Children's and Young Adult Literature

Resources for children’s and young adult literature

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Awards and Award Announcements

On your search engine, use the name of the award and the year. Many of these awards also have honor books.

NOTE: All American Library Association Awards are given late January. Most states also have their own book awards.

African Americans

• American Library Association Coretta Scott King Award
• American Library Association Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award
• American Library Association King Illustrator Award
• American Library Association King Author Award
• Black Authors Matter Award given in August.
• National Council for the Social Studies Carter G. Woodson Award and Outstanding Merit Book Award Recipients are given in May. 
• 283 Books Depicting Black Males Slideshow (Bibliography) 
• The Brown Book Shelf

American Indians

• American Library Association American Indian Youth Literature Award

o   Picture Book

o   Middle Grade

o   Young Adult

• Cynthia Leitich Smith

o   Books for Kids

o   Books for Young Adults

•        Debbie Reese's American Indians in Children’s Literature blog

Asian/Pacific Americans

• American Library Association Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature
  • Children’s Literature
  • Picture Book
  • Young Adult
• American Library Association Asian/Pacific American Award for Pasifika
  • Picture Book

• National Consortium for Teaching about Asia Freeman Book Awards are announced early to mid-year

Audio books

•       American Library Association Odyssey Award 

Chapter books (usually)

•      American Library Association Newbery Award
• Children’s Literature Association Phoenix Award is announced in late June
•      Jane Addams Book for Older Children Awards to promote peace and social justice are given in January

Disabilites

•   American Library Association Schneider Family Book Award
  • Younger Children’s
  • Middle Grade
  • Young Adult 

Diverse books, all kinds

• Center for the Study of Multicultural Literature awards are given in March
• Children’s Book Committee at Bank Street College Best Children’s Book of the Year is announced in March
  • Flora Stieglitz Straus Award for Nonfiction
  • Josette Frank Award for books handling difficulties in a positive way
• Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) are listed in March
• Goddard Riverside CBC Youth Book Prize for Social Justice are given in September
• International Literacy Association Notable Books for a Global Society is announced in January
• Skipping Stones Award, Multicultural and International Awards are given in June
• We Need Diverse Books Walter Dean Myers Awards are announced in January

General—Picture book, fiction poetry and nonfiction

• Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards are given in late June
• National Book Awards for Young People’s Literature are given in mid-November
• New York Public Library Best Books are given in mid-November
•       World of Words (WOW by Kathy Short)

Immigrants and Refugees

• American Immigration Council Awards are given in June
• Global Refuge Recommended Reading
• I'm Your Neighbor Book Awards are given in December
• Recent Children’s and Young Adult Literature of War, Genocide, Immigrants, and Refugees – compiled by Dr. Jane Gangi 

International

•       African Studies Association Children’s Africana Book Awards are given in November
• American Library Association Mildred L. Batchelder Award for books in translation
• Bologna Ragazzi Awards are given in April
• Canadian Council for the Arts Governor General’s Children’s Literature Prize is given in October
• Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Awards are given in April
• Carnegie Medal for Writing and Illustration (UK) are given in June
• Chen Bochui International Children's Literature Award (Chinese) is announced in November
• Children's Book Council of Australia Book Awards are given in August
• Children’s Book Ireland Awards are given in May
• Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (German) is announced in October
• International Board on Books for Young People is celebrated in May
• International Literacy Association Notable Books for a Global Society are given in January
• New Zealand Children's Book Award is given in August
•       Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize is announced in late October
• United Kingdom Literacy Association Book Award, judged by teachers, is given in July
• Young Quills Historical Fiction Award is given in July
• Zilveren Penseel (Silver Brush) Award for Illustration, a Dutch Award is announced in June

Jewish Americans

•  Association of Jewish Libraries Sydney Taylor Book Awards are given in January
  • Picture Book
  • Middle Grade
  • Young Adult

Latino/a

• American Library Association Pura Belpré Medal and Honor Awards
  • Author
  • Illustration
  • Young Adult
•       Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs
  Américas Awards are given in November
• Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award is given in February

LGBTQ+

• American Library Association Stonewall Book Award
  • Children’s
  • Young Adult
• Jaqueline Woodson LGBTQ+ Award is given in April
• Lambda Literary Awards are given in June
• Rainbow Book List

Multilingual Learners

• Groundwood Books—are often written in English and another language
• Lee & Low Books—are often written in English and another language

Muslim Americans

• Arab American National Museum Arab American Book Awards are given in November
• Crescent Moon Bookstore Muslim Book Awards are given in January
• Middle East Outreach Council Middle East Book Awards are given in December

Roman Catholic

• Christopher Awards are given in April

Young Adult

• American Library Association Alex Awards—adult books that appeal to teens
• American Library Association Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults
• American Library Association Michael L. Printz Award
• American Library Association William C. Morris Award—debut novel
• See also African American, American Indian, Asian Pacific American awards, and Graphic Novels 

GENRES

Drama

• Aaron Shephard’s Readers Theater
• American Alliance for Theater and Education Charlotte P. Chorpenning Award for Playwrights is given in July
• Narrative Pantomime

Graphic Novels 

• Children’s Book Council Graphic Novel Advocate Award is announced in February
• Eisner Award for Best Publication for Teens is announced in July
• Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Great Graphic Novels for Teens are announced in February

Historical Fiction

• Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction  is given in January
• Young Quills Historical Fiction Award is given in July

Nonfiction

• American Library Association Robert F. Sibert Award
• American Library Association Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults
• Children’s Book Committee at Bank Street College Best Children’s Book of the Year  —   Flora Stieglitz Straus Award for Nonfiction is announced in March
• Karen Romano Young’s Antarctic Log Gallery
• National Council of Teachers of English Orbis Pictus Nonfiction Award is given in November

Picture Books

• American Library Association Caldecott Award
• American Library Association Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for books for early readers
• Children’s Literature Association Phoenix Picture Book Award is given in late June
• Jane Addams Picture Book Awards to promote peace and social justice are given in January
• Margaret Wise Brown Prize for Children’s Literature is announced in May
• United States Board on Books for Young People are given in February
•      University of Wisconsin Charlotte Zolotow Award is given in January 

Poetry

• Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award (announced in March)

Science Fiction

• American Library Association Core Excellence in Children’s and Young Adult Science Fiction Notable Lists (was formerly the Golden Duck Award) are given in January
• American Library Association Hal Clement Notable Young Adult Books List is given in January
• Andre Norton Nebula Awards are given in June
• Canadian Children’s Center Arlene Barlin Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy is given in October
• Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book is given in August
• Ray Bradbury Award—for teen writers, is given in June

TOPICS

Anger and Understanding

• Fighting Anger with Understanding: Some (American) Muslim KidLit Reads

Early Literacy

• 7 Books to Teach Rhyme from Lee and Low
• Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy

Empathy, Imagination, Compassion

• National Council for Teachers of English Charlotte Huck Award is given in November

Genocide, War, Terrorism, and Disaster

• Children’s and Young Adult Literature on Genocide: Cambodia to Darfur
• Children’s Literature on War, Terrorism, and Disaster

Real-life difficulties

• Bank Street College Josette Frank Award is given in April

Science

• Giverny Book Award  is given in April
• Nature Generation Green Earth Award is given in April
• National Science Teachers Association/Outstanding Trade Books for Children is given in December
• The Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize (includes fiction) is announced in April 

Social Studies

• National Council for the Social Studies’ Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People  is announced in May/June