Mildred L. Batchelder Award

Purpose -The Mildred L. Batchelder Award is given to an American publisher for an outstanding children's book originally written in another language, then translated into English.

History -Established in 1966, this award honors Mildred L. Batchelder who was the executive director of the ALSC. She was known for promoting the translation of excellent children's books.

Facts-
*Administered by the ALSC.
*No folk literature is accepted.
*Books must be published in the previous year.
*It is an annual award unless no book is deserving of the award, then no award is given in that year.
*The award consists of a citation and a plaque.

Recent winner - Mister Orange, published by Enchanted Lion Books, written by Truus Matti, and translated by Laura Watkinson.

Boston Globe - Horn Book Award

Purpose - The Boston Globe - Horn Book Award is for excellence in children's and young adult literature in the categories Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction, and Picturebook. Two honor books are also awarded in each category.

History - The award was first given in 1967. The Horn Book Magazine contains articles about children's literature and The Horn Book Guide contains reviews and summaries of newly published children's books.

Facts -
*Sponsored by The Horn Book organization.
*Winning books must be published in the United States, but the authors and illustrators may live in any country.
*Winners are announced in June and receive an engraved bowl, publication of their acceptance speeches in the Horn Book Magazine, and a $500 prize.

Recent winners - Fiction and Poetry - Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Picturebook - Building Our House by Jonathan Bean
Nonfiction - Electric Ben: The Amazing Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by Robert Byrd

Coretta Scott King Award

Purpose - The Coretta Scott King Awards (CSK) are for outstanding children's books written and illustrated by African American authors and illustrators. Winning books promote the understanding of cultures of all people and their desire to attain the American dream. Winning books must encourage children to seek their own identity and be responsible citizens. The awards commemorate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mrs. King's desire to work for peace.

History -The idea for the award came in 1969 from librarians Glyndon Greer and Mabel McKissick who noticed that African American authors and illustrators were not getting noticed in the children's book world. The first award for writing was given in 1970 and for illustrating, in 1974. Coretta (1927-2006) married Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1953 and they were very involved in the civil rights movement.

Facts -
*Administered by the Coretta Scott King Committee of the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the ALA.
*Must be written or illustrated by an African American.
*Must portray a part of the African American experience.
*Must be published in the United States in the previous year.
*Another award was created in 1993, first called the Genesis Award, then changed to the New Talent Award, and finally the John Steptoe Award for New Talent.
*Britannica donates encyclopedias to the author winners. Beginning in 2005, a plaque was also presented and Johnson Publications added a $1000 prize. Illustrator winners are given $1000 by Book Wholesalers and World Book donates encyclopedias.

Recent winner- Rita Williams-Garcia won the author award for P.S Be Eleven.
Bryan Collier won the award for best illustrator. He illustrated Knock Knock,
written by Daniel Beatty, .

Golden Kite Award

Purpose - The Golden Kite Award is awarded annually in recognition of excellence in children's literature in four categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Picture Book Text, and Picture Book Illustration.

History - Begun in 1973, this award is the only one judged by a jury of peers.

Facts -
*Administered by the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI).
*One must be a member of SCBWI in order to win the award.
*Over 1000 books are submitted each year.
*Winners receive a certificate and a cash prize of $2,500.

Recent winner - Me and Momma and Big John by Mara Rockliff for picture book text. See other winners by clicking the link.

Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

Purpose -The purpose of the Scott O'Dell award is to encourage writers, especially new writers, to write exceptional historical fiction for children.

History -Scott O'Dell (1898-1989) created this award in 1982 and won his own award in 1984. He wanted good historical fiction to be available for children to learn about their world. For the first two years of the award (1982, 1983), no awards were given because none of the books published the previous years were deemed good enough.

Facts -
*Administered by the Scott O'Dell Award Committee.
*Winner receives $5,000 cash award.
*O'Dell won the Newberry Award in 1961 for Island of the Blue Dolphins.
*O'Dell was born Odell Gabriel Scott and is likely related to Sir Walter Scott, the British writer.

Recent winner - Bo at Ballard Creek by Matt Phelan

Andrew Carnegie Medal

Although this award is not given for a best book, videos are found in many libraries and can promote reading of the books that are the basis of the production.

Purpose - The Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Children's Video honors the best children's video production. The winning videos show regard for a child's imagination and intelligence and use special techniques in the video. Many, but not all of the videos are based on children's books.

History -This was first awarded in 1991. Andrew Carnegie is known for establishing free public libraries for people to further their education. He built (funded) over 2,500 libraries in his time.

Facts -
*Administered by the ALSC.
*Supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
*Producers of a winning video must be a citizen or resident of the United States.
*The video may be feature length, but not released in a theater.

Recent winner- 2013 winner is producer Katja Torneman for Anna, Emma and the Condor .

Pura Belpré Award

Purpose - The Pura Belpré Award is awarded to the best Latino/Latina children's writer/illustrator. It was created to promote current and relevant literature for Latino children.

History - The first award was given in 1996. Pura Belpré (1899-1982) was a librarian at the New York Public Library, a bilingual storyteller, puppet maker, and author. She was known for sharing stories of Puerto Rico with the children of the area. She loved to bring multicultural literature to children's lives. After her death, it was librarians Oralia Garza de Cortex and Sandra Rios Balderrama who took their idea of an award in Pura's name to REFORMA. They partnered with the ALSC to create the award, using the Coretta Scott King Award as a model.

Facts -
*One award is given to an author, another to an illustrator.
*The award is co-sponsored by the ALSC and National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking(REFORMA).
*The books must be published in the United States or Puerto Rico.
*The award was given every two years until 2008, when it became a yearly award.

Recent winner- Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina (winning author)
Nino Wrestles the World, written and illustrated by Yjui Morales (illustrator winner).