Refugee experiences, county lines recruitment and the second world war are among the topics explored in the books shortlisted for this year’s Yoto Carnegie medals for children’s books.

Children’s laureate Joseph Coelho, Kwame Alexander and Nicola Davies are among those shortlisted for the awards, which celebrate the best writing and illustration for children and are judged solely by librarians.

“These are books to empower young readers, and for some will provide validation and refuge; stories of courage, of characters striving to find themselves and their place in the world, often in difficult or dangerous situations,” said chair of judges Maura Farrelly.

The 16 shortlistees – eight for illustration, and eight for writing – were announced at the London book fair. Poetry prevailed on the shortlist for the writing prize, with three novels written in verse and one poetry collection. These include Coelho’s novel The Boy Lost in the Maze, illustrated by Kate Milner. “This muscular reinterpretation of the Minotaur myth is intertwined with the journey of Theo, a modern teenager on a quest to find his father”, wrote Imogen Russell Williams in her Guardian review.

Alexander’s The Door of No Return, a verse novel set in 19th-century Ghana, is a “visceral, gripping coming-of-age story”, wrote Russell Williams. Tia Fisher’s shortlisted debut Crossing the Line, about how teenagers can become involved in criminal activity, is also written in verse. Davies was shortlisted for her poetry collection, Choose Love, illustrated by Petr Horáček, which explores refugee experiences.

The winners of the two prizes will be announced on 20 June, and will receive £5,000 each. The winners of the Shadowers’ medals, voted on by children, will receive £500 worth of books to donate to a library of their choice.

The Song Walker by Zillah Bethell, Away with Words by Sophie Cameron, Safiyyah’s War by Hiba Noor Khan and Steady for This by Nathanael Lessore were also shortlisted for the writing award.

Nature was a prominent theme among the books shortlisted for the illustration prize. In April’s Garden, illustrated by Catalina Echeverri, nature represents healing and growth; Aaron Becker’s The Tree and the River – the only wordless picture book on this year’s shortlist – looks at human impact on the natural world; The Wilderness by Steve McCarthy follows Oktober, whose outdoorsy family drag him on a trek.

Completing the illustration shortlist is To the Other Side by Erika Meza; The Midnight Panther by Poonam Mistry; The Bowerbird by Catherine Rayner, written by Julia Donaldson; Lost by Mariajo Ilustrajo and The Search for the Giant Arctic Jellyfish by Chloe Savage.

Previous winners of the writing award include Arthur Ransome, CS Lewis, Penelope Lively, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Eleanor Farjeon and Philip Pullman. Last year, Welsh writer Manon Steffan Ros became the first author to win the writing award for a translation with her young adult novel The Blue Book of Nebo. Past illustration winners include Raymond Briggs, Shirley Hughes and Quentin Blake.

• This article was amended on 14 March 2024. The Door of No Return is set in 19th-century Ghana, not in the present day as an earlier version said.