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Children's and Young Adult Literature

This guide helps orient users to locating juvenile fiction and non-fiction in the James C. Kirkpatrick Library.

What are the major children's books awards?

State awards

Missouri State Readers' Awards are administered through the Missouri Association of School Librarians (MASL). They include: Show Me (grades 1-3), Mark Twain (grades 4-6), Truman (grades 6-8), Gateway (grades 9-12) and Dogwood (preK-12 Non-Fiction).
For birth through Kindergarten, there is the Building Block Award, from the Missouri Library Association.

National awards

The majority of the most well-known and longstanding American awards are sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association (ALA). They include the Newbery Medal, the Caldecott Medal, the Children's Literature Legacy Award, the Batchelder Award, the Belpre Award, the Geisel Award and the Sibert Medal

How do I find award-winning books in JCKL's collection?

Browsing the Stacks

You will see a spine label on all the award books in the 3rd floor collection for Newbery, Caldecott, and Missouri State Readers Awards (Show Me, Mark Twain, Truman and Gateway).

Searching a Database

This Database of Award-Winning Children's Literature is compiled and maintained by librarian, Lisa R. Bartle. After you locate a title of interest, search for it in our JCKL Library Catalog.