of development Rebecca Miller Goggins welcomed guests, with Schantz noting that, in her fourth year of attending the award, “the Carle Honors get better and better every year.” She described the Carle as “thriving,” and went on to note how “the transformative power of picture book art [goes] far beyond our walls through a robust national and international traveling exhibition program.”

Schantz went on to say, “At its core, the Carle aims to continue to highlight its four interconnected pillars: thoughtful leadership, visibility, community, and support.” Those same pillars, Schantz believes, “are helping us build a future in which picture book art receives the recognition, study, and appreciation it deserves.”

During Goggins’s opening remarks, she took a moment to “honor the Artists, Angels, Bridges, and Mentors who bring picture book art to life, and whose vision, generosity, and dedication continue to inspire.” Naming several past honorees, she invited then to stand and be acknowledged: a warm moment showcasing the longlasting bonds that the Carles create among artists.

Schantz briefly returned to introduce “one of the most influential voices in contemporary children’s literature,” and the evening’s charming emcee, Kwame Alexander. She lauded him for his work as “an educator, advocate, and global ambassador for literacy, [who] has dedicated his career to ensuring that young people everywhere have access to books and the opportunities they create.”

Alexander took a moment to tell a story of how his role as emcee for the Carle Honors felt like a serendipitous occasion. As a child, his father took him for a visit to the Bank Street School, where Alexander met Dorothy A. Carter, Bank Street’s first African American faculty member, and Alexander’s father’s advisor. “She gave me a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and that was the first book that was ever gifted to me.” Alexander would later go on to be the inaugural Dorothy A. Carter writer in residence at the Bank Street Graduate School of Education. “Hosting the Eric Carle Honors, having been a fan and a friend of the museum, is coming full circle.”

The vice chair of the Carle’s board of trustees, Leonard S. Marcus, was then welcomed onstage by Alexander, and shared one of the things he likes best about the awards program: “the bright light it shines on the true nature of picture book creation, the multiplicity of efforts by artists, editors, designers, critics, translators, librarians, media professionals, literacy advocates, and others, which all must align for the best picture books to make their way into children's hands.”

To welcome the evening’s first recipient, Robert L. Forbes, two performers from the Brooklyn Dance Sports Club gave a ballroom dance performance that delighted the audience. Afterwards, Forbes gave his speech, in which he highlighted his own love of the “the effervescent vitality of the children’s book world.” He added that, “Like a library, it’s a world that’s a haven from today’s crush of screams and weirdnesses.” Forbes went on to express his love of getting to connect with the youngest of readers through his work, enjoying their range of unfiltered questions—even ones such as, “How old are you?” (to which he likes to respond “very old”). It is with the sense of humor that he hopes the children’s industry continues to “inspire a young mind.”

The next award of the night was the Mentor Honor, which recognizes an editor, designer, or educator who has championed the artform and inspires others to the possibilities in the field. Claudia Zoe Bedrick, who serves as publisher, editor, and art director of Enchanted Lion Books, was introduced by Amy Alznauer. Bedrick said she never expected to run a publishing house, but following the death of her father, she knew that “I would have to try.” Her father had previously served at both Schocken Books and Bedrick Books and had launched Enchanted Lion in 2003. Her aim as she built Enchanted Lion from the ground up was to share stories “that opened the imagination to remembering who and what we are.”

Ellen Michelson was recognized next as the 2026 Angel, an honor that is granted to a person or organization whose critical resources and attention are crucial to making picture book art exhibitions, educational programs, and artistic programming a reality. Michelson, overcome with emotion, took a moment before beginning her speech, in which she noted that her love of reading came later in life, sparked by the iconic Cat in the Hat. Grateful for a story that piqued her interest, she started her journey on the long road of children’s publishing, for which she “feels very lucky.” She closed with a moment of appreciation for Eric Carle himself, sharing that his life was an apt symbol of dedication to imagination and creativity.

The International Youth Library in Munich was named the 2026 Bridge, and received a glowing introduction from Dr. Claudette McLinn, the new chair of the Carle’s board of trustees and executive director of the Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature. Dr. Christiane Raabe, executive director of the IYL, focused her speech on history: Jella Lepman founded the International Youth Library in 1949: “a project intended to offer hope for a peaceful future during a period of profound disorder.” The connective threads between the library and Eric Carle, who also lived in Nazi Germany as a child, and grew up to become a beloved figure in the children’s book space, were made evident.

Before giving the final remarks of the evening, Bryan Collier was honored with a jazz performance by the Bruce Harris Trio, organized by Jazz at Lincoln Center. Welcomed to the stage with a hug from Alexander, Collier turned to his childhood in his speech, reflecting on how a childhood friendship offered him many ways to consider the meaning of creativity: a place in which to escape from the world around you, a foundation of personal expression, and an opportunity to uplift oneself and those around you. Creativity was the through line of his speech and of the entire evening. Without it, an evening like the Carle Honors could not take place.