National Outstanding Children's Literature Award facts for kids

The National Outstanding Children's Literature Award (Chinese: 全国优秀儿童文学奖) is a very important prize in China for books written especially for young people. It started in 1986 and is given out by the China Writers Association. This award celebrates the best books for children, including novels, picture books, poetry, essays, and non-fiction. It's given out every three years to recognize amazing stories and writing that kids love.

This award was part of a bigger plan that started in 1978 to give national awards for different types of literature. Before that, in the 1950s, there were awards for plays and performances, but not for books like novels or poems.

The First Awards (1980-1985): A Great Start

The very first National Outstanding Children's Literature Awards covered books published between 1980 and 1985. Many talented writers were recognized for their amazing stories.

Award-Winning Books and Authors

• Novels: These were longer stories, like Yan Zhen's 《荒漠奇踪》 (Desert Wonders) and Ke Yan's 《寻找回来的世界》 (The World We Found).
• Novellas: These are shorter than novels, such as Cheng Wei's 《来自异国的孩子》 (The Child from a Foreign Land).
• Short Stories: Many authors were honored for their short tales, including Cao Wenxuan for 《再见了，我的星星》 (Goodbye, My Star) and Shen Shixi for 《第七条猎狗》 (The Seventh Hunting Dog).
• Young Readers: Books for younger children were also celebrated, like Zhu Zhixiang's 《黑猫警长》 (Black Cat Detective) and Sun Youjun's 《小狗的小房子》 (The Little Dog's Little House).
• Poetry: Poems for children were recognized, with awards going to writers like Gao Hongbo (writer) for 《我想》 (I Think) and Jin Bo (writer) for 《春的消息》 (News of Spring).
• Essays: Non-fiction pieces, like Chen Danyan's 《中国少女》 (Chinese Girl), also received awards.
• Other Categories: The first awards also included fables, reportage (true stories), and even science fiction, like Zheng Wenguang's 《神翼》 (Magic Wings).

The Second Awards (1986-1991): More Wonderful Stories

The second set of awards continued to celebrate great children's literature. Many new and returning authors were honored for their contributions.

Recognized Works

• Novels: Popular novels included Liu Jianping's 《今年你七岁》 (You Are Seven This Year) and Cao Wenxuan's 《山羊不吃天堂草》 (Goats Don't Eat Heaven Grass).
• Young Readers: Stories for younger kids, like Zhang Qiusheng's 《小巴掌童话》 (Little Palm Fairy Tales) and Sun Youjun's 《怪老头儿》 (The Strange Old Man), were recognized.
• Essays and Reportage: These categories featured works like Wu Ran's 《小鸟在歌唱》 (Little Birds Are Singing).
• Poetry: Poems by authors such as Xu Lu (writer) and Jin Bo (writer) were awarded.
• Picture Books: This category, important for very young readers, included Xie Hua's 《岩石上的小蝌蚪》 (The Little Tadpole on the Rock).

The Third Awards (1992-1994): Growing Talent

The third awards continued to highlight the best in children's literature, showing how much the field was growing.

Awarded Books

• Novels: Famous novels from this period included Qin Wenjun's 《男生贾里》 (Jiali, the Boy) and Shen Shixi's 《红奶羊》 (The Red Milk Goat).
• Young Readers: Books like Bing Bo's 《狼蝙蝠》 (Wolf Bat) and Ge Cuilin's 《会唱歌的画像》 (The Singing Portrait) were celebrated.
• Poetry and Essays: These categories continued to feature strong works from authors like Jin Bo and Gao Hongbo (writer).
• Picture Books: Zhang Qiusheng's 《鹅妈妈和西瓜蛋》 (Mother Goose and the Watermelon Egg) was a notable winner.

The Fourth Awards (1995-1997): Beloved Classics Emerge

This period saw some truly classic children's books receive awards, many of which are still loved today.

Notable Winners

• Novels: Cao Wenxuan's 《草房子》 (Thatched Cottage), a very famous book, won an award. Other winners included Huang Beijia's 《我要做好孩子》 (I Want to Be a Good Child).
• Novellas and Short Stories: Dong Hongxian's 《一百个中国孩子的梦》 (One Hundred Chinese Children's Dreams) was recognized.
• Young Readers: Sun Youjun's 《唏哩呼噜历险记》 (The Adventures of Xili Huli) was a popular winner.
• Picture Books: This category included Zheng Chunhua's 《大头儿子和隔壁大大叔》 (Big-Headed Son and the Big Uncle Next Door).
• Non-fiction: Books like Lin Fengjie's 《还你一片蓝天》 (Giving You Back a Blue Sky) were also honored.

The Fifth Awards (1998-2000): Diverse Stories

The awards continued to expand, recognizing a wider range of genres and new voices in children's literature.

Awarded Works

• Novels: Winners included Zhou Rui and Zhou Shuangning's 《中国兔子德国草》 (Chinese Rabbit German Grass).
• Young Readers: Tang Sulan's 《笨狼的故事》 (The Story of the Silly Wolf) was a highlight.
• Essays and Poetry: Authors like Sun Youjun and Jin Bo (writer) continued to be recognized.
• Sci-Fi: Science fiction for kids, such as Zhang Zhilu's 《非法智慧》 (Illegal Intelligence), also received awards.
• Young Authors: This period also started recognizing talented young writers, like Wang Yimei (writer) for 《书本里的蚂蚁》 (Ants in Books).

The Sixth Awards (2001-2003): New Horizons

This round of awards celebrated more fantastic stories, showing the ongoing creativity in children's literature.

Recognized Books

• Novels: Cao Wenxuan won again for 《细米》 (Thin Rice), and Yang Hongying's 《漂亮老师和坏小子》 (Pretty Teacher and Bad Boy) was also honored.
• Young Readers: Wang Yimei (writer)'s 《鼹鼠的月亮河》 (Mole's Moon River) and Jin Bo (writer)'s 《乌丢丢的奇遇》 (Wudiudiu's Adventures) were popular choices.
• Non-fiction: This category included Niu Niu's 《长翅膀的绵阳》 (Sheep with Wings).

The Seventh Awards (2004-2006): International Recognition

Some of the books awarded during this period gained international attention, showing the quality of Chinese children's literature.

Award-Winning Titles

• Novels: Cao Wenxuan's 《青铜葵花》 (Bronze and Sunflower), which was later translated into English, was a major winner. Gerelchimeg Blackcrane's 《黑焰》 (Black Flame) also received an award.
• Sci-Fi: Zhang Zhilu's 《极限幻觉》 (Extreme Illusion) was recognized in the science fiction category.

The Eighth Awards (2007-2009): Continued Excellence

The awards continued to highlight a wide range of excellent books for children and young adults.

Featured Works

• Novels: Huang Beijia's 《你是我的宝贝》 (You Are My Baby) and Gerelchimeg Blackcrane's 《狼獾河》 (Wolverine River) were among the winners.
• Young Readers: Tang Sulan's 《奇迹花园》 (Miracle Garden) and Jin Bo (writer)'s 《蓝雪花》 (Blue Snow Flower) were celebrated.
• Picture Books: Bai Bing (writer)'s 《狐狸鸟》 (Fox Bird) was a winner in this category.
• Sci-Fi: Zhang Zhilu's 《小猪大侠莫跑跑•绝境逢生》 (Little Pig Hero Mo Paopao: Surviving Desperate Situations) was recognized.

The Ninth Awards (2010-2012): Modern Stories

This period saw awards for stories that reflected modern life and continued to explore imaginative themes.

Awarded Books

• Novels: Zhang Zhilu's 《千雯之舞》 (Qianwen's Dance) and Cao Wenxuan's 《丁丁当当•盲羊》 (Dingdingdangdang: Blind Sheep) were among the winners.
• Poetry: Ren Rongrong's 《我成了个隐身人》 (I Became an Invisible Person) was a notable poetry winner.
• Young Readers: Tang Tang (writer)'s 《汤汤缤纷成长童话集》 (Tangtang's Colorful Growth Fairy Tales) was recognized.
• Sci-Fi: Even famous science fiction author Liu Cixin won for 《三体3•死神永生》 (Death's End), showing how broad the award categories are.

The Tenth Awards (2013-2017): Many Winners

A large number of books were recognized in this round, showing the rich variety of children's literature being produced.

Highlighted Books

• Novels: Winners included Dong Hongyou's 《一百个孩子的中国梦》 (A Hundred Children's Chinese Dream) and Zhang Zhilu's 《吉祥时光》 (Lucky Time).
• Young Readers: Books like Guo Jiangyan's 《布罗镇的邮递员》 (The Deliveryman in Buluo Town) and Tang Tang (author)'s 《水妖喀喀莎》 (Water Spirit Kakasha) were honored.
• Picture Books: Sun Yuhu's 《其实我是一条鱼》 (Actually, I'm a Fish) was a winner.

The Eleventh Awards (2018-2021): Fresh Perspectives

This recent round of awards continued to celebrate new and exciting works for young readers.

Recognized Titles

• Novels: Winners included 《驯鹿六季》 (Six Seasons of Reindeer) and 《有鸽子的夏天》 (Summer with Pigeons).
• Fairy Tales: 《慢小孩》 (Slow Kids) and 《南村传奇》 (Legend of Nancun) were among the awarded fairy tales.
• Science Fiction: 《奇迹之夏》 (Summer of Miracles) was a winner in this category.

The Twelfth Awards (2021-2024): Latest Achievements

The most recent awards, covering works up to 2024, continued to showcase the best in Chinese children's literature.

Latest Winners

• Novels: Books like CAI Chongda's 《我人生最开始的好朋友》 (My First Friends in Life) and LU Mei's 《万花筒》 (Kaleidoscope) were recognized.
• Fairy Tales: CI Qi's 《外婆变成了麻猫》 (Grandma Became a Cat) and ZHAO Lihong's 《月光蟋蟀》 (Moonlight Crickets) were among the winners.
• Science Fiction: JIA Yu's 《改造天才》 (Transforming Genius) was a notable sci-fi winner.
• Picture Books: CAI Gao's 《不能没有》 (Can't Live Without You) was honored.