Readers' Advisory

FD Library System - This is our online library catalog. Access the catalog by clicking on the FD (Follett Destiny) Library System app in Classlink.
Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Award - The Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award is an annual award given to the author of the book voted most outstanding by children in grades four through eight in participating Illinois schools.
Teen Bookfinder Database - This database provides access to all of YALSA's annual selected book and media lists, awards, and honorees.
Teen's Top Ten - Teens' Top Ten is a "teen choice" list, where teens nominate and choose their favorite books of the previous year.

Awards

Alex Awards - The Alex Awards are given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.
Asian/Pacific American Honor for Literature - The goal of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature is to honor and recognize individual work about Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage, based on literary and artistic merit. Look for the Children's or Young Adult winner.
Benjamin Franklin Award - Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA): The mission of the awards is simple: to recognize excellence and innovation in independent publishing. Unlike many other awards contests, the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards demand both editorial and design excellence. Look for the Teen Fiction and Teen Nonfiction awards, ages 13 - 18.
Children's Literature Legacy Award - Legacy Award honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children through books that demonstrate integrity and respect for all children’s lives and experiences.
Coretta Scott King Book Awards - Designed to commemorate the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and to honor Mrs. Coretta Scott King for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace, the Coretta Scott King Book Awards annually recognize outstanding books for young adults and children by African American authors and illustrators that reflect the African American experience. Further, the Award encourages the artistic expression of the black experience via literature and the graphic arts in biographical, social, and historical treatments by African American authors and illustrators.
Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe Award for New Talent - The award is established to affirm new talent and to offer visibility to excellence in writing and/or illustration which otherwise might be formally unacknowledged within a given year within the structure of the two awards given annually by the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Committee. These books affirm new talent and offer visibility to excellence in writing or illustration at the beginning of a career as a published book creator.
Edgar Awards - Mystery Writers of America (MWA): Each spring, Mystery Writers of America present the Edgar® Awards, widely acknowledged to be the most prestigious awards in the genre. Look for the Best Young Adult Mystery award for hardbound and paperback, ages 13 - 18.
Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults - An award for the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during a November 1 – October 31 publishing year.
Fabulous Films for Young Adults - The purpose of this list is to identify for collection developers a body of films relating to a theme that will appeal to young adults in a variety of settings. Titles chosen are of acceptable quality and are effective in their presentation.
Great Web Sites for Kids - Great Web sites for Kids identifies excellent Web sites for young people.
Guys Read - Jon Scieszka: Guys Read is a web-based literacy program for boys founded by author Jon Scieszka in 2001. Its mission is "to help boys become self-motivated, lifelong readers" by bringing attention to the issue, promoting the expansion of what is called "reading" to include materials like comic books, and encouraging grown men to be literacy role models.
John Newbery Medal - The Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.
Lambda Literary Award (Lammy) - Lambda Literary: Individual works and collections of fiction, nonfiction, picture books, and poetry whose intended audience is young readers. Look for the LGBTQ Children and Young Adult category.
LITA Excellence in Children’s and Young Adult Science Fiction Notable Lists - American Library Association (ALA): The LITA Committee Recognizing Excellence in Children’s and Young Adult Science Fiction is charged with selecting, annotating, and presenting for publication, annually a list of notable children’s and young adult science fiction of the preceding calendar year.
Locus Awards - Locus Science Fiction Foundation (LSFF): The annual Locus Awards, first presented in 1971, to recognize excellence in science fiction and fantasy literature. Look for the Locus Award for Young Adult Novel. Be aware that this is a news page listing all, or mostly all, sci-fi and fantasy book awards in the English language.
Margaret A. Edwards Award - The Margaret A. Edwards Award, established in 1988, honors an author, as well as a specific body of his or her work, that have been popular over a period of time. It recognizes an author's work in helping adolescents become aware of themselves and addressing questions about their role and importance in relationships, society, and in the world.
Michael L. Printz Award - The Michael L. Printz Award is an award for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature.
Mildred L. Batchelder Award - This award, established in Mildred L. Batchelder's honor in 1966, is a citation awarded to an American publisher for a children's book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originally published in a foreign language in a foreign country, and subsequently translated into English and published in the United States.
Mythopoeic Awards - The Mythopoeic Society: The Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature was established in 1992 and honors books for young readers to age thirteen, in the tradition of The Hobbit or The Chronicles of Narnia. Rules for eligibility are otherwise the same as for the Adult literature award. The question of which award a borderline book is best suited for will be decided by consensus of the committees. Books for mature “Young Adults” may be moved to the Adult literature category.
National Book Awards - National Book Foundation (NBF): Established in 1950, the National Book Awards are American literary prizes administered by the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization. Look for the Young People's Literature category.
Nonfiction Award - YALSA's Award for Excellence in Nonfiction honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during a Nov. 1 – Oct. 31 publishing year.
Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production - This annual award will be given to the producer of the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States.
Printz Award - Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA): The Michael L. Printz Award is an award for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature.
Pura Belpré Award - Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking (REFORMA): Presented to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.
Rainbow Project Book list - The Rainbow Project Book List is list of recommended books dealing with gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and questioning issues and situations for children up to age 18.
Randolph Caldecott Medal - The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Award - The Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award is an annual award given to the author of the book voted most outstanding by children in grades four through eight in participating Illinois schools.
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal - The Sibert Award honors the most distinguished informational book published in English in the preceding year for its significant contribution to children’s literature.
Schneider Family Book Award - Schneider Family Book Awards honor an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.
Stonewall Book Awards - Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award - The Stonewall Book Awards are presented to English language books that have exceptional merit relating to the LGBTQIA+ experience.
Sydney Taylor Book Award - Association of Jewish Libraries: The Sydney Taylor Book Award is presented annually to outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience.
Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards - Comic-Con International: The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, considered the “Oscars” of the comic book industry, are handed out each year in a gala ceremony at Comic-Con International: San Diego. Look for the Best Publication for Teens (ages 13–17) category.
William C. Morris Debut YA Award - The William C. Morris YA Debut Award, first awarded in 2009, honors a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature.

Book Lists

Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults - To select, annotate, and present for publication an annual list of notable audio recordings significant to young adults from those released in the past two years.
Best Books for Young Adults - Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA): Through 2010, The Best Books for Young Adults committee each year selected and annotated a list of significant adult and young adult books, as well as chooses a list of top ten titles from the full list. It is a general list of fiction and nonfiction titles selected for their proven or potential appeal to the personal reading tastes of the young adult. Best Books for Young Adults evolved into Best Fiction for Young Adults after the 2010 BBYA list was published.
Best Fiction for Young Adults - Best Fiction for Young Adults presents fiction titles published for young adults in the past 14 months that are recommended reading for ages 12 to 18.
Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth - Committed to providing a broad selection of outstanding books that mixes popular appeal with literary excellence, the Books for Youth editorial staff chooses titles as best-of-the-year fiction, nonfiction, and picture books.
Booklist's Top of the List - Every January, Booklist publishes Editors’ Choice: lists of the best books, databases, video/DVDs, and audiobooks of the past year. From these lists, we further select what we call the Top of the List: the single best title in eight categories—adult fiction, adult nonfiction, youth fiction, youth nonfiction, youth picture book, reference source, video/DVD, and audiobook.
Great Graphic Novels for Teens - The list presents graphic novels published in the past 16 months that are recommended reading for teens aged twelve to eighteen.
Notable Children's Books - Each year the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) identifies the best of the best of children's books on the Notable Children's Books list.
Notable Children's Recordings - Each year the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) identifies the best of the best in children's recordings on the Notable Children's Recordings list.
Notable Children's Videos - Each year the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) identifies the best of the best in children's recordings on the Notable Children's Recordings list.
Outstanding Books for the College Bound - The books on this list offer opportunities to discover new ideas, and provide an introduction to the fascinating variety of subjects within an academic discipline. Readers will gain an understanding of our diverse world and build a foundation to deepen their response to that world. This list is developed every five years.
Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults - To encourage young adults to read for pleasure by presenting to them lists of popular or topical titles which are widely available in paperback and which represent a broad variety of accessible themes and genres.
Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers - The list is for young adults (ages 12-18) who, for whatever reasons, do not like to read. The purpose of this list is to identify titles for recreational reading, not for curricular or remedial use.
Readers' Choice - Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA): YALSA’s Readers’ Choice list seeks to engage a wide audience of librarians, educators, teens and young adult literature enthusiasts in choosing the most popular teen titles in a given year, as organized by broad genres. The list will also provide librarians with a timely means of identifying popular teen titles on an ongoing basis.
Teen's Top Ten - Teens' Top Ten is a "teen choice" list, where teens nominate and choose their favorite books of the previous year.

Book Reviews

Booklist Online - American Library Association (ALA): Booklist Online is the web version of the Booklist print magazine. It offers free content to non-subscribers, including a generous selection of additional reviews and features written exclusively for Booklist Online.
The Horn Book - The Horn Book is one of the most distinguished resources in the field of children’s and young adult literature and has long been essential for everyone who cares about children’s and young adult literature.
No Flying No Tights - A website devoted to graphic novel reviews specifically for those who read them the most, mainly teens, and for those who might be involved in distributing them to teens, namely teachers, librarians, and parents.
Publishers Weekly - Publishers Weekly is a weekly news magazine focused on the international book publishing business. Its best known service is pre-publication book reviews, publishing some 9,000 per year.
School Library Journal - School Library Journal is the premiere publication for librarians and information specialists who work with children and teens.
VOYA - Voice of Youth Advocates, or (VOYA), magazine is the leading library journal dedicated to the needs of young adult librarians, the advocacy of young adults, and the promotion of young adult literature and reading.

Promotional Events

Banned Books Week - Banned Books Week, an annual celebration of the freedom to read since 1982, is observed the last week of September. Banned Websites Awareness Day is observed on Wednesday of Banned Books Week.
Children's Day/Book Day - El día de los niños/El día de los libros - A celebration of children, families, and reading and held annually on April 30. The celebration emphasizes the importance of advocating literacy for every child regardless of linguistic and cultural background.
Children's Book Week - Established in 1919, Children’s Book Week is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. Every year, young people across the country participate by attending events at schools, libraries, bookstores, celebrating at home, and engaging with book creators both online and in person.
Dr. Seuss's Birthday - Dr. Seuss’s Birthday is a nationwide reading celebration that takes place annually on March 2 — Dr. Seuss’s birthday. Across the country, thousands of schools, libraries, and community centers participate by bringing together kids, teens, and books. It has expanded into a month-long program celebrating March as National Reading Month.
D.E.A.R. Drop Everything and Read - D.E.A.R. stands for "Drop Everything and Read," a national month-long celebration of reading designed to remind folks of all ages to make reading a priority activity in their lives. You may remember that Beverly Cleary wrote about D.E.A.R. in Ramona Quimby, Age 8. Since then, "Drop Everything and Read" programs have been held nationwide on April 12th in honor of Mrs. Cleary’s birthday. We figured, why not "drop" the "day" and celebrate our beloved author, her timeless stories, and the joy of reading for the full month.
Freedom of Information Day - Freedom of Information (FOI) Day is an annual event on or near March 16, the birthday of James Madison, who is widely regarded as the Father of the Constitution and as the foremost advocate for openness in government.
International Games Month - November is International Games Month. First celebrated in 2008 as National Games Day, it focuses on the social and recreational side of gaming. Gaming at the library encourages patrons of all ages to interact with diverse peers, share their expertise and develop new strategies for gaming and learning. At the library, kids can socialize with their friends and play board and video games while surrounded by books, librarians and a real world of knowledge.
International School Library Month - October is International School Library Month (ISLM), an annual celebration of school libraries worldwide.
International Literacy Day | UNESCO - Since 1967, International Literacy Day (ILD) celebrations have taken place annually around the world to remind the public of the importance of literacy as a matter of dignity and human rights, and to advance the literacy agenda towards a more literate and sustainable society.
Library Card Sign-Up Month - September is Library Card Sign-up Month, a time when the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries nationwide join together to remind parents, caregivers and students that signing up for a library card is the first step towards academic achievement and lifelong learning.
National Library Week - First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April.
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) - National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with a first draft. The Young Writers Program offers tools, resources, and community access to help young writers and educators set ambitious creative goals and tackle projects year-round!
National Poetry Month - Launched by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996, National Poetry Month is a special occasion that celebrates poets’ integral role in our culture and that poetry matters.
National Reading Month - In honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday, March is designated as National Reading Month - a month to motivate Americans of all ages to read every day.
Read Across America - National Read Across America Day is an NEA initiative to encourage reading. It has expanded into a year-long program with special celebrations in March as National Reading Month.
School Library Month - School Library Month is the American Association of School Librarians' celebration of school librarians and school libraries.
Teen Tober - TeenTober is a nationwide celebration hosted by libraries every October and aims to celebrate teens, promote year-round teen services and the innovative ways teen services helps teens learn new skills, and fuel their passions in and outside the library.