Nominate Your Favorite Children’s Books!

It’s time to share this post again. If you’re a fan of children’s literature, read on!

Did you know teachers, librarians, parents, and students can nominate books for state reading awards? These awards are meant to celebrate reading, expose young readers to new books, and give kids a voice — they get to vote for their favorite book at the end of the season. Any school-aged reader can participate. States provide separate lists for readers K-12.

If there’s a recent book* you’ve loved, please consider spreading the word by nominating it for your state’s award. Any state with “anyone!” listed as the nominee requirement means just that. You don’t have to be a resident, just a reader with book love to share.

I can assure you authors everywhere would be grateful if you took a few moments to look over the list and recommend a book or two. It’s not alphabetical, so you’ll need a bit of patience. ** A big thank you to Kate Messner, who started this list and kindly let me share. **

Click through to find out how to nominate books:

Ohio’s Buckeye Award (students)

Pacific Northwest Young Readers’ Medal (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Washington) (children, teachers, parents, & librarians)

Hawaii’s Nene Award (teachers & librarians)

Maine Student Book Award (teachers & librarians)

Florida’s Sunshine State Young Readers’ Medal (teachers & librarians)

California Young Readers’ Medal (kids, parents, teachers, and librarians)

Arizona’s Grand Canyon Reader Award (students, teachers, & librarians in Arizona)

Colorado Children’s Book Award (teachers send students’ nominations!)

Georgia Children’s Book Award (teachers, kids, librarians, and parents)

Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award (Illinois) (students, teachers, and librarians)

Kentucky Bluegrass Award (any adult, with Kentucky teachers and librarians especially encouraged)

New Hampshire Great Stone Face Award (teachers, librarians, students)

New Mexico’s Land of Enchantment Book Award (librarians and teachers)

North Carolina Children’s Book Award (kids only!)

Oregon Readers’ Choice Award (students, teachers, and librarians)

Texas Bluebonnet Award (students, teachers, parents, librarians)

Vermont’s Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award (nominations from teachers and librarians; nominations from students)

Virginia Readers’ Choice (teachers, students, and librarians)

Maryland’s Black-Eyed Susan Book Award (students, teachers, parents or other interested readers)

Mississippi’s Magnolia Book Award (any adult)

Wyoming Library Association Book Awards (librarians and teachers)

Missouri Association of School Librarians Book Awards (students, teachers, librarians, parents)

Connecticut’s Nutmeg Book Awards (anyone!)

Tennessee’s Volunteer State Book Awards (anyone!)

Nevada Young Readers’ Award (students)

Massachusetts Children’s Book Award (teachers, librarians, publishers)

South Dakota Children’s Book Award (teachers and librarians)

Minnesota Youth Reading Awards (anyone!)

Rhode Island Children’s Book Award (anyone can leave a suggestion on the RICBA’s Facebook page)

Montana’s Treasure State Award — picture books only (Anyone can nominate. Send your recommendation to the Treasure State Award chair.)

Iowa Children’s Choice Award (students only)

Pennsylvania Young Readers’ Choice Awards (students, teachers, parents, librarians)

This list is by no means exhaustive. If you know about other state award requirements, please share them in the comments section below.

* Most states require the book to be published in the last five years. Please read your state’s criteria carefully.