Kerlan Award facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kerlan Award |
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|---|---|
| Presented by | University of Minnesota's Kerlan Collection |
| Country | United States |
| First awarded | 1975 |
The Kerlan Award is a special prize given by the University of Minnesota's Kerlan Collection. This collection is like a huge library focused on children's books. Unlike many awards that just look at the finished book, the Kerlan Award celebrates the whole creative journey of writers and illustrators. It's given to people who have done amazing things in children's literature. It also thanks them for sharing their unique work with the Kerlan Collection for others to study.
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How Winners Are Chosen
To win this award, a writer or illustrator must already have some of their work in the Kerlan Collection. The award also helps show off the collection's goals. It especially focuses on how authors and artists create their stories and pictures. Winners can be living people or honored after they have passed away. The award looks for authors and illustrators who are well-known and have created many high-quality works. Their donations to the collection should be very helpful for people studying children's literature.
About the Kerlan Collection
Irvine Kerlan was a doctor from Minnesota who studied at the University of Minnesota. While he had a successful medical career, even working for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), he also loved collecting children's books, art, and original writings. His collection was so important that he often loaned pieces to libraries and museums around the world.
As he collected more, he started writing to authors and illustrators. He would invite them to his home or visit them during his travels. He often had books and writings signed by these artists and writers. From 1958 to 1961, he was an Honorary Consultant for Children's Books at the Smithsonian Institution. He also had three of his exhibits travel through Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. These trips were sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.
Sadly, Kerlan was killed in a car accident in 1963. His amazing collection was given to the University of Minnesota. It included over 9,000 books, 180 original writings, and many illustrations. There were also many letters from authors, artists, and editors.
Kerlan's collection was the first of many gifts to the University of Minnesota libraries. Together, these collections are now known as the Children's Literature Research Center (CLRC). Many famous authors and illustrators have also given their works to the collection. For example, Lois Lowry has given her original corrected writings for thirteen novels. These include her Newbery Award winning books Number the Stars and The Giver. James Marshall has donated hundreds of sketches. Many of these are from his popular George and Martha and Miss Nelson series.
Today, the collection has works from over 1,800 authors and illustrators. It holds more than 200,000 items in total.
History of the Kerlan Award
The Kerlan Award was created in 1975. This was to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Kerlan Collection coming to the University of Minnesota library. When it was first created, it was given a special honor called a Presidential Citation.
Kerlan Award Winners
| Year | Winner | |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Marie Hall Ets | |
| Marguerite Henry | ||
| Elizabeth Coatsworth | ||
| 1976 | Roger Duvoisin | |
| 1977 | Wanda Gag | |
| 1978 | Carol Ryrie Brink | |
| 1979 | Margot Zemach | |
| 1980 | Glen Rounds | |
| 1981 | Tomie dePaola | |
| 1982 | Jean Craighead George | |
| 1983 | Katherine Paterson | |
| 1984 | Margaret Wise Brown and her Editors and Illustrators | |
| 1985 | Eleanor Cameron | |
| 1986 | Charlotte Zolotow | |
| 1987 | Charles Mikolaycak | |
| 1988 | Jane Yolen | |
| 1989 | Gail E. Haley | |
| 1990 | Madeleine L'Engle | |
| 1991 | Leonard Everett Fisher | |
| 1992 | Barbara Cooney | |
| 1993 | Mary Stolz | |
| 1994 | Myra Cohn Livingston | |
| 1995 | Phyllis Reynolds Naylor | |
| Margot Tomes | ||
| 1996 | Marion Dane Bauer | |
| Paul Galdone | ||
| 1997 | Theodore Taylor | |
| 1998 | Dahlov Ipcar | |
| 1999 | Eve Bunting | |
| Lois Lenski | ||
| Dr. Edward B. Stanford | Dr. Stanford encouraged Kerlan to donate his collection. After Kerlan's sudden death, Dr. Stanford made sure the collection was safely moved. | |
| Dr. Norine Odland | Dr. Odland was one of the first to see how valuable the collection was for research. She brought students to study the works. | |
| 2000 | Patricia Lauber | |
| 2001 | Jane Resh Thomas | |
| Don Freeman | ||
| 2002 | Joan Lowery Nixon | |
| Barbara Esbensen | ||
| 2003 | Nikki Grimes | |
| Gustaf Tenggren | ||
| 2004 | Lois Lowry | |
| 2005 | Ted Rand | |
| 2006 | Karen Hesse | |
| 2007 | Karen Cushman | |
| Louis Slobodkin | ||
| 2008 | Walter Dean Myers | |
| Robert Kraus | ||
| 2009 | Jeanette Winter | |
| 2010 | Nancy Carlson | |
| 2011 | Jane Kurtz | |
| 2012 | Karen Nelson Hoyle | |
| 2013 | Kate DiCamillo | |
| 2014 | Linda Sue Park and Russell Freedman | |
| 2015 | Sharon Creech | |
| 2016 | Betsy Lewin and Ted Lewin | |
| 2017 | John Coy | |
| 2018 | Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm | |
| 2019 | Lois Ehlert and Claudia Mills | |
| 2020 | Jon Scieszka | |
| 2021 | Ariane Dewey | |
| 2022 | Andrea Davis Pinkney | |
| 2023 | Lauren Stringer and Laurie Hertzel |
Other Awards You Might Know
- Newbery Medal
- Caldecott Medal for outstanding American picture books
- Carnegie Medal for outstanding children's books published in the United Kingdom
- Coretta Scott King Award for outstanding children's books related to the African-American experience
- Guardian Award for works of children's literature written by British or Commonwealth authors
- Kate Greenaway Medal for outstanding works of illustration in children's literature from the United Kingdom
- Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal for outstanding lifetime contribution to children's literature
