What are book awards?
What are "book awards"?
Each year, different organizations or groups associated with reading, literature, language, and libraries, select the best books based on specific categories to give them special "Book Awards."
Who chooses the Awards?
Some of the well known awards are selected by the American Library Association (ALA) and its affiliates; others are selected by English or literature teachers' associations, publishers, and other organizations.
What are the main awards?
The Caldecott and Newbery Medals are well known awards for children's books. However, there are many more! See the complete list below. You can search the SCF Libraries Quick Search for a specific title to see if we have it (hint: we have many of them!)
Find Award Winners @ the SCF Libraries
Awards pages:
Awards for Children (General)
Newbery Medal: for the best children's literature
Caldecott Medal: for the best picture books
Awards for Teens (YA)
Printz Award: for excellence in Young Adult literature
Alex Awards: Lists of 10 books with appeal for 12-18 year-olds
Awards that Celebrate Diversity (Children & Teens)
Diversity in general (young reader and teen categories): The Walter Dean Myers Award
African Americans: Coretta Scott King Award
Latinx: Pura Belpré Award
Native Americans: American Indian Youth Literature Award
Asian American & Pacific: Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature (APALA)
Chinese Americans: CALA Annual Best Book Award
LGBTQIA+ Experiences: Stonewall Award
Disabilities Experiences: Schneider Family Award
More about all awards at the ALA Youth Media Awards page.
Florida Book Awards
Young readers: Sunshine State Young Readers Award (SSYRA)
Kindergarten to Second Grade: SSYRA Jr.
Grades 9-12: Florida Teens Read
Find the Award Winners @ the SCF Libraries