Vermont Golden Dome Book Award facts for kids
The Vermont Golden Dome Book Award is a special prize for children's books. Kids in Vermont get to choose their favorite new American book each year. This award started a long time ago, in 1957.
The award is supported by the Vermont State PTA and the Vermont Department of Libraries. It used to be called the 'Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award'. This was named after a famous Vermont writer. In 2020, kids voted to change the name to the 'Vermont Golden Dome Book Award'.
Contents
How Books Are Chosen
Each spring, a group of eight adults picks a "Master List" of thirty books. These books were published in the year before. The list is shared at a special conference, usually in May. You can find these books at Vermont school and public libraries.
Kids who want to join can read books from this list for almost a year. The next spring, if you have read at least five of the thirty books, you can vote for your favorite. The voting usually ends in mid-April. The award ceremony happens after school ends, often in late June. This means the award is given for books that came out two years earlier.
The writer who wins is invited to visit Vermont. They get to talk with kids about what it's like to write books for young readers.
Other Cool Book Awards in Vermont
Vermont also has two other statewide book awards. Younger and older students vote for these awards too.
Red Clover Book Award
The Red Clover Book Award is for picture books. These books were also published two years before the award. Kids in kindergarten through fourth grade vote for this award. They must read, or hear, all 10 books on the list. This award started around 1997 or 1998. It is a big part of a conference held in October.
Green Mountain Book Award
The Green Mountain Book Award is for high school students. This means kids in grades 9-12, usually ages 14-18. They can vote through their school library or online. The deadline to vote is May 31. Students are asked to vote only once. They need to read at least 3 books from a list of 15. This award began in 2006.
Award Winners
One book by a single writer has won the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award every year since 1957.
| Year | Author | Title | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Mildred Pace | Old Bones, the Wonder Horse | |
| 1958 | Beverly Cleary | Fifteen | |
| 1959 | Margaret Carver Leighton | Comanche of the Seventh | |
| 1960 | Phoebe Erickson | Double or Nothing | |
| 1961 | Thelma Bell | Captain Ghost | |
| 1962 | Evelyn Sibley Lampman | City under the Back Steps | |
| 1963 | Sheila Burnford | The Incredible Journey | |
| 1964 | Zachary Ball | Bristle Face | |
| 1965 | Sterling North | Rascal | |
| 1966 | Beverly Cleary | Ribsy | |
| 1967 | Phillip Viereck | The Summer I Was Lost | |
| 1968 | Jacqueline Jackson | The Taste of Spruce Gum | |
| 1969 | M. W. Thompson | Two in the Wilderness | |
| 1970 | Walt Morey | Kävik the Wolf Dog | |
| 1971 | Betty K. Erwin | Go to the Room of the Eyes | |
| 1972 | Melvin Ellis | Flight of the White Wolf | |
| 1973 | Donald E. Caufield | Never Steal a Magic Cat | |
| 1974 | George Woods | Catch a Killer | |
| 1975 | Betsy Byars | The Eighteenth Emergency | |
| 1976 | Jean Merrill | The Toothpaste Millionaire | |
| 1977 | Stella Pevsner | A Smart Kid Like You | |
| 1978 | Lois Duncan | Summer of Fear | |
| 1979 | Susan Beth Pfeffer | Kid Power | |
| 1980 | David Budbill | Bones on Black Spruce Mountain | |
| 1981 | James Howe | Bunnicula | |
| 1982 | Francine Pascal | The Hand-Me-Down Kid | |
| 1983 | Judy Blume | Tiger Eyes | |
| 1984 | Pat Rhoades Mauser | A Bundle of Sticks | |
| 1985 | Beverly Cleary | Dear Mr. Henshaw | ‡ |
| 1986 | Robert Kimmel Smith | The War With Grandpa | |
| 1987 | Elizabeth Winthrop | The Castle in the Attic | |
| 1988 | Mary Downing Hahn | Wait Till Helen Comes | |
| 1989 | Gary Paulsen | Hatchet | |
| 1990 | Amy Ehrlich | Where It Stops, Nobody Knows | |
| 1991 | Lois Lowry | Number the Stars | ‡ |
| 1992 | Jerry Spinelli | Maniac Magee | ‡ |
| 1993 | Phyllis Reynolds Naylor | Shiloh | ‡ |
| 1994 | Bruce Coville | Jennifer Murdley's Toad | |
| 1995 | Susan Cooper | The Boggart | |
| 1996 | Mary Downing Hahn | Time for Andrew | |
| 1997 | Barbara Park | Mick Harte Was Here | |
| 1998 | Peg Kehret | Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio | |
| 1999 | Gail Carson Levine | Ella Enchanted | |
| 2000 | Louis Sachar | Holes | ‡ |
| 2001 | Christopher Paul Curtis | Bud, Not Buddy | ‡ |
| 2002 | Kate DiCamillo | Because of Winn-Dixie | |
| 2003 | Sharon Creech | Love That Dog | |
| 2004 | Jerry Spinelli | Loser | |
| 2005 | Kate DiCamillo | The Tale of Despereaux | ‡ |
| 2006 | Mary Downing Hahn | The Old Willis Place | |
| 2007 | Carl Hiaasen | Flush | |
| 2008 | Jeff Kinney | Diary of a Wimpy Kid | |
| 2009 | Cynthia Lord | Rules | |
| 2010 | Suzanne Collins | The Hunger Games | |
| 2011 | Wendy Mass | 11 Birthdays | |
| 2012 | Raina Telgemeier | Smile | |
| 2013 | Wendelin Van Draanen | The Running Dream | |
| 2014 | R. J. Palacio | Wonder | |
| 2015 | Chris Grabenstein | Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library | |
| 2016 | Cece Bell | El Deafo | |
| 2017 | Jory John and Mac Barnett | The Terrible Two | |
| 2018 | Alan Gratz | Projekt 1065 | |
| 2019 | Alan Gratz | Refugee | |
| 2020 | Katherine Arden | Small Spaces |
Authors Who Won More Than Once
Some writers have won the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award more than one time!
- Beverly Cleary won three times: in 1958, 1966, and 1985.
- Mary Downing Hahn also won three times: in 1988, 1996, and 2006.
- Jerry Spinelli, Kate DiCamillo, and Alan Gratz have each won the award twice.
Seven times between 1985 and 2005 (marked with ‡ in the table), the Vermont schoolchildren picked the same book that won the Newbery Medal. The Newbery Medal is another important award. It is given by librarians for the "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." So, Vermont kids and librarians agreed on the best book many times!
