Joan L. Knickerbocker - Literature for Young Adults: Books (and More) for Contemporary Readers

We would like to thank these individuals, who reviewed this book in various forms prior to its publication: Denise Agosto, Drexel University; Janet Alsup, Purdue University; Jean Boreen, Northern Arizona University; Stergios Botzakis, University of Tennessee; Nancy Brashear, Azusa Pacific University; Debra L. Burgauer, Bradley University; Kay Craig, McDaniel College; Christine Draper, Georgia Southern University; Kaa Hinton-Johnson, Old Dominion University; Melanie Koss, Northern Illinois University; Susan M. Landt, St. Norbert College; Amy L. Montz, University of Southern Indiana; Barbara G. Pace, University of Florida; Donna M. Niday, Iowa State University; Kathryn Mitchell Pierce, Saint Louis University; Carolyn Thomas, East Central University; Kjersti VanSlyke-Briggs, SUNY Oneonta; and Patricia Wachholz, Armstrong Atlantic University. The book is better as a result of their constructive feedback and suggestions, and we appreciate their help.

We would like to acknowledge the contributions made by former colleagues Martha Brueggeman, co-author of the first edition of this book, and Mary Rycik, the first reader of both editions and an invaluable influence on the progression of this manuscript. We are grateful for the assistance of Sara Landis Hricik for sharing her expertise on dramatic literature. We appreciate the ongoing input of school administrator Anthony Knickerbocker and student Nicholas Knickerbocker regarding the experiences of todays young adults, both in and out of school.

We wish to acknowledge our teacher education students, past and present, at Ashland University who have informed our instruction and encouraged us to share our passion for reading and discussing young adult literature. Their responses to the first edition of this book helped to guide this revision.

Lastly, we are forever in debt to the authors, illustrators, and filmmakers who create the words and images that delight and inform young adults.

For each award listed, a brief description of the intent and criteria of the award is given. The awards are alphabetized by the award title typically used by the sponsoring agency or organization. The list should be considered a sampling and not a comprehensive list of all the existing awards for young adult literature .

Each year the Alex Awards are given to 10 books written for adults published in the previous year that have special appeal to young adults ages 12 to 18. It is sponsored by the Margaret A. Edwards Trust through the American Library Associations Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). The Alex Award began in 1998 and became an official American Library Association (ALA) award in 2002.

Amazing Audio Books selected for this award, by YALSA, must be available for libraries to purchase and lend. The content must be appropriate for a young adult audience. A criterion for selection is the effective use of voices, music, sound effects, and language.

This recognition is administered by the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the ALA. Books are selected based on significant feminist content, appeal, and developmental appropriateness for young readers from birth to 18, and quality writing and/or illustrations.

The American Indian Library Association (AILA), an affiliate of the ALA, established its American Indian Youth Services Literature Award in 2006. This award focuses on literature written about and by American Indians. Books selected to receive the award will present Native Americans in the fullness of their humanity in the present and the past contexts.

This annual award is sponsored by the Consortium of Latin American Studies Program (CLASP). The award is given in recognition of U.S. works of fiction, poetry, folklore, or selected nonfiction published in the previous year in English or Spanish that authentically and engagingly portray Latin Americans, Caribbeans, or Latinos in the United States. Titles range from picture books to young adult books.

This award was established in 2006 by the Arab American National Museum to celebrate and support the research and written work of Arab Americans and their culture. The Arab American Book Award encourages the publication and excellence of books that preserve and advance the understanding, knowledge, and resources of the Arab American community by celebrating the thoughts and lives of Arab Americans. The awards include a category for Children/Young Adults.

The Association for Library Services to Children (ALA Childrens Division) Mildred L. Batchelder Award is given to an American publisher for a childrens book that has been translated into English and published in the United States.

The Boston GlobeHorn Book Awards are among the most prestigious honors in the field of childrens literature and young adult literature. The editor of the Horn Book magazine chooses a panel of judges, and awards are given in the categories of picture book, fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. Selections must be published in the United States, but they may be written or illustrated by citizens of any country. Publishers submit nominations. The Boston Globe and the childrens literature magazine Horn Book have collaborated since 1967 to offer this award.

This annual award is presented by the Association of Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association. The medal is given to the illustrator of a selection that is considered the most distinguished American picture book for children published in the previous year. The artist must be a citizen or resident of the United States. This medal has been given annually since 1937.

Since 1973, the Carter G. Woodson Award has been sponsored by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) to honor the most distinguished social science books appropriate for young readers that depict ethnicity in the United States. Books nominated for the award must accurately reflect the experience of one or more racial or ethnic minority groups in the United States. Separate categories are given for elementary, middle-level, and secondary-level honorees.

The Coretta Scott King Award, sponsored by the American Library Association, is presented to African American authors and illustrators for books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values. The award celebrates the contributions of both Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his wife, Coretta Scott King.

The Edgar Awards, named for the 19th-century author Edgar Allan Poe, are presented annually by the Mystery Writers of America. They honor the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction, television, film, and theater published or produced in the previous year. The award categories include juvenile and young adult designations.

This nonfiction award began in 2010 and is sponsored by YALSA to honor the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 1218). The award is to promote the growing number of nonfiction books published for young adults [and to] inspire wider readership in the genre.