Award Winning and Notable Children's Books PreK - 8

Listed on the pages following this are lists of awards, honor books and notable book lists that provide the names and descriptions of books for elementary and middle grades, that through committees have been noted as the best of the best. The CMC is hopeful this guide helps you on your journey to finding the best books for your kids, whether you are a parent, mentor or teacher.  If you have any questions, please feel free to call us at the CMC (407-823-2791), or email your questions to cmc@ucf.edu

Searching for children's books in the UCF Libraries catalog? Here's some steps to follow to get the most relevant results:

1. Go to the UCF Libraries catalog search, or library.ucf.edu

2. Click "Advanced Search." Then select "CMC Library Only."

3. Enter your search terms in the search bar. This can be a topic, an author, the name of an award, or whatever you are looking for. Click "Search" or press the enter key.

4. You might now have several options in your search results. To further narrow the results, click "Search Criteria" to expand the search menu again. You can add additional search lines with different criteria. Also, you can use the drop down options to the right of the search bar. The top option should be "Material Type" and the default should be "All Items." Click that and select the medium you would like: Articles, Books/eBooks, Videos, Journals, Images, Dissertations, or Audio. You can also narrow your search by year. Below the "Material Type" drop down, there is an option to add start and end dates.

5. On the left hand side of your screen, you will see "Filter or expand your results", this is another way you can narrow your search results, this is especially helpful if you still see a lot of search results and would like to see fewer.

6. Once you have narrowed the search to fit your needs, browse the results. Items that are currently available for check out will say "Available." Items that are currently being used by another patron will say Not Available - Loan.

Keyword searching tips:

• Be careful of using terms that are either too specific or too generic. For example "teenagers protesting against racism" will only pull up books that have all of those words in their description. Instead, you could try "race and protest" or "youth political activity." On the other hand, a broad term like "diverse" will not yield many results either. Instead, search for more specific terms like "interracial" or "Latin American" or "transgender."
• It's ok if your initial search doesn't give you many (or any) relevant results. You may just need to try different search terms. Try synonyms or related terms (i.e. illness vs. disease or coming of age vs. identity). Think of what words might show up in the summary of a book or what topics (called Subject Headings) might be assigned to it.
• Once you've found a book that sounds like it might fit what you're looking for (or something that's almost, but not quite right), open the catalog record by clicking on the title and scroll down to the list of Subjects. You might find more ideas for search terms that you didn't think of originally.

• Children's Literature Comprehensive Database 

  Publication information and MARC records on over 600,000 children's books, and more than 100,000 reviews. "The CLCD Enterprise PreK-12 dB is the premier academic resource for courses needing to locate Children’s and Young Adult books and other media. The content includes millions of fiction and non-fiction titles, thousands of awards and quality reviews including author/title links, lesson plans and teaching guides. The search engine offers multiple options including 50 search filters to find materials for determining interest & reading levels; selecting trade books based on standards; creating thematic, annotated biographies; interpreting reviews; developing classroom collections and more."

• Comic Book Legal Defense Fund - Resources for Librarians and Educators

  Includes recommended graphic novels and information on how to use them in the classroom.

• Cooperative Children's Book Center

  Part of the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the CCBC "is committed to identifying excellent literature for children and adolescents and bringing this literature to the attention of those adults who have an academic, professional or career interest in connecting young readers with books."

• School Library Journal

  "School Library Journal is the premiere publication for librarians and information specialists who work with children and teens."

• Common Sense Media: Graphic Novels That Teach History

  "This popular blend of art and story makes history come alive in easy-to-follow illustrated panels in a wide range of titles that are as accessible as comic books."

• American Indians in Children's Literature

  "Established in 2006, American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) provides critical perspectives and analysis of indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books, the school curriculum, popular culture, and society."

• The Brown Bookshelf

  "The Brown Bookshelf is designed to push awareness of the myriad Black voices writing for young readers."

• Children's Book Council Diversity Committee

  "The CBC Diversity initiative was founded in 2012, as part of the Children’s Book Council’s commitment to promoting diverse voices in literature for young people."

• Disability in Kidlit

  "Disability in Kidlit is dedicated to discussing the portrayal of disability in middle grade and young adult literature."

• Diverse Families Bookshelf

  "Diverse Families is a comprehensive bibliography that demonstrates the growing diversity of families in the United States. This type of bibliography provides teachers, librarians, counselors, adoption agencies, children/young adults, and especially parents and grandparents needing to empower their children with materials that reflect their families."

• Latinxs in Kid Lit

  "Exploring the world of Latinx YA, MG, and children's literature"

• LGBTQ Reads

  "Queering up your shelf, one rec at a time!"

• Queer Comics Database

  "Our mission is to facilitate access to comics that contain queer representation."

• Reading While White

  "Working for racial diversity and inclusion in books for children and teens"

• We Need Diverse Books

  "We Need Diverse Books™ is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and a grassroots organization of children’s book lovers that advocates essential changes in the publishing industry. Our aim is to help produce and promote literature that reflects and honors the lives of all young people."

• Shake Up Your Shelves

  "Shake Up Your Shelves by retiring books that are offensive or outdated, and by adding titles that reflect the experiences of more underrepresented groups. We've compiled a list of diverse books for various age groups below that we recommend looking into as you remix your collection and your curriculum to create a more inclusive learning space for your library or classroom."