Kerlan Award facts for kids

The Kerlan Award is a special prize given by the University of Minnesota. It celebrates amazing writers and illustrators of children's books. Unlike many awards that focus on the finished book, the Kerlan Award looks at how authors and artists create their work. It honors people who have done great things in children's literature. It also thanks them for donating their unique creative materials to the Kerlan Collection. These materials help people study how children's books are made.

Who Can Win the Kerlan Award?

To receive the Kerlan Award, a writer or illustrator must meet a few requirements:

• Their work must already be part of the Kerlan Collection.
• The award should help the collection's goals.
• Their contribution should highlight the creative process.
• The award can be given to someone who is still alive or after they have passed away.

The award looks for people who are well-respected by their peers. They should also have a large amount of high-quality work. The "generous donation" part means giving materials that are very helpful for research. These materials help students and researchers learn about children's literature.

About the Kerlan Collection

The Kerlan Collection is a special library at the University of Minnesota. It focuses on children's books and how they are created. It all started with a man named Irvine Kerlan, who was a doctor from Minnesota.

Irvine Kerlan loved collecting children's books, original artwork, and handwritten stories (manuscripts). He even worked for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). His collection became very famous. He often loaned his items to libraries and museums around the world.

As his collection grew, he started writing to authors and illustrators. He would invite them to his home or visit them during his travels. Many artists and writers signed their books and manuscripts for him. From 1958 to 1961, he was an expert on children's books for the Smithsonian Institution. Some of his exhibits even traveled through Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The U.S. Department of State helped sponsor these tours.

Sadly, Irvine Kerlan died in a car accident in 1963. He left his amazing collection to the University of Minnesota. It included over 9,000 books, 180 manuscripts, and many illustrations. There were also many letters he exchanged with authors, artists, and editors.

The Kerlan Collection was the first of many special 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 this collection. For example, Lois Lowry donated her original corrected stories for thirteen novels. These include her Newbery Award-winning books Number the Stars and The Giver. James Marshall gave hundreds of his 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.

How the Kerlan Award Started

The Kerlan Award was created to celebrate a special event. It marked 25 years since the Kerlan Collection came to the University of Minnesota library. When it was first created, it was given a special honor called a Presidential Citation.

Kerlan Award Winners

See also

• 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