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 the winning book! This award started a long time ago, in 1957. It used to be called the "Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award." In 2020, kids voted to change its name to the "Vermont Golden Dome Book Award." The Vermont PTA and the Vermont Department of Libraries help run this exciting award.
Contents
How Books Are Chosen
Each spring, a group of eight adults picks 30 great books. This is called the "Master List." These books were published during the previous year. The list is shared in May at a special conference. You can find these books in Vermont schools and public libraries. Kids who read at least five of these 30 books can vote. Voting happens by mid-April the next spring. The award ceremony is usually in late June, after school ends. This means the award is always for books published two years earlier. The winning author gets to visit Vermont. They talk to kids about writing books.
Other Cool Book Awards in Vermont
Vermont has two other book awards. These awards are also chosen by students of different ages.
The Red Clover Book Award
This award is for picture books. Kids in kindergarten to 4th grade vote for their favorite. They need to read or hear all 10 books on the list. This award started around 1997. The winner is announced by May. There is also a special conference in October for this award.
The Green Mountain Book Award
This award is for high school students. Students in grades 9-12 vote for their favorite books. They can vote through their school library or online. The deadline to vote is May 31st. 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 Multiple Times
Some authors have won the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award more than once!
- 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 twice.
Sometimes, the book chosen by Vermont schoolchildren also won the Newbery Medal. The Newbery Medal is another big award for children's literature. It is given by the Association for Library Service to Children. This happened seven times between 1985 and 2005. For example, in 1985, Vermont kids chose Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary, which also won the Newbery Medal.
