2009 Children’s Book Awards — A Round-Up


Elizabeth Bluemle - January 21, 2010

Y’all know how much I like a helpful round-up, so here are all the national awards given to 2009 books for children and teens, or at least as many as I could find. In addition to the exciting announcements of awards by the American Library Association on Monday, several other esteemed organizations have bestowed awards on outstanding books of 2009.
Indie booksellers, librarians, and teachers, please feel free to copy and paste this post to print out for your customers, patrons, fellow teachers and students, and share the link with anyone you think might find it useful.
2010 AWARD WINNERS
First, the ALA Youth Media Awards:

Alex Awards—The Alex Awards are given to 10 books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18. The winning titles are selected from the previous year’s published books.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer (William Morrow/HarperCollins); The Bride’s Farewell by Meg Rosoff (Viking Penguin); Everything Matters! by Ron Currie, Jr. (Viking Penguin);  The Good Soldiers by David Finkel (Sarah Crichton/FSG); The Kids Are All Right: A Memoir by Diana Welch and Liz Welch with Amanda Welch and Dan Welch (Harmony Books/Crown); The Magicians by Lev Grossman (Viking Penguin); My Abandonment by Peter Rock (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt); Soulless: An Alexia Tarabotti Novel, by Gail Carriger (Orbit/Hachette); Stitches: A Memoir by David Small (W.W. Norton); Tunneling to the Center of the Earth by Kevin Wilson (Harper Perennial)
2010 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults—Click here for the complete list of 21 titles chosen by this year’s committee.
May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture — This annual lecture is given by a person who has made a distinguished contribution to the field of children’s literature. The lecturer need not be a resident or citizen of the United States. Criteria in identifying a distinguished contribution: Impact of the candidate’s work on the world of children’s literature. Honoring a person who has played a significant role in the field of children’s literature. Through the Lectureship, the Lecturer has the opportunity to make an additional contribution to the field.
2011 Arbuthnot Lecturer: Lois Lowry (pictured, at right; image thanks to loislowry.com).
Mildred L. Batchelder Award—This award, established in Mildred L. Batchelder’s honor in 1966, is a citation awarded to an American publisher for a children’s book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originally published in a foreign language in a foreign country, and subsequently translated into English and published in the United States.
2010 Batchelder Winner: A Faraway Island by Annika Thor, translated from the Swedish by Linda Schenck (Delacorte).
2010 Batchelder Honors: Big Wolf and Little Wolf by Nadine Brun-Cosme, illustrated by Olivier Tallec, translated by Claudia Bedrick (Enchanted Lion); Eidi by Bodil Bredsdorff, translated by Kathryn Mahaffy (FSG); and Moribito II: Guardian of the Darkness by Nahoko Uehashi, illustrated by Yuko Shimizu, translated by Cathy Hirano (Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine).
2010 Best Books for Young Adults (BBYA)—In addition to the 90 titles selected for the complete list of Best Books for Young Adults, the 2010 committee has selected the following as the Top Ten best books for young adults:
Alligator Bayou by Donna Jo Napoli (Random House/Knopf, 2009); Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan (Simon & Schuster/McElderry, 2009); The Great Wide Sea by M.H. Herlong (Penguin/Viking, 2008); Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor (Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine, 2009); Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork (Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine, 2009); The Orange Houses by Paul Griffin (Penguin/Dial, 2009); The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks (Harcourt, 2009); Stitches: A Memoir by David Small (W.W. Norton, 2009); When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (Random House/Wendy Lamb, 2009); Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland by Sally Walker (Lerner/Carolrhoda, 2009).

Pura Belpré Award—The Pura Belpré 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.
2010 Pura Belpré Illustrator Award Winner: Rafael López, author of Book Fiesta!: Celebrate Children’s Day/Book Day; Celebremos El día de los niños/El día de los libros, written by Pat Mora (HarperCollins/Rayo).
2010 Pura Belpré Honor Books for Illustration: Diego: Bigger Than Life, illustrated by David Diaz, written by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand (Marshall Cavendish); My Abuelita, illustrated by Yuyi Morales, written by Tony Johnston (Harcourt); and Gracias Thanks, illustrated by John Parra, written by Pat Mora (Lee & Low).
2010 Pura Belpré Author Award: Julia Alvarez, author of Return to Sender (Knopf).
2010 Pura Belpré Author Honor books: Diego: Bigger Than Life, by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, illustrated by David Diaz (Marshall Cavendish); and Federico García Lorca by Georgina Lázaro, illustrated by Enrique S. Moreiro (Lectorum).


Randolph Caldecott Medal—The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of 19th-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is 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.
2010 Randolph Caldecott Winner: The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney (Little, Brown).
2010 Caldecott Honor Books: All the World, illustrated by Marla Frazee, written by Liz Garton Scanlon (S&S/Beach Lane); and Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Joyce Sidman (Houghton).
Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Children’s Video—The Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Children’s Video honors outstanding video productions for children released during the previous year. The annual award is given to the video’s producer by ALSC, through a Carnegie endowment.
2010 Carnegie Winner: Paul R. Gagne and Mo Willems, producers of “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!” (Weston Woods). The video is based on Willems’s picture book of the same name, and was narrated by Willems and Jon Scieszka with animation by Pete List.

Margaret A. Edwards Award
—The Margaret A. Edwards Award, established in 1988, honors an author, as well as a specific body of his or her work, that have been popular over a period of time. 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.
2010 Margaret A. Edwards Award Winner: Jim Murphy, author of “more than 30 books about American history. His work has received many awards including 2 ALA Newbery Honor Book Awards, ALA Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award, ALA Robert F. Sibert Honor Book Award, National Book Award Finalist Medal, 3 NCTE Orbis Pictus Awards, 3 Jefferson Cup Awards, 2 SCBWI’s Golden Kite Award, The Washington Post/Children’s Book Guild Award for Distinguished Nonfiction, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award.” (Awards list and photo by Arthur Cohen thanks to JimMurphyBooks.com)
Theodor Seuss Geisel Award—The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award, established in 2004, is given annually (beginning in 2006) to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished contribution to the body of American children’s literature known as beginning reader books published in the United States during the preceding year.
2010 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Winner: Benny and Penny in the Big No-No! by Geoffrey Hayes (RAW Junior/Toon).
2010 Geisel Honors: I Spy Fly Guy! by Tedd Arnold (Scholastic); Little Mouse Gets Ready by Jeff Smith (RAW Junior/Toon); Mouse and Mole: Fine Feathered Friends by Wong Herbert Yee (Houghton); and Pearl and Wagner: One Funny Day by Kate McMullan, illustrated by R.W. Alley (Dial).
2010 Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens: The Helm by Jim Hardison and Bart Sears (Dark Horse, 2009); Children of the Sea, vol 1 by Daisuke Igarashi (VIZ Media, 2009); Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer by Van Jensen and Dusty Higgins (SLG Publishing, 2009); I Kill Giants by Joe Kelly and J.M. Ken Nimura (Image, 2009); Omega the Unknown by Jonathan Lethem and Farel Dalrymple (Marvel, 2008); Bayou, vol 1 by Jeremy Love (DC Comics/Zuda, 2009); A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge, by Josh Neufeld (Pantheon, 2009); Gunnerkrigg Court, vol 1: Orientation by Tom Siddell (Archaia Studios Press, 2009); Pluto by Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki (VIZ Media, 2009); Ooku: The Inner Chambers, vol 1 by Fumi Yoshinaga (VIZ Media, 2009).
Click here to see the complete list of 2010 Great Graphic Novels for Teens.
Coretta Scott King Book Awards—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, the Coretta Scott King Book Awards annually recognize outstanding books for young adults and children by African-American authors and illustrators that reflect the African-American experience. Further, the Award encourages the artistic expression of the black experience via literature and the graphic arts in biographical, social, and historical treatments by African-American authors and illustrators.
2010 Coretta Scott King Author Award WinnerBad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal, by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (Lerner/ Carolrhoda).
2010 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book: Mare’s War by Tanita S. Davis (Knopf).
2010 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Winner: My People, illustrated by Charles R. Smith, Jr., written by Langston Hughes (Atheneum/Ginee Seo).
2010 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book: The Negro Speaks of Rivers, illustrated by E.B. Lewis, written by Langston Hughes (Disney-Jump at the Sun).
Coretta Scott King John Steptoe Award for New Talent—The award is 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 of the two awards given annually by the Coretta Scott King Task Force. These books affirm new talent and offer visibility to excellence in writing or illustration at the beginning of a career as a published book creator.
2010 John Steptoe Award for New Talent: Kekla Magoon, author of The Rock and the River (S&S/Aladdin).
The Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement This award was established to recognize an African American author, illustrator, or author/illustrator for a body of his or her published books for children and/or young adults who has made a significant and lasting literary contribution. The Award pays tribute to the late Virginia Hamilton and the quality and magnitude of her exemplary contributions through her literature and advocacy for children and youth, especially in her focus on African American life, history and consciousness. The first award will be given in 2010. (Thank you to VirginiaHamilton.com, the source of the beautiful photo at left, and to ChildrensLit.com, source of the handsome photo at right.)
2010 Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement: Walter Dean Myers is the first-ever winner of this new award.
William C. Morris Debut YA Award—The William C. Morris YA Debut Award, first given in 2009, honors a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrates impressive new voices in young adult literature.
2010 William C. Morris Debut YA Award Winner: Flash Burnout by L.K. Madigan (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).
2010 William C. Morris Debut YA Award Finalists: Ash by Malinda Lo (Little, Brown); Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (Little, Brown); The Everafter by Amy Huntley (HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray); hold still by Nina LaCour (Dutton).

John Newbery Medal
—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.
2010 winner: Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me (Random/Wendy Lamb). 2010 Honor books: Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose (FSG/Melanie Kroupa); The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly (Henry Holt); Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin (Little, Brown); and The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick (Scholastic/Blue Sky).
ALA Notable Books: Each year the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) identifies the best of the best of children’s books, recordings, videos, and interactive software on the Notable Children’s Books list. Click here to see all lists of the 2010 ALA Notable selections.

Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production This annual award will be given to the producer of the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States.
2010 Winner: Live Oak Media, producer of Louise, the Adventures of a Chicken by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Harry Bliss, narrated by Barbara Rosenblat.
2010 Odyssey Honor titles: In the Belly of the Bloodhound: Being an Account of a Particularly Peculiar Adventure in the Life of Jacky Faber by L.A. Meyer, narrated by Katherine Kellgren (Listen & Live); Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson, narrated by Dion Graham (Brilliance Audio); and We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson, narrated by Dion Graham (Brilliance Audio).
Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults—Each year, the Popular Paperbacks committee creates lists of books to encourage young adults to read for pleasure. The lists of popular or topical titles are widely available in paperback and represent a broad variety of accessible themes and genres. See the complete list here.
Michael L. Printz Award—The Michael L. Printz Award is an award for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. The Printz Award has been honoring the best in young adult literature since 2000.
2010 Michael L. Printz Award Winner: Going Bovine by Libba Bray (Delacorte).
2010 Printz Honor Books: Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman (Henry Holt); The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey (S&S); Punkzilla by Adam Rapp (Candlewick); and Tales from the Madman Underground: An Historical Romance, 1973 by John Barnes (Viking).

ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
—The Quick Picks list, presented annually at the ALA Midwinter Meeting suggests books that teens will pick up on their own and read for pleasure; it is geared to the teenager who, for whatever reason, does not like to read. The 2010 list includes 101 titles, both nonfiction and fiction, from a variety of genres, including biography, pop culture, fantasy, street lit, and more.

ALA 2010 Top Ten Quick Picks
Dope Sick by Walter Dean Myers (Amistad, 2009); High Voltage Tattoo by Kat Von D (HarperCollins, 2009); Jumping Off Swings by Jo Knowles (Candlewick, 2009); Lockdown: Escape from Furnace by Alexander Gordon Smith (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009); The Naked Truth: Young, Beautiful and (HIV) Positive by Marvelyn Brown (Amistad, 2008); Paranormal Caught on Film by Melvyn Willin (David and Charles, 2008); Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles (Walker, 2008); Show Me How: 500 Things You Should Know Instructions for Life From the Everyday to the Exotic by Derek Fagerstrom and Lauren Smith (Collins Design, 2008); Street Art Book: 60 Artists in Their Own Words by Ric Blackshaw and Liz Farrelly (HarperCollins, 2009); The Vampire Book by Sally Regan (DK, 2009).

Schneider Family Book Award—The Schneider Family Book Awards honor an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.
2010 Schneider Family Book Award for Best Children’s Book: Django by Bonnie Christensen (Roaring Brook/Neal Porter).
2010 Schneider Family Book Award for Best Middle Grade Book: Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin (S&S).
2010 Schneider Family Book Award for Best Teen Book: Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork (Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine).

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal—The Sibert Award honors the most distinguished informational book published in English in the preceding year for its significant contribution to children’s literature.
2010 Robert F. Sibert Award Winner: Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone (Candlewick).
2010 Sibert Honors: The Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer’s Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors by Chris Barton, illustrated by Tony Persiani (Charlesbridge); Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 written and illustrated by Brian Floca (Atheneum/Richard Jackson); and Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose (FSG/Melanie Kroupa).

Laura Ingalls Wilder Award—This biennial award, a bronze medal, honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.
The Wilder Award was last given January 26, 2009, to author/illustrator Ashley Bryan. (Photo of Ashley Bryan by Sue Hill of Winters Work Gift Shop, Islesford, Maine, 2007. Source: Wikipedia.org.)
YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults. Newly established, 2010 is the first year of this award. The award will honor the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during a November 1 – October 31 publishing year. The award winner is announced annually at the ALA Midwinter Meeting Youth Media Awards, with a shortlist of up to five titles named the first week of December. The award is presented at the ALA Annual Conference.
2010 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award Winner: Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman (Henry Holt).
2010 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award Finalists: Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone (Candlewick); Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose (Melanie Kroupa Books/ FSG); The Great and Only Barnum: The Tremendous, Stupendous Life of Showman P. T. Barnum by Candace Fleming and illustrated by Ray Fenwick (Schwartz & Wade/Random House); Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland by Sally M. Walker (Carolrhoda/Lerner).
***
The following awards are national children’s book awards not given by the ALA, but by other organizations. Again, award descriptions are the organizations’ own.
The Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards—The Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards are given annually to the children’s books published the preceding year that effectively promote the cause of peace, social justice, world community, and the equality of the sexes and all races as well as meeting conventional standards for excellence. The Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards have been presented annually since 1953 by the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and the Jane Addams Peace Association. Beginning in 1993, a Picture Book category was created. Honor books may be chosen in each category. Beginning in 2003, the award winners are announced on April 28, the anniversary of the founding of WILPF. An awards presentation, open to all, is held each year on the third Friday of October.

2010 Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards Winners
—to be announced on April 28, 2010.
American Indian Youth Literature Awards: The American Indian Library Association (AILA), an affiliate of the American Library Association, announced the recipients of its third annual award. Winners of the AILA Youth Literature Award receive a cash award and a beaded medallion featuring the AILA awards logo.Winners will receive their award and medallion at the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., on Monday, June 28.
2010 AILA Award for Best Picture Book: A Coyote Solstice Tale by Thomas King, illustrated by Gary Clement (Groundwood, 2009).
2010 AILA Award for Best Middle School Book: Meet Christopher: An Osage Indian Boy from Oklahoma by Genevieve Simermeyer, with photographs by Katherine Fogden (National Museum of the American Indian, in association with Council Oak Books, 2008). It is the fourth book in the “My World: Young Native Americans Today” series, in which each book is written and photographed by Native contributors.
2010 AILA Award for Best Young Adult Book: Between the Deep Blue Sea and Me: A Novel by Lurline Wailana McGregor (Kamehameha Publishing, 2008).
Américas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature—The Américas Award is given in recognition of U.S. works of fiction, poetry, folklore, or selected non-fiction (from picture books to works for young adults) published in the previous year in English or Spanish that authentically and engagingly portray Latin America, the Caribbean, or Latinos in the United States. By combining both and linking the Americas, the award reaches beyond geographic borders, as well as multicultural-international boundaries, focusing instead upon cultural heritages within the hemisphere. The award is sponsored by the national Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP).
The 2010 Americas Award Winners—The award/commended list will be announced in the spring of 2010, recognizing works published in 2009; tentatively the formal award presentation will be held during Hispanic Heritage Month 2010 at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy—The Andre Norton Award for an outstanding young adult science fiction or fantasy book is an annual honor first given in 2006 by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc., to recognize outstanding science fiction and fantasy novels that are written for the young adult market. The award was named in honor of the late Andre Norton, a SFWA Grand Master and author of more than 100 novels. Ms. Norton’s work has influenced generations of young people, creating new fans of the fantasy and science fiction genres and setting the standard for excellence in fantasy writing. Any English-language book published as a young adult science fiction/fantasy novel is eligible, including graphic novels with no limit on word length or country of origin.
2010 Andre Norton Award Winner—The time and place for the 2010 Nebula Awards are currently being finalized and will be announced as soon as everything’s arranged.
The Association of Booksellers for Children (ABC) E.B. White Read-Aloud Award—The E.B. White Read Aloud Awards, established in 2004, honor 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. In the first two years of the award, a single book was selected. In 2006, in recognition of the fact that reading aloud is a pleasure at any age, the award was expanded into two categories: Picture Books, and Older Readers.
The 2010 E.B. White Read-Aloud Award Winners will be announced at the June 2010 BookExpo America ABC Children’s Not-a-Dinner Celebration and Silent Auction.
BANK STREET CHILDREN’S BOOK COMMITTEE AWARDS (three categories–fiction, nonfiction, poetry) The Children’s Book Committee at Bank Street College of Education will honor these five books at its annual breakfast and ceremony on March 18th.
The Josette Frank Award—This award is given each year to honor 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. In addition to being a well-known author of articles about children’s books, Josette Frank was the editor of many anthologies for children and served for many years as the Executive Director of the Child Study Association of America of which this committee was a part. The Josette Frank Award has been given annually since 1943. From 1943 to 1997 it was called the “Children’s Book Award.”  The prize to the author of the award book has been generously provided by the Florence L. Miller Memorial Fund.
2010 Josette Frank Award Winner: This year, the award is shared by two books, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly (Henry Holt) and Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin (Little, Brown).
The Flora Stieglitz Straus Award—The Flora Stieglitz Straus Award was established in 1994. It honors Flora Straus who led the committee for many years, and is presented annually for a distinguished work of nonfiction which fulfills her humanitarian ideals and serves as an inspiration to young people. Flora Straus stood for the values of courage, hard work, truth and beauty, while adapting to a changing world. She believed that books about varying cultures enrich and help all children in their growth. She championed diverse opinions and points of view. She was a person of high principles, unfailing courtesy and deep understanding, and was an inspiration to all who had the privilege of knowing her.
2010 Flora Stieglitz Straus Award Winners: Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone (Candlewick) and a young person’s award to Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 by Brian Floca (Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books)
The Claudia Lewis Award—The Claudia Lewis Award, given for the first time in 1998, honors the late Claudia Lewis, distinguished children’s book expert and longtime member of the Bank Street College faculty and Children’s Book Committee. She conveyed her love and understanding of poetry with humor and grace. The award is given for the best poetry book of the year.
2010 Claudie Lewis Award Winner: Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski (Houghton Mifflin).
The Boston Globe – Horn Book Awards—First presented in 1967 and customarily announced in June, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards are among the most prestigious honors in the field of children’s and young adult literature. Winners are selected in three categories: Picture Book, Fiction and Poetry, and Nonfiction. Two Honor Books may be named in each category. On occasion, a book will receive a special citation for its high quality and overall creative excellence. The winning titles must be published in the United States but they may be written or illustrated by citizens of any country. The awards are chosen by an independent panel of three judges who are annually appointed by the Editor of the Horn Book.
The 2010 Boston Globe – Horn Book Awards will be announced in June.
Carter G. Woodson Book Award—National Council for the Social Studies established the Carter G. Woodson Book Awards for the most distinguished social science books appropriate for young readers that depict ethnicity in the United States. First presented in 1974, this award is intended to “encourage the writing, publishing, and dissemination of outstanding social studies books for young readers that treat topics related to ethnic minorities and race relations sensitively and accurately.” Books relating to ethnic minorities and the authors of such books rarely receive the recognition they merit from professional organizations. By sponsoring the Carter G. Woodson Awards, the National Council for the Social Studies gives wide recognition to and directly stimulates authors and publishers.
The 2010 Carter G. Woodson Award Winner will be announced in November at the annual NCSS conference.
The Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) Charlotte Zolotow Award—The Charlotte Zolotow Award is given annually to the author of the best picture book text published in the United States in the preceding year. Established in 1998, the award is named to honor the work of Charlotte Zolotow, a distinguished children’s book editor for 38 years with Harper Junior Books, and author of more than 70 picture books, including such classic works as Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present (Harper, 1962) and William’s Doll (Harper, 1972). Ms. Zolotow attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison on a writing scholarship from 1933-36 where she studied with Professor Helen C. White.
The award is administered by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, a children’s literature library of the School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Each year a committee of children’s literature experts selects the winner from the books published in the preceding year. The winner is announced in January each year. A bronze medallion is formally presented to the winning author in the spring during an annual public event that honors the career of Charlotte Zolotow.
2010 Charlotte Zolotow Award Winner: What Can You Do with a Paleta? by Carmen Tafolla (Tricycle).
The Cybils Awards—The Cybils Award is a readers’ choice award organized by children’s literature bloggers. “Our purpose is two-fold: * Reward the children’s and young adult authors (and illustrators, let’s not forget them) whose books combine the highest literary merit and “kid appeal.” What’s that mean? If some la-di-dah awards can be compared to brussel sprouts, and other, more populist ones to gummy bears, we’re thinking more like organic chicken nuggets. We’re yummy and nutritious. * Foster a sense of community among bloggers who write about children’s and YA literature, highlight our best reviewers (and shamelessly promote their blogs) and provide a forum for the similarly obsessed.”
Finalists and winners are announced in each of the following categories: Easy Readers/Short Chapter Books; Fantasy & Science Fiction; Fiction Picture Books; Graphic Novels; Middle Grade Fiction; Non-Fiction Picture Books; Non-Fiction: Middle Grade & Young Adult; Poetry; Young Adult Fiction.
The 2010 Cybils Award Winners will be announced on Valentine’s Day. In the meantime, here’s a link to the finalists.
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards—”Mystery Writers of America is proud to announce on the 201st anniversary of the birth of Edgar Allan Poe, its Nominees for the 2010 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in 2009. The Edgar Awards will be presented to the winners at our 64th Gala Banquet, April 29, 2010 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City.”
2010 Edgar Award Nominees for Best Juvenile:
THE CASE OF THE CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY by Mac Barnett (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
THE RED BLAZER GIRLS: The Ring of Rocamadour by Michael D. Beil (Random House Children’s Books – Alfred A. Knopf)
CLOSED FOR THE SEASON by Mary Downing Hahn (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Books)
CREEPY CRAWLY CRIME by Aaron Reynolds (Henry Holt Books for Young Readers)
THE CASE OF THE CRYPTIC CRINOLINE by Nancy Springer (Penguin Young Readers Group – Philomel)
2010 Edgar Award Nominees for Best Young Adult
REALITY CHECK by Peter Abrahams (HarperCollins Children’s Books – HarperTeen)
IF THE WITNESS LIED by Caroline B. Cooney (Random House Children’s Books – HarperTeen)
THE MORGUE AND ME by JOhn C. Ford (Penguin Young Readers Group – Viking Children’s Books)
PETRONELLA SAVES NEARLY EVERYONE by Dene Low (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Books)
SHADOWED SUMMER by Saundra Mitchell (Random House Children’s Books – Delacorte)
The Hans Christian Andersen Award—The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are presented every two years by IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) to an author and an illustrator whose complete works have made an important and lasting contribution to children’s literature. The Hans Christian Andersen Award is the highest international recognition given to an author and an illustrator of children’s books. Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark is the Patron of the Andersen Awards. The nominations are made by the National Sections of IBBY and the recipients are selected by a distinguished international jury of children’s literature specialists.
The 2010 Hans Christan Andersen Awards—IBBY National Sections from 32 countries have made their selections, submitting 28 authors and 27 illustrators as candidates for the 2010. Walter Dean Myers and Eric Carle are the nominees from the United States. The winners will be announced at the IBBY Press Conference at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair on Tuesday, 23 March 2010.
The Ezra Jack Keats and New York Public Library New Writer and New Illustrator Award for Children’s Books—The Ezra Jack Keats Book Award was established in 1985 to recognize and encourage authors and illustrators new to the field of children’s books. Many past winners of the EJK Book Award have gone on to distinguished careers creating many books beloved by parents, children, librarians and teachers across the country.
The Ezra Jack Keats New Writer and New Illustrator Awards are given annually to an outstanding new writer of picture books for children (age 9 and under) and are presented jointly by the New York Public Library and the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. A distinguished selection committee consisting of early childhood education specialists, librarians, illustrators and experts in children’s literature review entries, seek books that portray the universal qualities of childhood, a strong and supportive family, and the multicultural nature of our world. As of 1999, the Award is being given annually rather than with the previous biennial cycle.
To be eligible, writers must have published no more than three books, and candidates for the writer’s award need not have done the illustrations. As of 2001, an Illustrator’s award, with similar criteria, is being inaugurated. A silver medal and an honorarium of $1,000 are awarded to each of the winners.
The 2010 Ezra Jack Keats and New York Public Library New Writer and New Illustrator Awards have not yet been announced. Check back for list of winners!
IRA Children’s and Young Adult’s Book Awards—Children’s and Young Adult’s Book Awards are given for an author’s first or second published book written for children or young adults (ages birth to 17 years). Awards are given for fiction and nonfiction in each of three categories: primary, intermediate, and young adult. Books from any country and in any language published for the first time during the 2008 calendar year will be considered. Each award carries a monetary stipend. (Note: the 2010 awards have not yet been awarded.)
The National Book Award for Young People’s Literature—Judges consider only books written by American citizens and published in the United States between December 1 of the previous year and November 30 of the current year. Only publishers can nominate books for the National Book Award, although panel chairs can request books publishers have not nominated.
2009 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature Winner: Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
2009 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature Finalists: Deborah Heiligman, Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith (Henry Holt); David Small, Stitches (W. W. Norton & Co.); Laini Taylor, Lips Touch: Three Times (Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic); Rita Williams-Garcia, Jumped (HarperTeen/HarperCollins)
The Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction—In 1982, Scott O’Dell established The Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction. The annual award of $5,000 goes to a meritorious book published in the previous year for children or young adults. Scott O’Dell established this award to encourage other writers–particularly new authors–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.
2010 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction Winner: The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan (Candlewick).

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Orbis Pictus Award: The National Council of Teachers of English, through the Committee on the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, has established an annual award for promoting and recognizing excellence in the writing of nonfiction for children. The name Orbis Pictus, commemorates the work of Johannes Amos Comenius, Orbis Pictus—The World in Pictures (1657), considered to be the first book actually planned for children.
The award is presented by the Orbis Pictus Committee Chair during the Books for Children Luncheon at the NCTE Annual Convention each year. Although only one title is singled out for the award, up to five Honor Books are also recognized.
2010 Orbis Pictus Award Winner: The Secret World of Walter Anderson by Hester Bass, illustrated by E.B. Lewis (Candlewick Press).
2010 Orbis Pictus Honor Books: Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone (Candlewick); Darwin: With Glimpses into His Private Journal and Letters by Alice B. McGinty (Houghton); The Frog Scientist by Pamela S. Turner (Houghton); How Many Baby Pandas? by Sandra Markle (Walker); Noah Webster: Weaver of Words by Pegi Deitz Shea (Calkins Creek).
2010 Orbis Pictus Recommended Books:
The Boy Who Invented TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth by Kathleen Krull (Knopf); Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose (FSG/Melanie Kroupa); Eleanor, Quiet No More by Doreen Rappaport (Hyperion); The Grand Mosque of Paris: A Story of How Muslims Rescued Jews During the Holocaust by Karen Gray Ruelle (Holiday House); Life in the Boreal Forest by Brenda Z. Guiberson (Henry Holt); One Giant Leap by Robert Burleigh (Philomel); Truce by Jim Murphy (Scholastic); Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland by Sally M. Walker (Carolrhoda).
Golden Kite Award medalSociety of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Golden Kite Awards:
Presented by the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators the Golden Kite Awards, given annually to recognize excellence in children’s literature, grant cash prizes of $2,500 to author and illustrator winners in four categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Picture Book Text, and Picture Book Illustration. Authors and illustrators will also receive an expense-paid trip to Los Angeles to attend the award ceremony at the Golden Kite Luncheon at SCBWI’s Summer Conference in August.In addition to the four Golden Kite Award winners, four honor book recipients will also be named by the panel of judges which consists of children’s book writers and illustrators.
Instituted in 1973, the Golden Kite Awards are the only children’s literary award judged by a jury of peers. More than 1,000 books are entered each year. Eligible books must be written or illustrated by SCBWI members, and submitted either by publishers or individuals.
2010 Fiction Award Winner—Sea of the Dead by Julia Durango (Simon & Schuster). Honor book:  Neil Armstrong is My Uncle by Nan Marino
(Roaring Book Press).
2010 Nonfiction Award Winner—Ashley Bryan: Words to My Life’s Song by Ashley Bryan (Atheneum / Simon & Schuster). Honor book:
Ernest Hemingway: A Writer’s Life by Catherine Reef (Clarion Books / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
2010 Picture Book Text Award Winner—The Longest Night by Marion Dane Bauer, illustrated by Ted Lewin (Holiday House). Honor book: Bella & Bean by Rebecca Kai Dotlich, illustrated by Aileen Leijten (Atheneum / Simon & Schuster).
2010 Picture Book Illustration—Gracias / Thanks Illustrated by John Parra, written by Pat Mora (Lee & Low). Honor book: Bad News for Outlaws Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson (Carolrhoda Books)
The Stonewall Book Awards The Gay – Lesbian – Bisexual – Transgendered Round Table of the American Library Association honors books for exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered experience.
2010 Stonewall Book Award Winner for Children’s and Young Adult Literature: The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd (Dial).
2010 Stonewall Book Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature Honor Books: 10,000 Dresses by Marcus Ewert (Seven Stories); Daddy, Papa and Me / Mommy, Mama and Me by Leslea Newman, illustrated by Carol Thompson (Tricycle); Gay America: Struggle for Equality by Linas Alsenas (Amulet Books); Sprout by Dale Peck (Bloomsbury).
The Sydney Taylor Book Award honors new books for children and teens that exemplify the highest literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience. The award memorializes Sydney Taylor, author of the classic All-of-a-Kind Family series. The winners will receive their awards at the Association of Jewish Libraries convention in Seattle this July.
2010 Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Younger Readers: New Year at the Pier: A Rosh Hashanah Story by April Halprin Wayland, illustrated by Stéphane Jorish (Dial).
2010 Sydney Taylor Honor Books for Younger Readers: Nachshon, Who Was Afraid to Swim: A Passover Story by Deborah Bodin Cohen, illustrated by Jago (Lerner/Kar-Ben); Benjamin and the Silver Goblet by Jacqueline Jules, illustrated by Natascia Ugliano (Lerner/Kar-Ben); Yankee at the Seder by Elka Weber, illustrated by Adam Gustavson (Tricycle); You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax? by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Andre Carrilho (Random/Schwartz & Wade).
2010 Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Older Readers: The Importance of Wings by Robin Friedman (Charlesbridge).
2010 Sydney Taylor Honor Books for Older Readers: Anne Frank: Her Life in Words and Pictures from the Archives of the Anne Frank House by Menno Metselaar and Ruud van der Rol, translated by Arnold J. Pomerans (Roaring Brook/Flash Point); A Faraway Island by Annika Thor, translated by Linda Schenck (Delacorte Books).
2010 Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Teen Readers: Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba by Margarita Engle (Henry Holt).
2010 Sydney Taylor Honor Books for Teen Readers: Lost by Jacqueline Davies (Marshall Cavendish); Naomi’s Song by Selma Kritzer Silverberg (Jewish Publication Society).
2010 Sydney Taylor Notable Books for Younger Readers: Where Is Grandpa Dennis? by Michelle Shapiro Abraham, illustrated by Janice Fried (URJ Press); Around the Shabbos Table by Seryl Berman, illustrated by Ari Binus (Hachai); The Secret Shofar of Barcelona by Jacqueline Dembar Greene, illustrated by Douglas Chyka (Lerner/Kar-Ben); Menorah Under the Sea by Esther Susan Heller (Lerner/Kar-Ben); Today Is the Birthday of the World by Linda Heller, illustrated by Allison Jay (Dutton); The Waiting Wall by Leah Braunstein Levy, illustrated by Avi Katz (Hachai); Sukkot Treasure Hunt by Allison Ofanansky, illustrated by Eliyahu Alpern (Kar-Ben); Fox Walked Alone by Barbara Reid (Albert Whitman).
2010 Sydney Taylor Notable Books for Older Readers: The Champion of Children: The Story of Janusz Korczak written and illustrated by Tomek Bogacki (FSG/Frances Foster); Guardian Angel House (A Holocaust Remembrance Book for Young Readers) by Kathy Clark (Second Story Press); Rebecca series (American Girl Collection) by Jacqueline Dembar Greene, illustrated by Robert Hunt (American Girl); Strawberry Hill by Mary Ann Hoberman, illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin (Little, Brown); The Mysteries of Beethoven’s Hair by Russell Martin and Lydia Nibley (Charlesbridge); The Man Who Flies with Birds by Carol Garbuny Vogel and Yossi Leshem (Lerner/Kar-Ben); Clay Man: The Golem of Prague by Irene N. Watts, illustrated by Kathryn E. Shoemaker (Tundra); Elvina’s Mirror by Sylvie Weil (Jewish Publication Society).
2010 Sydney Taylor Notable Books for Teens: The Disappearing Dowry: An Ezra Melamed Mystery by Libi Astaire (Targum/Zahav Press); A Family Secret/The Search by Eric Heuvel (FSG); So Punk Rock (and Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother) by Micol Ostow, with art by David Ostow (Flux); Cursing Columbus by Eve Goldberg Tal (Cinco Puntos); Puppet by Eva Wiseman (Tundra); The Other Half of Life: Based on the True Story of the MS St. Louis by Kim Ablon Whitney (Knopf).
2010 Sydney Taylor Notable Books for Readers of All Ages: JPS Illustrated Children’s Bible by Ellen Frankel, illustrated by Avi Katz (Jewish Publication Society).
***
These additions to be made soon:
ALA RAINBOW PROJECT (gay and lesbian list)
LAMBDA LITERARY AWARDS
LEE BENNETT HOPKINS POETRY AWARD
LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE
MYTHOPOEIC (fantasy)
REGINA MEDAL (Catholic Library Association)
RITAS (romance
SUBARU, ET AL SCIENCE AWARD
TOMAS RIVERA (Mexican American)
AMELIA WALDEN (ALAN/NCTE ya award
***
It’s always a good idea to wait a day or two before copying and pasting round-up posts, because inevitably, I tinker around, add things I missed, and clean up typos when the post goes live.

22 thoughts on “2009 Children’s Book Awards — A Round-Up

  1. Hester Bass

    Dear Elizabeth, In recognition and appreciation of your most excellent efforts, I am pleased to present you with the first-ever 2010 WRAPUPS Award – The Writers Readers Artists Publishers UnParalleled Skills Award. Nobody does it better, woo-howdy! A thousand flowers to you for such a great resource! Your pal, Hester Bass

    Reply
  2. Kay Cassidy

    What a fabulous post, Elizabeth! Thank you for putting together this entire list to summarize a great year in literature. How fun to see these terrific books all in one spot!

    Reply
  3. Mary Ann Rodman

    Many thanks, Elizabeth for compiling a one-stop-shopping list for me! Much better than flipping around to all the websites. However, I think you missed an award…The Ezra Jack Keats Award for best new picture book writer and artist. (This is such a great list, I really hate to mention it.

    Reply
  4. Jonathan Hunt

    Other awards worth mentioning. LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE EDGARS (mystery) RITAS (romance) ANDRE NORTON (fantasy and science fiction) MYTHOPOEIC (fantasy) ALA RAINBOW PROJECT (gay and lesbian list) JANE ADDAMS (social justice) AMERICAS (Latino and Carribean) TOMAS RIVERA (Mexican American) BANK STREET COLLEGE (three categories–fiction, nonfiction, poetry) SUBARU, ET AL SCIENCE AWARD AMELIA WALDEN (ALAN/NCTE ya award) a host of foreign awards from the UK, Canada, and Australia (too many to name)

    Reply
  5. Mary Quattlebaum

    Hi Elizabeth, You really are a BE (blogger extraordinaire). Thanks so much for this list. If you’re intereted in including other awards, the Catholic Library Association’s Regina Medal is given annually in the spring to a children’s author or illustrator for their body of work.

    Reply
  6. shelftalker elizabeth

    Jonathan, Mary, and MJ — Thanks! All good thoughts. I didn’t include the L.A. Times award because so many magazines and newspapers give awards that the list would become comically long, and those awards are well publicized by their sponsoring organizations. The others, I’ll add as soon as I can. Oh, and how could I forget the LAMBDA Literary Awards?! I’ll happily include international awards for children’s literature as long as they are books U.S. readers can access here. Any help compiling any of these awards would be gargantuan-ally appreciated.

    Reply
  7. Jonathan Hunt

    Elizabeth, I would limit yourself to US based awards, otherwise it gets unwieldy. I’m willing to help. What can I do? Do you want me to send you links to the aforementioned additions? Jonathan P.S. Grypon Award for best transitional book sponsored by BCCB . . .

    Reply
  8. Lyn Larson

    Superb posting, Elizabeth! Wow! One niggly suggestion–would you mind listing the four finalists for the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults, along with the winner? I noticed you did this for the National Book Award winners. I guess one could click through to the YALSA site to find them, but it’s nice to have it all printable/together in one document. Amazing! Thank you!

    Reply
  9. April Halprin Wayland

    Elizabeth–omg! I can’t even imagine how long this took to compile…THANK YOU! I’m pointing all my UCLA Extension writing students to this post–wowee! And here’s a teeny tiny tweak: The illustrator of the Sydney Taylor Younger Readers winner, New Year at the Pier, is Stéphane Jorisch, with an accent on the first e (the press release omitted that little accent). Thanks again. Warmest, April http://www.aprilwayland.com http://www.teachingauthors.com ~ six children’s authors who also teach writing

    Reply
  10. Hester Bass

    Hey, Elizabeth…I thought of another one – The SCBWI Golden Kite Awards. From their website: “…the only children’s literary award judged by a jury of peers.” SCBWI gives awards for Fiction, Nonfiction, Picture Book Text, and Picture Book Illustration plus names honor books in each category. And there’s a cash prize, too – sweet! Thanks for all you do, Hester

    Reply
  11. shelftalker elizabeth

    Bank Street’s Children’s Book Committee has released its 2010 winners, which have been added to the above list. Hester, are the SCBWI awards only given to members? I’m happy to add them, but the other awards are open to all books published in the prior year.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Jonathan Hunt Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *