Awards for Children's and YA Books by State (and U.S. Awards)

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Cynthia Leitich Smith Children's Literature Resources is honored to host this list with permission. These links to sites about children's literature awards by states were originally compiled by Melissa Depper of Colorado's Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award Committee in January 2000 for PUBYAC, a discussion list for Children's and Young Adult Librarians in Public Libraries. It was not intended to be comprehensive. Related link: Mailing Lists Related to Children's Literature from the Children's Literature Web Guide for information about subscribing to PUBYAC. 

Attention! Librarian Query: seeking information about research related to assessments of the impact of state reader's choice awards programs on the participants. Please contact: Gabriella Evan, Library Media Teacher, Abbott Middle School, San Mateo, CA. Write: gabriellaevans@hotmail.com

NOTE: Cynthia Leitich Smith is an author, not an awards coordinator for any state program. See links for more information.

NOTE: Every effort is made to keep this site current. However, there is no other page on this site wherein the URLs change as often as state awards. If you find a broken link or have any suggestions, please let us know.

Arizona Young Readers Awards
 http://www.kyrene.k12.az.us/schools/monte_vista/special_areas/library/libhtm/about.htm
 

Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award
http://www.asl.lib.ar.us/childaward/cms2002_03read.htm

Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award+
http://cal-webs.org/bluespruce/

The Blue Hen Children's Book Award
http://wilmlib.org/bluehen.html

Young Hoosier Book Award#
http://www.carmel.lib.in.us/child/yhba/yhba.htm

Young Hoosier Book Award#
http://www.ilfonline.org/Programs/YHBA/yhba.htm

Iowa Teen Award+
http://www.iema-ia.org/IEMA221.html

William Allen White Children's Book Award
http://www.emporia.edu/libsv/wawbookaward/index.htm
 

Gateway Award
http://gatewayaward.missouri.org/

Mark Twain Award
http://www.maslonline.org/awards/books/MarkTwain/

The Missouri Association of School Librarians is in the process of testing a readers' choice award for YA's, tentatively called the Gateway Award. It may end up being a joint project among MASL, MLA, and the State Library. This decision has not yet been made.  The current list of books is available from hattons@wspgs.k12.mo.us. NOTE: The Children’s Services Roundtable of the Missouri Library Association also offers the Building Block Award  for pre-school to kindergarten.

Treasure State Award (for picture books): no website now, but watch the Missoula Public Library site for a future link:
http://www.missoula.lib.mt.us
 

The Garden State Teen Book Awards+
http://www.njla.org/honorsawards/book/teen.html

Pacific Northwest Library Association's Young Reader's Choice Award*
http://www.pnla.org/yrca/index.htm

Patricia Gallagher Picture Book Award
http://www.open.org/~ora/picturebook.html

Pennsylvania Young Readers' Choice Awards
http://www.psla.org/grantsandawards/pyrca.php3

Keystone to Reading Book Award
http://www.ksra.org/Resources/keystone_to_reading_book_award.htm

Rhode Island Teen Book Award
http://www.ri.net/RIEMA/ritba.html

Texas Bluebonnet Award
http://www.txla.org/groups/tba/tba_info.html
note: 404 on 08/01/04; please write with suggestions.

The Lone Star Reading Lists
http://www.txla.org/groups/yart/lonecom.html

note: this site also hosts Texas Children's Books, Authors, and Illustrators.

Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award
http://www.dcfaward.org/

Pacific Northwest Library Association's Young Reader's Choice Award*
http://www.pnla.org/yrca/index.htm

Evergreen Young Adult Book Award+
http://www.kcls.org/evergreen/

Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award
http://www.wlma.org/Association/wccpba.htm

Buckaroo Book Award
http://www.wyla.org/buckaroo/

Soaring Eagle Book Award+
http://www.ccpls.org/html/soaringeagle.html

The Oklahoma Book Awards (Oklahoma Center of the Book)
http://www.odl.state.ok.us/ocb/obaward.htm
note: 404 on 08/01/04; please write with suggestions.

Oregon Book Award
http://www.literary-arts.org/

Outstanding Pennsylvania Author and/or Illustrator Award
http://www.jvbrown.edu/youth/pslaaward.htm
 

*Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, British Columbia and Alberta.
+YA Award, or award has YA component
#not an official site (i.e., not hosted by award sponsors.)

Compiled by Melissa Depper of Colorado's Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award Committee in January 2000 for PUBYAC, a discussion list for Children's and Young Adult Librarians in Public Libraries. Not intended to be comprehensive. Reproduced with permission. Related link: Mailing Lists Related to Children's Literature from the Children's Literature Web Guide for information about subscribing to PUBYAC.

State Centers for the Book: visit for more information about regional literature. If you know of a State Center for the Book Award for children's/young adult literature that is not already listed above, please write with information.

Amelia Bloomer Project from the Feminist Task Force of the Social Responsibilities Round Table the American Library Association.

American Institute of Physics Award: see children's category.

Américas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature from The Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP) at the Center for Latin America, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: lists criteria and past winners.

Anne Spencer Lindbergh Prize: awarded every other year for a children's fantasy novel in the English language.

Asian Pacific American Literature Award from the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association. Last we checked, this site was still in development.

Awards for Children's Books by Chiou-Yan Lin and Sukkyeong Cho, graduate students in School of Information and Library Science at UNC, Chapel Hill. Focuses on the history of the awards,  origins, criteria, descriptions of the medals (shown), and books chosen for the Newbery and Caldecott Awards from 1985-1994.

Bank Street Awards from the Bank Street College of Education.

Book/Media Awards: listing from the American Library Association.

The Pura Belpré Award co-sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA) and the National Association to Promote Library Services to the Spanish Speaking (REFORMA), an ALA Affiliate.

John Burroughs List of Nature Books for Young Readers: "recognizing outstanding natural history books for children that contain perceptive and artistic accounts of direct experiences in the world of nature, was established in 1988 to recognize Burroughs' efforts to awaken interest in young naturalists."

Children's Africana Book Awards: "established in 1991 by the Outreach Council of the African Studies Association to  encourage the publication and use of  accurate, balanced children's books on Africa."

Children's Book Awards from the Children's Literature Web Guide. Comprehensive listing of awards for children's books published in the English language.

Children's Book Awards from the International Reading Association.

Children's Book Council Awards and Prizes Online: "dynamic database of award-winning children’s and young adult books. Derived from the CBC’s acclaimed reference volume, it is the most comprehensive single source for information about children’s book awards in English."

Children's Crown Award: national award sponsored by the National Christian School Association.

Choosing Award-winning Non-fiction Books for Children: Three Perspectives from the Children's Book Council.

Database of Award-Winning Children's Literature from Lisa Bartle, California State University San Bernardino, John M. Pfau Library. Includes multi-category search engine.

Dolly Gray Award recognizes books offering positive depictions of children with developmental disabilities.

E.B. White Read Aloud Award: established in 2004 by the Association of Booksellers for Children.

The Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. See the Best Young Adult and Best Juvenile categories.

Golden Duck Awards for Excellence in Children's Science Fiction Literature.

Golden Kite from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. SCBWI awards also include the Sid Fleischman Humor Award. Note: "Listen To That Inner Voice": A Conversation with Sid Fleischman from Olswanger.com.

The Coretta Scott King Award: list of award-winners and honor books.

The Coretta Scott King Award 1930-2001: A Retrospective by Dr. Henrietta M. Smith from the Children's Book Council.

Henry Bergh Children's Book Award: established to honor books that promote the humane ethic of compassion and respect for all living things, sponsored by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).

Hugo Awards from the World Science Fiction society (YA honored with adult books).

James Madison Award: for "the book that best represents excellence in bringing knowledge and understanding of American history to children in elementary school and to middle-schoolers."

Lambda Literary Award (highlighting books by and about the gay and lesbian community) from the Lambda Literary Foundation; see children's/young adult category.

Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award from the Pennsylvania Center for the Book.

Mythopoeic Awards from the Mythopoeic Society includes a children's division (from picture books through young adult novels).

National Outdoor Book Awards for outstanding outdoor writing and publishing.

Nebula Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America (YA honored with adult books).

The New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book Award: A Concise History by Eden Ross Lipson from the Children's Book Council.

Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children: selected by a book review panel appointed by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and assembled in cooperation with the Children's Book Council (CBC).

Parents Choice Award from the Parents Choice Association.

Paterson Prize for Books for Young People from the Passaic Poetry Center in New Jersey.

Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature from The American Library Association. Please support this new and much-needed award!

The Pura Belpré Award co-sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA) and the National Association to Promote Library Services to the Spanish Speaking (REFORMA), an ALA Affiliate.

Braham Stoker Awards from the Horror Writers Association. See the Work For Young Readers Category.

Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America.

Sydney Taylor Book Awards from the Association of Jewish Libraries.

Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award from Southwest Texas State University. Includes listing of nominees, award winners, award information, and more. note: 404 on 08/01/04; please write with suggestions.

YourKidsLibrary.com: an ambitious site from journalist/teacher David Ross, who has been been collecting, reading and reviewing all the Newbery medalists and honor books since 1922. Includes the reviews and a subject, title, and author index. Written for teachers and librarians and includes curricular references.

Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award from the Children's Book Guild of Washington DC.

An Interview with Ginny Moore Kruse about the Charlotte Zolotow Award for picture book writing from Cynthia Leitich Smith Children's Literature Resources.

Readers' Choice | Non-readers' Choice | National Awards