When your child says “I need a good book to read…” Help is here!!

Have a beloved favorite book from your childhood?  A book that you still remember how it felt to read it, the world it inhabited, and the characters you grew to love?

Books with great stories are still being written today!  But how to find them?  Certainly ask your local youth services librarians for recommendations - they are your go-to children’s literature experts!   



The American Library Association (ALA) also makes it easy to find memorable books for your child today! 

Every year in January, ALA announces its Youth Media Awards - the famous Newbery & Caldecott medals and honorary medals given to the best books of the year! 



The John Newbery Medal is for the best children’s fiction books of the year and the Caldecott Medal honors the best illustrated picture books of the past year. 

But there’s more!  Here are some of ALA’s other annual Youth Media Awards:  

The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are awarded each year 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. 

The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, is 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.

The Schneider Family Book Awards honor an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences. Three annual awards are presented for the best Teen, Middle School and Children’s Book.

The Theodore Seuss Geisel Award is given annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished American book for beginning readers. 

The Odyssey Award is given to the best audiobooks for children and young adults each year.  Listen to on your own personal listening device or with the whole family in the car. A great way to prompt discussion with your child or teen as everyone shares the same story!

Don’t forget our teens!  The Michael L. Printz Award honors the best in young adult literature of the year.  Visit the Printz Award to see this year’s winners and past winners. 

The Stonewall Book Award is given annually to English-language works of exceptional merit for children or teens relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience. The Stonewall Book Awards List is a great resource for educators, parents and teens alike.

Many teens like moving into reading books written for adults!  The Alex Awards are given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.  

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) now offers a new way to find great books for teens with the launch of its new Teen Book Finder Database.   "Users can search this free resource by award, list name, year, author, genre and more, as well as print customizable lists.” 

And be sure to try the new Teen Book Finder App from your phone!   

Hopefully, with us and ALA’s resources to help you, you’ll never have to hear “I don’t have anything good to read” again!

- Jackie Spritzer, Youth Services, Lawrence Headquarters Branch

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