*Children's Literature: Awards

The Black-Eyed Susan Book Award is a student choice award for the state of Maryland that has been awarded each year since 1992. The award seeks to promote literacy and lifelong reading habits by encouraging students to read quality, contemporary literature.

Committed to providing a broad selection of outstanding books that mixes popular appeal with literary excellence, the Books for Youth editorial staff has chosen the titles below as best-of-the-year fiction, nonfiction, and picture books.

Established in 1946, the annual CBCA Book of the Year Award aims to promote quality literature for young Australians, support and encourage a wide range of Australian writers and illustrators of children's books, and celebrate contributions to Australian children's literature.

This was an annual award, given from 1947-2016, for a book that was published in the previous year in Canada. The book had to be written by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, in English or English translation, with appeal to children up to and including age 12.

Winners are selected in three categories: Picture Book, Fiction and Poetry, and Nonfiction. Two Honor Books may be named in each category.

Awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children (a division of the ALA) to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.

Encourages recreational reading of popular literature among the young people of our state. Since its inception in 1974, millions of California children have nominated, read, and voted for the winners of the California Young Reader Medal.

Presented to exemplary books written for children and young people each year at the NCSS Annual Conference.

NCTE award for outstanding fiction for children.

Given annually to the author of the best picture book text published in the United States in the preceding year.

These awards are presented annually to the authors and illustrators of the best children's and young adult books on Africa published or republished in the US.

Honors authors or illustrators whose total work has contributed significantly to the quality of nonfiction for children.

The KPMG Children's Books Ireland Awards are the leading annual children's book awards in Ireland. Established in 1990, these awards identify, honour and promote excellence in books for young people by Irish authors and illustrators.

This award, formerly known as the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a significant and lasting contribution to children's literature through books that demonstrate integrity and respect for all children's lives and experiences.

The Carnegies are the UK’s longest running and best-loved children’s book awards, recognising outstanding reading experiences created through writing and illustration in books for children and young people. Select the "Archive" button for book lists.

This program supports two awards, the Comstock Read Aloud Book Award (for ages 9-12) and the Wanda Gág Read Aloud Book Award (for toddlers to age 8) . These first annual awards were given in 2005.

Honors the best science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) picture book for children aged eight to ten. It is the only national children’s choice award honoring a STEM book. The Cook Prize is administered with support from School Library Journal.

Outstanding children's and YA books by African American authors and illustrators.

Aims to recognize the children’s and young adult authors and illustrators whose books combine the highest literary merit and popular appeal.

Established by the American Booksellers Association, this award honors books that reflect the universal read aloud standards that were created by the work of the author E.B. White in his classic books for children: Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little, and The Trumpet of the Swan. For a list of titles from 2006-2019 (the most recent), see https://www.bookweb.org/membership/ABC/EBWhitewinners

YALSA award for best Non-Fiction book written for teens.

This award is given to a new author and new illustrator for picture books created in the tradition of EJK that, among other things, reflect the multicultural nature of our world, avoid stereotypes, and highlight the universal qualities of childhood and the strength of family and community.

Honors a children's science picture book written in the English language and published within five years of the award date. The book must teach its young reader at least one important scientific principle well, or encourage the reader toward specific science-related attitudes, pursuits, or inquiries. Books about plants and/or plant science or biology will have preference.

Founded in 1973 by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, the Golden Kite Awards honor excellence in children's literature as judged exclusively by peers. Link is to a third party site that lists all the award winners to date.

The highest international recognition given to an author and an illustrator of children's books. Given every other year by IBBY, the Hans Christian Andersen Awards recognize lifelong achievement and are presented to an author and an illustrator whose complete works have made an important, lasting contribution to children's literature.

Chosen annually by our editors, Fanfare is The Horn Book Magazine’s selection of the best children’s and young adult books of the year. All Fanfare lists going back to 1938 are now available.

Intended for newly published authors who show unusual promise in the children's and young adults' book field. Awards are given for fiction and nonfiction in each of three (3) categories: primary, intermediate, and young adult.

The Irma Simonton Black and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature (Irma Black Award) goes to an outstanding book for young children—a book in which text and illustrations are inseparable, each enhancing and enlarging on the other to produce a singular whole. The Irma Black Award is unusual in that children are the final judges of the winning book.

This annual award recognizes children's books of literary and aesthetic excellence that effectively engage children in thinking about peace, social justice, global community, and equity for all people.

An award given to an author and an illustrator to affirm new talent and to offer visibility to excellence in writing and/or illustration which otherwise might be formally unacknowledged within a given year within the structure of the two awards given annually by the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Committee.

Established in 1955, this award, now known as the Carnegie Medal for Illustration, is given annually to awarded annually to a children’s book illustrator whose artwork creates an outstanding reading experience. Select the :"Archive" button for book lists.

The Los Angeles Times Book Prizes now have ten single-title categories: biography, current interest, fiction, first fiction (the Art Seidenbaum Award added in 1991), graphic novel (category added 2009), history, mystery/thriller (category added in 2000), poetry, science and technology (category added in 1989), and young adult literature (category added in 1998).

Honors an author, as well as a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature. The annual award is administered by YALSA and sponsored by School Library Journal magazine. It recognizes an author's work in helping adolescents become aware of themselves and addressing questions about their role and importance in relationships, society, and in the world.

Award-winning Mathical titles are selected by a nationwide committee of mathematicians, educators, librarians, early childhood experts, and others. Each year’s selections joins a growing list of stories ranging from picture books and graphic novels to chapter books and young adult literature. awarded by the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI), in partnership with the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), and in coordination with the Children’s Book Council (CBC).

An award for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. The award is sponsored by Booklist, a publication of the American Library Association.

Given to the most outstanding children’s book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States.

Designed to honor the year's best children’s books, authors and illustrators open to authors, illustrators, and publishers of children’s books written in English or Spanish and intended for the North American market. Many categories including Spanish language, art, pop-up and more.

Established in 1950, the National Book Award is an American literary prize administered by the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization.

NCTE established the Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children in 1977 to honor a living American poet for his or her aggregate work for children ages 3–13. NCTE also recognizes and fosters excellence in children’s poetry by encouraging its publication and by exploring ways to acquaint teachers and children with poetry through such means as publications, programs, and displays.

Awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

Since 1952, the Book Review has convened an independent panel of three judges from the world of children’s literature to select picture books on the basis of artistic merit. Each year, the judges choose from among thousands of picture books, for what is the only annual award of its kind. The New York Times and New York Public Library have now partnered on the award to recognize the best in children’s literature and bring great books to young readers. Link is to the 2024 list; for prior years visit this third-party site: https://www.librarything.com/award/952/New-York-Times-%25252F-New-York-Public-Library-Best-Illustrated-Childrens-Books

These awards are a unique celebration of the contribution New Zealand's children's authors and illustrators make to building national identity and cultural heritage. Award are given in six categories: Picture Book, Junior Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, Non-Fiction, Illustration, and te reo Māori.

The Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction (1999-2023) was established by the Fleck Family Foundation and the Canadian Children’s Book Centre on May 17, 1999 to recognize and raise the profile of exceptional non-fiction books. The twenty-fifth and final prize was awarded in 2023.

Annually, a committee of the CL/R SIG (Children’s Literature and Reading Special Interest Group) of the International Literacy Association selects 25 outstanding trade books for enhancing student understanding of people and cultures throughout the world. The committee reviews books representing all genres intended for students K-12.

These books were evaluated and selected by a Book Review Committee appointed by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and assembled in cooperation with the Children's Book Counci (CBC). Books selected for this are written primarily for children in grades K-8. The selection committee looks for books that emphasize human relations, represent a diversity of groups and are sensitive to a broad range of cultural experiences, present an original theme or a fresh slant on a tradition topic, are easily readable and of high literary quality, and have a pleasing format and, when appropriate, illustrations that enrich the text.

These books were chosen by a book review panel appointed by the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) and assembled in cooperation with the Children's Book Coucil (CBC). The list began in 1973 as the Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children and was primarily targeted at grades K-8. Beginning in 2002, the list has been expanded to include high school as well.

This annual awars is given to the producer of the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the US.

The NCTE Orbis Pictus Award was established in 1989 to promote and recognize excellence in the writing of nonfiction for children. The award commemorates the work of Johannes Amos Comenius, "Orbis Pictus--The World in Pictures" (1658), considered to be the first book actually planned for children.

The Children Literature Association (ChLA) Phoenix Award recognizes books of exceptional literary merit. First presented in 1985, it is given to the author, or the estate of the author, of a book for children first published twenty years earlier that did not win a major award at the time of its publication but which, from the perspective of time, is deemed worthy of special attention. Since 1989, honor books have also been named.

This award is named after Pura Belpré, the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. The award, established in 1996, is presented annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.

This award is given annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished informational book published in the US in English during the preceding year. The Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC) administers the award.

This award honors an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.

This annual award goes to an author for a meritorious book published in the previous year for children or young adults. Scott O'Dell established this award to encourage other writers to focus on historical fiction. He hoped in this way to increase interest of young readers in the historical background that has helped to shape their country and their world.

The first and most enduring award for LGBTQIA+ books, this award was esetablished in 1971. It is presented to English language works published the year prior to the announcement date.

This award is presented annually to outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience. The award encourages the publication and widespread use of quality Judaic literature.

This award is given annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished American book for beginning readers published in English in the US during the preceding year.

Texas State University College of Education created this award in 1995 to honor authors and illustrators who create literature that depicts the Mexican American experience.

Also known as "The Walter," this award celebrates the legacy of author Walter Dean Myers who, throughout his prolific career, was a life-long champion of diversity in children's and young adult books.

First awarded in 2009, this award honors a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature. The award is administered by the Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of the American Library Association.

This award honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during a Nov. 1 Oct. 31 publishing year.The winner is announced annually at the ALA Youth Media Awards with a shortlist of up to five titles named during the first week of December.