Growing up with the world’s best books

Why award-winning children's books make the best gifts

Every year thousands of new children's books are published, and most of them are forgotten within a year or two. The big prizes cut through that. Librarians, teachers and critics on the Caldecott, Newbery, Carnegie, Governor General's and Children's Book Council of Australia juries read the whole year's crop and choose the few that are worth keeping. Many of the world's best books for children, from Where the Wild Things Are to The Giver, first got noticed this way.

That makes an award winner a safe and thoughtful gift. It has already been read closely by people who know children's books, it is usually still in print, and it is the kind of book a child grows up with and keeps.

How to choose a book for a child's age

• Babies and toddlers: sturdy, simple picture books with bold pictures and words that are fun to say out loud.
• Ages 3 to 5: picture books, many of them Caldecott and Carnegie illustration winners, to read together again and again.
• Ages 6 to 8: Geisel Award books for children learning to read on their own, and first chapter books.
• Ages 9 to 12: Newbery winners and other novels for confident readers, from funny adventures to stories about history and growing up.
• Teens: Carnegie and older-reader winners that take young people seriously.

Winners, Honor Books and shortlists

Only one book wins each prize each year, but the juries also name Honor Books and shortlists, and these are often just as good. Charlotte's Web was a Newbery Honor Book, not a winner. Every award-winning children's book on this site is marked with its result and year, and the gift guides pick out our favorites for every age.