Charlotte Zolotow Award facts for kids

The Charlotte Zolotow Award is a special prize given each year for amazing writing in picture books. These books are published in the United States. It's different from the Caldecott Medal, which is given for the best pictures in a picture book.

The Zolotow Award started in 1998. It was created by the Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC). This center is part of the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Education. The award is named after Charlotte Zolotow, a famous American children's book editor and writer. She worked for Harper Junior Books for 38 years. During that time, she wrote more than 70 picture books! Charlotte Zolotow herself studied writing at the University of Wisconsin from 1933 to 1936. The CCBC is like a special library for children's books at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Who Can Win the Award?

To be considered for the Charlotte Zolotow Award, a picture book must meet certain rules:

• It must be for young children (from birth to age seven).
• It must have been first written in English.
• It must have been published in the United States between January 1 and December 31 of the year before the award.
• The book can be fiction (made-up stories), nonfiction (true stories), or folklore (old traditional tales).
• It just needs to be in picture book form and for the birth to seven age group.
• Books that are translated from other languages, poetry collections, or easy readers are not allowed.

The award committee chooses one winner each year. They can also pick up to five "honor" books. Plus, they can name up to ten books on a "highly commended" list. This list helps show other great picture books with amazing writing.

The winner is announced every January. The winning author receives a bronze medal. This medal is given at a public event in the spring. This event also celebrates Charlotte Zolotow's work.

Award Winners and Honored Books

Here are some of the books that have won the Charlotte Zolotow Award, along with some of the "Honor" and "Commended" books.

Authors with Many Awards

Some authors have been recognized many times by the Charlotte Zolotow Award committee.

Kevin Henkes and Bob Graham are the only two authors to have received all three types of recognition: winner, honor, and commendation. They also have the most total recognitions. Kevin Henkes has 10, and Bob Graham has 8. No author has won the main award more than once yet.

Jonathan Bean is the only author to get two recognitions in the same year. In 2014, he received an honor for Building Our House and a commendation for Big Snow.

Authors with Multiple Honors

Three authors have received two Zolotow Honors:

• Jonathan Bean
• James Rumford
• Mo Willems
• Jacqueline Woodson

Authors with Many Commendations

One author has received nine Zolotow commendations:

• Kevin Henkes (in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2016, 2018, 2019)

Two authors have received four Zolotow commendations:

• Denise Fleming (in 1998, 1999, 2004, 2013)
• Bob Graham (in 2006, 2008, 2014, 2016)

Many other authors have received two Zolotow commendations. These include:

• Kate Banks
• Maribeth Boelts
• Monica Brown
• Elisha Cooper
• Robin Cruise
• Greg Foley
• George Ella Lyon
• Patricia C. McKissack
• Mary Lyn Ray
• Joyce Sidman
• Melissa Stewart
• Mo Willems
• Janet S. Wong