Children's Literature: Awards

The Alex Awards are given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.

The American Indian Youth Literature Award identifies and honors the very best writing and illustrations by Native Americans and Indigenous peoples of North America. Categories are: Best Picture Book, Best Middle Grade Book, and Best Young Adult Book.

The Américas Award is given to encourage and commend authors, illustrators and publishers who produce quality children’s and young adult books that portray Latin America, the Caribbean, or Latinos in the United States, and to provide teachers with recommendations for classroom use.

The goal of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature is to honor and recognize individual work about Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage, based on literary and artistic merit.

The Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards are conferred by The Boston Globe and The Horn Book Magazine annually. One book is recognized in each of three categories: Fiction and Poetry, Nonfiction, and Picture Book.

The Caldecott Model is awarded annually by the American Library Association to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.

The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) Carnegie Medal is awarded by children’s librarians in the UK for an outstanding book written in English for children and young people.

The National Council for the Social Studies established the Carter G. Woodson Book Awards for the most distinguished social studies books appropriate for young readers that depict ethnicity in the United States.

The Children's Literature Legacy 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 Coretta Scott King Book Awards are given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values.

A searchable database that tracks the major children's book awards. Searchable by author, illustrator, topic, historical period, age of reader, language, type of book (picture, chapter, etc.).

The Ezra Jack Keats Award is given annually to an outstanding new writer and new illustrator by the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation in partnership with the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi. The award is given for books that portray the universal qualities of childhood, a strong and supportive family, and the multicultural nature of our world.

The Jane Addams Children’s Book Award annually 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.

The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) Kate Greenaway Medal is awarded by children’s librarians in the UK for an outstanding book in terms of illustration for children and young people.

The Michael L. Printz Award annually honors the best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit, each year. In addition, the Printz Committee names up to four honor books, which also represent the best writing in young adult literature.

The Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) established the Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children to honor a living American poet for his or her aggregate work for children ages 3–13.

The Orbis Pictus Award was established in 1989 to promote and recognize excellence in the writing of nonfiction for children.

The Pura Belpré Award 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.

The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal is awarded annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished informational book published in the United States in English during the preceding year.

The Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction 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 the interest of young readers in the historical background that has helped to shape their country and their world.

The Geisel 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 United States during the preceding year.

The Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award honors authors and illustrators who create literature that depicts the Mexican American experience.