Children's & Young Adult Literature

AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books

This award celebrates outstanding science writing and illustration for children and young adults and is awarded in four categories: Children’s Science Picture Book, Middle Grades Science Book, Young Adult Science Book, and Hands-On Science Book.

Aesop Prize and Accolades

This prize recognizes exceptional books, for children or young adults, that are based on folklore that is accurately represented in the text and illustrations and adds to the reader’s understanding of folklore.

African Studies Association Children’s Africana Book Awards and Honor

These awards are presented annually to the authors and illustrators of the best children’s and young adult books on Africa published in the United States. 

ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults

YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults Blogging Team presents fiction titles published for young adults in the past fourteen months that are recommended reading for ages 12 to 18. 

Alex Award

Chosen by ALA and YALSA, this award is given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 to 18.

American Indian Youth Literature Award

First awarded in 2006, this award identifies and honors the very best writing and illustrations by Native Americans and Indigenous peoples of North America that present North American peoples in the fulness of their humanity.

ALA Notable Children’s Books

Lists curated by the American Library Association in the following categories: Younger Readers (PK-grade 2), Middle Readers (grades 3-5), Older Readers (grades 6-8), and All Ages (has appeal and interest for children in all of the above age ranges).

Américas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature

This award is given annually for two books, a picture book and a young adult or middle grade book, that portray Latin America, the Caribbean, or Latinx cultures in the United States authentically and engagingly. 

Arab American Book Award

Established in 2006, this award is given to celebrate Arab American literature and honor those who have produced exemplary work. 

Asian/Pacific American Award and Honors for Literature-Children’s and Young Adult

This award honors and recognized individual works by Asian/Pacific American authors that highlight Asian/Pacific American cultures and experiences. Along with adult awards, three awards are given for Picture Books, Children’s, and Young Adult including a winner and an honor book.

Booklist Editors’ Choice Adult Books for Young Adults

Selected by the Books for Youth editors annually, the titles on this list constitute the year’s best personal reading for teenagers among adult books published.

Booklist Editors’ Choice: Graphic Novels

Combining evocative artwork and stirring stories, this list of graphic novels for adults and youth showcase the year’s best of the format in a wide variety of genres, topics, and tones.

Booklist Editors’ Choice Books for Youth

Each year, Booklist editors choose titles as its most-recommended nonfiction, fiction, and picture book offerings.

Caldecott Medal and Honor

The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of the nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott, and it is awarded annually to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. Arguably one of the most prestigious awards for children’s materials, the award is given to one winner annually with a list of honorees.

Carter G. Woodson Award and Honor

This award is presented to exemplary books written for children and young people and deal with the experience of one or more racial/ethnic minority groups in the United States. This award is given to three types of books: Elementary (grades K-6), Middle School (grades 5-8), and Secondary (grades 7-12).

Charlotte Zolotow Award

Established in 1998 by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, this award is given annually to the author of the best picture book text published in the U.S. in the preceding year

The Christopher Awards

These awards were established by Christopher founder Father James Keller to salute media that “affirm the highest values of the human spirit.” Award winners encourage audiences to see the better side of human nature and motivate artists and the general public to use their best instincts on behalf of others. Four awards are given in various media types, one being “Books for Young People.”

Claudia Lewis Award

This award, given for the first time in 1998 by Bank Street College, honors the best poetry book of the year. This award is given to two recipients: an Older Poetry winner and a Younger Poetry Winner.

Coretta Scott King Awards and Honors

First given in 1969, this award was designed to commemorate the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and to honor Mrs. Coretta Scott King for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace. This award is given annually to recognize outstanding books for young adults and children by African American authors and illustrators that reflect African American experience.

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent

This award was established 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 for the two awards given annually by the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Committee.

Dolly Gray Children’s Literature Award

Given by the Council for Exceptional Children, this award honors authors, illustrators, and publishers of high quality fictional and biographical books for child and adolescent audiences that authentically portray individuals with developmental disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disabilities, and Down syndrome.

Edgar Allan Poe Awards (The Edgars)

These awards, often called the Edgars, honor the best works in mystery fiction, nonfiction, and television published or produced the previous year. Awarded in many categories, notable for this list are Best Juvenile and Best Young Adult.

Ezra Jack Keats Book Award

The EJK Award is given annually to an outstanding new writer and new illustrator by the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. It is the only award that celebrates books that embrace all ethnic and social groups.

Flora Stieglitz Straus Award

Established in 1994 by Bank Street College, this award is presented annually for a distinguished work of non-fiction that serves as an inspiration to young people. This award is given to two recipients: an Older Reader Winner and a Younger Reader Winner.

Freeman Book Awards

These awards recognize quality books for children and young adults that contribute meaningfully to an understanding of East and Southeast Asia. Four awards are given annually: Children’s, Young Adult/Middle School Literature, Young Adult/High School Literature, and Young Adult/Middle & High School Graphic Novels.

Giverny Award

Established in 1998, this award is given annually to a children’s science picture book that teaches its young reader at least one important scientific principle well or encourage the reader toward specific science-related attitudes, pursuits, or inquiries.

Golden Kite Awards

Founded in 1973, the Golden Kite Awards stand as the premier children’s literary award judged exclusively by peers, recognizing outstanding achievement in seven categories: Young Reader and Middle Grade Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, Nonfiction for Younger Readers, Nonfiction for Older Readers, Picture Book Text, Picture Book Illustration, and Illustration for Older Readers.

Horn Book Fanfare List

Chosen annually since 1938 by the editors of The Horn Book Magazine, Fanfare is the selection of the best children’s and young adult books of the year.

International Literacy Association Children’s and Young Adult Book Awards

These awards are intended for newly published authors who show unusual promise in the children’s and young adult book field. Awards are given for fiction and nonfiction in each of three categories: Primary, Intermediate, and Young Adult.

Irma S. and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature

This award, given by the Bank Street College of Education, 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. This award is unusual in that children are the final judges of the winning book.

Jane Addams Book Award and Honor

The Jane Addams 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.

Josette Frank Award

Given since 1943 by Bank Street College, this award for fiction honors a book or books of outstanding literary merit in which children or young people deal in a positive and realistic way with difficulties in their world and grow emotionally and morally.

Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award

Established in 1993, this award is presented annually by the Pennsylvania Center for the Book and Penn State University Libraries to an American poet or anthologist for the most outstanding new book for poetry for children published in the previous calendar year.

Los Angeles Times Book Prizes

Since 1980 the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes have been dedicated to discovering new voices and celebrating the highest quality of writing across the spectrum of book publishing. There are 14 categories, including Young Adult Literature and Graphic Novel/Comics.

Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature

This award is given annually for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature.

Middle East Book Award

The Middle East Outreach Council established this award in 1999 to recognize books for children and young adults that contribute meaningfully to understanding of the Middle East. Three awards are given annually: Picture Book, Youth Literature, and Youth Non-Fiction.

Mildred L. Batchelder Award and Honor

This award, established in 1966, is given to a United States publisher for a children’s book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originating in a country other than the United States, in a language other than English, and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United Stated during the previous year.

NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children

The National Council of Teachers of English established this award in 1977 to honor a living American poet for their aggregate work for children ages 3-13. 

NCTE Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children

This award was established in 2014 to promote and recognize excellence in the writing of fiction for children. The award recognized fiction that has the potential to transform children’s lives by inviting compassion, imagination, and wonder.

NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children

Established in 1989, this award promotes and recognizes excellence in the writing of non-fiction for children. Orbis Pictus commemorates the work of Johannes Amos Comenius: Orbis Pictus-The World in Pictures (1658), considered to be the first book actually planned for children. 

National Book Award: Young People’s Literature

The National Book Awards were established in 1950 to celebrate the best writing in the United States. One of the five categories is Young People’s Literature; a longlist is released of ten titles, narrowed down to five finalists, and a winner is announced in the fall.

National Jewish Book Awards

Inaugurated in 1950, the National Jewish Book Awards are intended to recognize authors, and encourage reading, of outstanding English-language books of Jewish interest. Appropriate categories include: Children’s Picture Book, Middle Grade Literature, and Young Adult Literature.

Newbery Medal and Honor

Named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery, this award is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. This award is given annually to one winner, with a list of honor books.

Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People

The books selected for this list 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 traditional topic, are easily readable and of high literary quality, and have a pleasing format and, when appropriate, illustrations that enrich the text.

Odyssey Award

The annual Odyssey award is given to the producer of the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States. 

Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12

The National Science Teaching Association and the Children’s Book Council select titles for this list that were outstanding children’s science trade books, providing a perfect way for students to build literacy skills while learning science content. See also the NSTA’s Best STEM books: https://www.nsta.org/best-stem-books-k-12

Phoenix Award

First presented in 1985, this award recognizes books of exceptional literary merit that, when published twenty years earlier, did not win a major award at the time of publication but which, with the perspective of time, is deemed worthy of special attention.

Pura Belpré Award

This award, established in 1996, is presented 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.

Regina Medal

Established in 1959 and sponsored by the Catholic Library Association, the Regina Medal is awarded annually to a living exemplar of the words of the English poet, Waltar de la Mare, “only the rarest kind of best in anything can be good enough for the young,” for continued, distinguished contribution to children’s literature without regard to the nature of the contribution. This award is given to one author annually who demonstrates these sentiments.

Rise: A Feminist Book Project

Each year, the project compiles an annotated book list of well-written and well-illustrated books with significant feminist content, intended for young readers birth through age 18.

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal

This medal is awarded annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished informational book published in the United States during the previous year. One medal is awarded, with a list of honor books chosen.

Schneider Family Book Award

Endowed in 2003 by Dr. Katherine Schneider and her family, this award recognizes three winners (one each in the following categories: Younger Children (ages 4-8), Middle Grade (ages 9-13), and Young Adult (14-18)) for titles featuring a main or secondary character with a disability, must portray the disability as part of a full life, and information on disability must be accurate.

School Library Journal Best Books

Each year, School Library Journal creates a list of children’s and young adult literature to help educators do the important work of giving children access to life-changing books that will inspire them. Lists are created for Picture Books, Transitional Books, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Nonfiction Elementary, Nonfiction Middle to High School, Poetry, Graphic Novels, and Top 10 Manga.

Scott O’Dell Award

In 1982, Scott O’Dell, the author of Island of the Blue Dolphins, established this award for a meritorious book of historical fiction published the previous year for children or adults. 

Skipping Stones Honor Awards

These awards honor books in three categories: Multicultural & International, Nature & Ecology, and Teaching Resources. The winners promote an understanding of cultures, cultivate cooperation, and/or encourage a deeper awareness of nature, ecology, and diversity.

South Asia Book Award

This award was established in 2010 and is given annually for up to three outstanding works of literature, from picture books to adult novels, which accurately and skillfully portray the experiences of individuals living in South Asia, or of South Asians living in other parts of the world. 

Stonewall Book Awards-Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award

This award is given to one title annually to English-language children’s and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the LGBTQIA+ experience.

Sydney Taylor Book Awards and Honors

Since 1968, this award is presented annually to outstanding books for children and teens that accurately portray the Jewish experience. Gold medals are presented in three categories: Picture Books, Middle Grade, and Young Adult. 

Theodore Seuss Geisel Award

https://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/geisel

This award is given 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 previous year. The winner(s) are recognized for their literary and artistic achievements that demonstrate creativity and imagination to engage children in reading. 

Tomas Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award

The Texas State University College of Education created this award in 1995, named after their distinguished alumnus, to honor authors and illustrators who create literature that depicts the Mexican American experience.

Walter Dean Myers Award

https://diversebooks.org/programs/walter-awards/

Also known as “The Walters,” these awards celebrate the legacy of author Walter Dean Myers, who had a prolific, lauded career and was a life-long champion of diversity in children’s and young adult books. The winners, a Teen (ages 13-18) book and a Younger Readers (ages 9-13) book, must be written by a diverse author, feature a diverse main character or diverse topic, with diversity being considered a person of color, a Native American, a person with a disability, a member of a marginalized religious or cultural minority, or a person who identifies as LGBTQIA+. 

Western Heritage Awards

Since 1961, the Western Heritage Awards recognize the best creators in literature, music, television, and film who share their vision of the West, and enshrine pioneers and performers who have built an enduring Western cultural legacy. Among many awards given, an award is given for Juvenile Book.

Western Writers of America Spur Awards

Western Writers of American annually honors writers for distinguished writing about the American West with this award. An award, along with two finalists honorees, is given in the following children’s categories: Best Western Children’s Picture Book, Best Western Juvenile Fiction, and Best Western Juvenile Nonfiction.

William C. Morris YA Debut Award

First given in 2009, this award honors a book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature.

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults

This award, given by the ALA and YALSA, honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during the previous publishing year.

Texas Bluebonnet Award

One of the most prestigious children’s choice literary awards in the U.S., each year 20 books are chosen for the Texas Bluebonnet Award List. Students around the state are encouraged to read a minimum of five books and then are asked to vote on their favorite title.

Young Reader’s Choice Awards

Sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Library Association and including the votes of students from Alaska, Alberta (Canada), British Columbia (Canada), Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, this award was established in 1940 and is the longest-running children's choice book award. It is also the only international award with young readers from both the US and Canada participating.