Phoenix Award facts for kids

The Phoenix Award is a special prize given every year to an English-language children's book. What makes it unique is that it honors books published twenty years earlier that didn't win a big award when they first came out. It's named after the mythical phoenix bird, which rises again from its own ashes. This name shows how the award helps these great books become famous, even if they were forgotten for a while.

What is the Phoenix Award?

The Phoenix Award is given by the Children's Literature Association (ChLA). This group is a nonprofit organization in the United States. Their main goal is to encourage the serious study of children's books.

A special committee of five ChLA members chooses the winner. They pick from books suggested by both members and people outside the group. The winner receives a cool brass statue!

The very first Phoenix Award was given in 1985. It went to The Mark of the Horse Lord by Rosemary Sutcliff, which was published in 1965. Since 1989, sometimes one or two other books are also recognized as "Honor Books." By 2017, 34 books had received this honor.

Phoenix Picture Book Award

There's also a special award for picture books called the Phoenix Picture Book Award. This award was created in 2010 and first given out in 2013. If a book has a different writer and illustrator, both can win the award.

Books are judged not just on how good their pictures are. The judges also look at how well the pictures and words work together to tell a story. Even books without words are considered, based on how well the pictures alone tell the story.

Phoenix Award Winners

Since 1985, there have been 35 Phoenix Award winners and 35 Honor Books. These books were originally published between 1965 and 1998.

Authors with Multiple Awards

Some authors have won the Phoenix Award more than once! As of 2021, three authors have won twice:

• Rosemary Sutcliff (in 1985 and 2010)
• Peter Dickinson (in 2001 and 2008)
• Margaret Mahy (in 2005 and 2007)

Margaret Mahy, from New Zealand, was also an Honor Book winner in 2006.

Many Phoenix Award winners have also won other famous literary awards. For example, several have won the British Carnegie Medal for other books. Some have also won the American Newbery Medal.

Phoenix Picture Book Award Winners

The Phoenix Picture Book Award was first given in 2013. It recognized books that were originally published in 1993.

See also

• In Spanish: Premio Fénix de literatura para niños