Caldecott Honor and Caldecott Winner
The Caldecott Medal (Outside Source) was named in honor of nineteenth century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
California Young Reader Medal
The California Young Reader Medal (Outside Source) program encourages recreational reading of popular literature among the young people of California. Since its inception in 1974, millions of California children have nominated, read, and voted for the winners of the California Young Reader Medal.
Golden Kite Author Award Honor/Winner and Golden Kite Illustration Award Honor/Winner
The Golden Kite Award (Outside Source) is the only award presented to children's book authors and artists by their fellow authors and artists. Four Golden Kite Statuettes for fiction, nonfiction, picture book text, and picture-illustration are awarded each year to the most outstanding children's books published during that year and having been written or illustrated by members of the Society Of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. An Honor Book plaque in each category is awarded as well.
Hugo Award
The Hugo Award (Outside Source), also known as the Science Fiction Achievement Award, was named in honor of Hugo Greenback, the "Father of Magazine Science Fiction." It is given annually by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS). The distinguishing characteristics of the Hugo Award are that it is sponsored by WSFS, administered by the committee of the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) held that year, and determined by nominations from and a popular vote of the membership of WSFS.
National Book Award
A consortium of book publishing groups has presented the National Book Award (Outside Source) since 1950. Their goal is to enhance the public's awareness of exceptional books written by fellow Americans and to increase the popularity of reading in general. The award is given in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young peoples' literature.
Nebula Award
The Nebula Awards (Outside Source) are voted on and presented by active members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. Since 1965, the Nebula Awards have been given each year for the best novel, novella, novelette, and short story eligible for that year's award. An anthology including the winning pieces of short fiction and several runners-up is also published every year.
Newbery Medal Honor and Newbery Medal Winner
The Newbery Medal (Outside Source) was named for eighteenth century British bookseller John Newbery. It 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. The Newbery Medal is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious children's book prizes.
Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award
The Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award (Outside Source) was established in 1984 by Scott O'Dell, recipient of the Hans Christian Andersen Award, Newbery Medal, and many other awards. This award recognizes outstanding works of historical fiction. The criteria require that the book be published in English by a U.S. publisher and that it be set in the New World (North, Central, and South America).
Orbis Pictus Award
The National Council of Teachers of English established the Orbis Pictus Award (Outside Source) for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, an annual award for promoting and recognizing excellence in the writing of nonfiction for children. The world of children's literature contains a variety of genres, all of which have appeal to the diverse interests of children as well as potential for classroom teaching. In recent years, however, nonfiction or information books have emerged as a very attractive, exciting, and popular genre. This award centers specifically on nonfiction books for children.
Outstanding Books for the College Bound
The American Library Association (ALA) Young Adult Library Services Division puts together the Outstanding Books for the College Bound (Outside Source). This list of books is considered to be outstanding for those pursuing formal higher education or for those who just wish to be better educated. The list is divided into five sections: fiction, biography, nonfiction, drama, and poetry. In selecting these works for the list, the committee used a variety of criteria: readability, cultural and ethnic diversity, balance of points of view, contemporary and classical works, different genres, and availability.
Michael L. Printz Award Honor and Michael L. Printz Award Winner
The Michael L. Printz Award (Outside Source) is an award for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. It is named for a Topeka, Kansas, school librarian who was a long-time active member of the Young Adult Library Services Association.
Pulitzer Prize
In the latter years of the nineteenth century, Joseph Pulitzer stood out as the very embodiment of American journalism. His innovative New York World and St. Louis Post-Dispatch reshaped newspaper journalism. In writing his 1904 will, which made provision for the establishment of the Pulitzer Prizes (Outside Source) as an incentive to excellence, Pulitzer specified solely four awards in journalism, four in letters and drama, one for education, and four traveling scholarships. Since the inception of the prizes in 1917, the board, later renamed the Pulitzer Prize Board, has increased the number of awards to 21 and introduced poetry, music, and photography as subjects, while adhering to the spirit of the founder's will and its intent.
Robert F. Sibert Award
The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award (Outside Source) was established and administered by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association. This award will be awarded annually to the author of the most distinguished informational book published during the preceding year. The award is named in honor of Robert F. Sibert, the longtime President of Bound to Stay Bound Books, Inc. of Jacksonville, Illinois, and is sponsored by the company.
