Research Guides: Children's Literature: Betty A. McDonald Collection: Children's Literature Awards

A Focus on Award Winning Literature

Many of the books contained in the collection are award-winning titles of prestigious children’s literature prizes such as the Batchelder, Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Newbery, and Pura Belpré awards. Click on the title of each award below to learn more. If you are browsing the shelves, please be on the lookout for stickers to help you easily identity the award-winning titles in our collection. Please note: If you click on the title of the books presented on the side columns, you will be taken directly to the item contained in CMU’s library catalog.

2019 Caldecott Winner

Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall
Call Number: FIC BLA
ISBN: 9780316362382
Publication Date: 2018-04-10

2019 Newbery Winner

Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina
Call Number: FIC MED
ISBN: 9780763690496
Publication Date: 2018-09-11

Children's Literature Awards

Batchelder Award
Awarded to the most outstanding children’s book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States.
Caldecott Award
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.
Coretta Scott King Book Award
Awarded 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.
Newbery Medal
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.
Pura Belpré Award
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.
Stonewall Book Award
As part of the Stonewall Book Awards, the Mike Morgan and Larry Romans Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award is awarded annually to books that have exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience
American Indian Youth Literature Awards
The American Indian Youth Literature Awards are presented every two years. The awards identify and honor the very best writing and illustrations by and about American Indians.
Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature
Award designed to honor and recognize individual work about Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage, based on literary and artistic merit
Carter G. Woodson Book Award
Awarded to the most distinguished books appropriate for young readers that depict ethnicity in the United States. Books are chosen by the National Council for the Social Studies.
Ezra Jack Keats Award
The Ezra Jack Keats Book Award is given annually to an outstanding new writer and new illustrator by the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation.
Geisel Award
The (Theodor Seuss) Geisel award is awarded 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.
Green Earth Book Award
The Green Earth Book Award is the nation’s first environmental stewardship book award for children and young adult books
Jane Addams Children's Book Award
Awarded 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.
Orbus Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
Awarded annually for promoting and recognizing excellence in the writing of nonfiction for children.
Schneider Family Book Awards
Awarded to an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal
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.
Sydney Taylor Book Award
Awarded annually to outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience.
The Children's Literature Legacy Award (f.k.a. Wilder Award)
Please note: At its meeting on Saturday, June 23, 2018, the Association for Library Service to Children Board voted to change the name of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award to the Children's Literature Legacy Award.

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.