Judith Blume is an American writer of children's, young adult, and adult fiction. Blume began writing in 1959 and has published more than 26 novels. Among her best-known works are Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (1970), Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (1972), Deenie (1973), and Blubber (1974). Blume's books have significantly contributed to children's and young adult literature. She was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023.
The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contributions to American literature for children". The Newbery and the Caldecott Medal are considered the two most prestigious awards for children's literature in the United States. Books selected are widely carried by bookstores and libraries, the authors are interviewed on television, and master's theses and doctoral dissertations are written on them. Named for John Newbery, an 18th-century English publisher of juvenile books, the winner of the Newbery is selected at the ALA's Midwinter Conference by a fifteen-person committee. The Newbery was proposed by Frederic G. Melcher in 1921, making it the first children's book award in the world. The physical bronze medal was designed by Rene Paul Chambellan and is given to the winning author at the next ALA annual conference. Since its founding there have been several changes to the composition of the selection committee, while the physical medal remains the same.
Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as friendship, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. Stories that focus on the challenges of youth may be further categorized as social or coming-of-age novels.
The Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award (RCYRBA) is an annual award given to the author of the book voted most outstanding by students in grades four through eight in participating Illinois schools and libraries. It is named in honor of children's author Rebecca Caudill, who lived and worked in Urbana, Illinois, and has been presented annually since 1988. It is administered by a volunteer board of directors and presented in cooperation with the Illinois Association of Teachers of English, the Illinois Reading Council, and the Illinois School Library Media Association.
The Sequoyah Book Award is a set of three annual awards for books selected by vote of Oklahoma students in elementary, middle, and high schools. The award program is named after Sequoyah, the Cherokee man who developed the Cherokee syllabary—a writing system adopted by Cherokee Nation in 1825. The awards are sponsored by the Oklahoma Library Association and administered by a committee of OLA members. Every year, three teams representing each award read and select books to be included on the master lists, which are then provided to Oklahoma schools for students to read and vote on. The winners are announced early spring of each year, and the winning authors are invited to the Association's annual conference to receive their awards and meet with students. The Sequoyah Children's Book Award, now voted by children in grades 3 to 5, was inaugurated in 1959. It is the third oldest U.S. state children's choice award after the original Kansas award and Vermont award. The Sequoyah Intermediate Book Award is voted by grades 6 to 8. It dates from 1988 where it was originally named the Young Adult award. Finally in 2010, the Sequoyah High School Book Award was added to the program. The Sequoyah Committee also selects the Donna Norvell Award; The Donna Norvell Book Award was established in 2005 by the Oklahoma Library Association and is given annually, with the first award given in 2006. The Donna Norvell Book Award honors a book that has made a significant contribution to the field of literature for children through second grade.
Aviva Chomsky is an American professor, historian, author, and activist. She is a professor of history and the Coordinator of Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Studies at Salem State University in Massachusetts. She previously taught at Bates College in Maine and was a research associate at Harvard University, where she specialized in Caribbean and Latin American history.
Maniac Magee is a novel written by American author Jerry Spinelli and published in 1990. Exploring themes of racism and inequality, it follows the story of an orphan boy looking for a home in the fictional town of Two Mills. Two Mills is harshly segregated between the East and West, blacks and whites. He becomes a local legend for feats of athleticism and helpfulness, and his ignorance of sharp racial boundaries in the town. It is popular in middle school curricula, and has been used in social studies on the premises of reaction to racial identity and reading. A TV movie was released on February 23, 2003.
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle is a historical novel by the American author Avi published in 1990. The book is marketed towards children at a reading level of grades 5–8. The book chronicles the evolution of the title character as she is pushed outside her naive existence and learns about life aboard a ship crossing from England to America in 1832. The novel was well received and won several awards, including being named as a Newbery Honor book in 1991.
Candlewick Press, established in 1992 and located in Somerville, Massachusetts, is part of the Walker Books group. The logo depicting a bear carrying a candle is based on Walker Books's original logo.
Nancy Barbara Bond is an American author of children's literature. In 1977 her first book, A String in the Harp, was fantasy novel with an element of folklore, set in West Wales. It received a Newbery honor and the Welsh Tir na n-Og Award, and remains in print.
The Mark Twain Readers Award, or simply Mark Twain Award, is a children's book award which annually recognizes one book selected by vote of Missouri schoolchildren from a list prepared by librarians and volunteer readers. It is now one of four Missouri Association of School Librarians (MASL) Readers Awards and is associated with school grades 4 to 6; the other MASL Readers Awards were inaugurated from 1995 to 2009 and are associated with grades K–3, 6–8, 9–12 and nonfiction. The 1970 Newbery Medal winning book Sounder, by William H. Armstrong, was the inaugural winner of the Mark Twain Award in 1972.
Jack Gantos is an American author of children's books. He is best known for the fictional characters Rotten Ralph and Joey Pigza. Rotten Ralph is a cat who stars in twenty picture books written by Gantos and illustrated by Nicole Rubel from 1976 to 2014. Joey Pigza is a boy with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), featured in five novels from 1998 to 2014.
The Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards are a set of American literary awards conferred by The Boston Globe and The Horn Book Magazine annually from 1967. One book is recognized in each of four categories: Fiction and Poetry, Nonfiction, and Picture Book. The official website calls the awards "among the most prestigious honors in children's and young adult literature".
Charles Boardman Hawes was an American writer of fiction and nonfiction sea stories, best known for three historical novels. He died suddenly at age 34, after only two of his five books had been published. He was the first U.S.-born winner of the annual Newbery Medal, recognizing his third novel The Dark Frigate (1923) as the year's best American children's book. Reviewing the Hawes Memorial Prize Contest in 1925, The New York Times observed that "his adventure stories of the sea caused him to be compared with Stevenson, Dana and Melville".
Virginia Haviland was an American librarian and writer who became an international authority in children's literature. She chaired the prestigious Newbery-Caldecott Award Committee, traveled and wrote extensively. Haviland is also well known for her Favorite Fairy Tales series, featuring stories from sixteen countries.
The Vermont Golden Dome Book Award annually recognizes one new American children's book selected by the vote of Vermont schoolchildren. It was inaugurated in 1957.
HP Newquist is an American author whose books cover topics from medicine and music to technology and terror. He is also a museum curator and musician, and has worked as a columnist, publisher, industry analyst, and video director.
Smile is an autobiographical graphic novel written by Raina Telgemeier. It was published in February 2010 by Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic Inc. The novel provides an account of the author's life, characterized by dental procedures and struggles with fitting in, from sixth grade to high school. The book originated as a webcomic, which was serialized on Girlamatic. It is most appropriate for readers between fourth and sixth grade. Smile has had a pedagogical impact, and reviews have been written on this novel.
The California Young Reader Medal is a set of five annual literary awards conferred upon picture books and fiction books selected by vote of California schoolchildren from a ballot prepared by committee. The program was established in 1974 with Intermediate, Primary, and Young Adult Medals that were inaugurated in 1975, 1976, and 1977 and were conferred biennially, and annually beginning in 1983.
Carol Gorman is an American writer of children's fiction. She originally aspired to be an actress, and for a few years taught seventh grade at an Iowan middle school. Inspired by her husband and fellow author, Ed Gorman, she began writing in the mid-1980s. With over 22 books published under several names, Carol Gorman continues to write and teach.
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