by Sara K. Kearns
Last Updated Apr 22, 2025
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Multicultural and Diverse Children's Books
This list was adapted and used with permission from Jill Morningstar, author of the Multicultural and Diverse Children's guide at Michigan State University. To see additional awards not included here, start with the Award Winners tab on this guide.
The American Indian Youth Literature Award (AIYLA) was created as a way to identify and honor the very best writing and illustrations by and about American Indians. Books selected to receive the award will present American Indians in the fullness of their humanity in either past or present contexts. Nominations may be fiction or non-fiction. There may be up to three awards given every two years - Best Picture Book, Best Middle School Book, and Best Young Adult Book.
The Américas Award is given in recognition of U.S. works of fiction, poetry, folklore, or selected non-fiction (from picture books to works for young adults) published in the previous year in English or Spanish that authentically and engagingly portray Latin America, the Caribbean, or Latinos in the United States. Sponsored by sponsored by the national Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP).
The purpose of the Awards is to inspire authors, educate readers and foster a respect and understanding of the Arab American culture. Categories include Children or Young Adult, Fiction and Non-Fiction.
The goal of this award is to honor and recognize individual work about Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage, based on literary and artistic merit. Award categories include: picture book, fiction for children and fiction for young adults.
The Batchelder Award is given to the most outstanding children’s book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States.
The EJK New Writer Award was established in 1985 to encourage and celebrate up-and-coming authors of picture books written in the tradition of Keats—that is, with original, well-told stories that reflect the universal qualities of childhood and the multicultural nature of our world. The goal is to help writers continue to create outstanding picture books for a diverse audience. The New Illustrator Award was added in 2001 to reward originality of artistic expression as well.
The Amelia Bloomer Project, a committee of the Feminist Task Force of the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association, compiles the Amelia Bloomer List, an annual annotated book list (or bibliography) of well-written and well-illustrated books with significant feminist content, intended for young readers (ages birth through 18).
The Lambda Literary Award is offered specifically to LGBT authors. LGBT Childrens/Young Adult category may include fiction, nonfiction, picture books, poetry, and anthologies whose intended audience are young readers
The first and most enduring award for GLBT books is the Stonewall Book Awards, sponsored by the American Library Association's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table. Since Isabel Miller's Patience and Sarah received the first award in 1971, many other books have been honored for exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience.
This list was developed in October 2009 by the Quicklists Consulting Committee of the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, for the Service Network for Children of Inmates.
Representative of the excellent multicultural and anti-bias literature available today for early childhood and elementary aged children. Searchable by over 20 cultural groups.
The Jane Addams Children's Book Awards are given annually to the children's books published the preceding year that effectively promote the cause of peace, social justice, world community, and the equality of the sexes and all races as well as meeting conventional standards for excellence.
To support and perpetuate the values and mandate of the Simon Wiesenthal Center/Museum of Tolerance by honoring children's books aimed at young readers (ages 6-8) and older readers ("tweens" ages 9-12) which deal with issues of tolerance, diversity, and social justice, thus inspiring readers to promote positive change in the world.
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. This "Select Bibliography of Children’s Books about the Disability Experience" includes the Schneider winners.
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