The California Young Reader Medal is a set of five annual literary awards conferred upon picture books and fiction books selected by vote of California schoolchildren from a ballot prepared by committee. The program was established in 1974 with Intermediate, Primary, and Young Adult Medals that were inaugurated in 1975, 1976, and 1977 and were conferred biennially, and annually beginning in 1983.
The program is intended to encourage recreational reading and is sponsored by four organizations that promote reading and literacy: the California Association of Teachers of English, the California Library Association, the California Reading Association, and the California School Library Association.
There are five medals, last modified for 2002: Primary (grades K-3), Intermediate (grades 3–6), Middle School/Junior High (grades 6–9), Young Adult (grades 9–12), and Picture Books for Older Readers (grades 4 and up)—that is, roughly age 10 and up. Both writer and illustrator receive the Primary and Picture Book Medals, where applicable.
The ballot for each medal comprises 3–5 books published during the preceding four years—two to five years ago when the process concludes. For example, 17 books published from 2010 to 2013 were nominated for 2014–2015.
Young readers, their parents, educators, librarians, and "anyone who works with young people" may recommend books. Candidates must be original works of fiction by living authors, available in English, published during the four preceding years and still in print.
Nominations are made by award category and the books should be "often read or requested" and have "strong appeal for the age group".A committee of the sponsoring organizations selects "a well-balanced list of nominees" (finalists), considering merit and appeal.
Children may vote in all categories where they know all of the candidates by reading or hearing read aloud. They cast a combined paper ballot at once, in a classroom or library monitored by an adult.
The medals in four categories inaugurated in 1975, 1976, 1977, and 1980 were biennial until 1983, and thereafter annual. For each category (now five) CYRM maintains a "Booklist" of finalists (3–5 annually) that provides basic bibliographic data for all, and cover images beginning in 2005 or so.
| 1975 | Intermediate | How to Eat Fried Worms | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Primary | How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head | |
| 1977 | Intermediate | Freaky Friday | |
| Young Adult | Watership Down | ||
| 1978 | Primary | , illus. by Diane de Groat | Little Rabbit's Loose Tooth |
| 1979 | Intermediate | Danny, the Champion of the World | |
| Young Adult |
| 1980 | Middle School/Junior High | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | Big Bad Bruce | ||
| 1981 | Intermediate | Summer of the Monkeys | |
| Young Adult | |||
| 1982 | Primary | , illus. by James Marshall | Miss Nelson is Missing |
| Middle School/Junior High | Hail, Hail Camp Timberwood | ||
| 1983 | Primary | Liza Lou and the Yeller Belly Swamp | |
| Intermediate | Superfudge | ||
| Middle School/Junior High | Tiger Eyes | ||
| Young Adult | Summer of Fear | ||
| 1984 | Primary | , illus. by Joel Schick | Bagdad Ate It |
| Intermediate | |||
| Middle School/Junior High | There's a Bat in Bunk Five | ||
| Young Adult | Stranger with My Face | ||
| 1985 | Primary | , illus. by Kelly Oechsli | Herbie's Troubles |
| Intermediate | |||
| Middle School/Junior High | Taking Terri Mueller | ||
| Young Adult | |||
| 1986 | Primary | , illus. by James Marshall | Space Case |
| Intermediate | Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade | ||
| Middle School/Junior High | Girl with the Silver Eyes | ||
| Young Adult | |||
| 1987 | Primary | , illus. by Don Wood | |
| Intermediate | |||
| Middle School/Junior High | You Shouldn't Have to Say Goodbye | ||
| Young Adult | Pursuit | ||
| 1988 | Primary | , illus. by Felicia Bond | If You Give a Mouse a Cookie |
| Intermediate | Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days | ||
| Middle School/Junior High | |||
| Young Adult | Interstellar Pig | ||
| 1989 | Primary | , illus. by Donald Carrick | What Happened to Patrick's Dinosaurs? |
| Intermediate | |||
| Middle School/Junior High | |||
| Young Adult |
| 1990 | Primary | , illus. by Ed Young | Eyes of the Dragon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intermediate | |||
| Middle School/Junior High | |||
| Young Adult | Izzy, Willy Nilly | ||
| 1991 | Primary | , illus. by Lynn M. Munsinger | Tacky the Penguin |
| Intermediate | Harry's Mad | ||
| Middle School/Junior High | December Stillness | ||
| Young Adult | Night Kites | ||
| 1992 | Primary | Never Spit on Your Shoes | |
| Intermediate | All About Sam | ||
| Middle School/Junior High | Sniper | ||
| Young Adult | |||
| 1993 | Primary | Julius, the Baby of the World | |
| Intermediate | Fudge-a-Mania | ||
| Middle School/Junior High | Avi | Something Upstairs | |
| Young Adult | |||
| 1994 | Primary | , illus. by Erick Ingraham | High-Wire Henry |
| Intermediate | Scared Stiff | ||
| Middle School/Junior High | There's a Girl in My Hammerlock | ||
| Young Adult | We All Fall Down | ||
| 1995 | Primary | Martha Speaks | |
| Intermediate | Stonewords | ||
| Middle School/Junior High | Rescue Josh McGuire | ||
| Young Adult | Downriver | ||
| 1996 | Primary | Stellaluna | |
| Intermediate | Time for Andrew | ||
| Middle School/Junior High | Freak the Mighty | ||
| Young Adult | Shadow of the Dragon | ||
| 1997 | Primary | , illus. by S. D. Schindler | Don't Fidget a Feather! |
| Intermediate | Jennifer Murdley's Toad | ||
| Middle School/Junior High | Sparrow Hawk Red | ||
| Young Adult | Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes | ||
| 1998 | Primary | Dog Breath | |
| Intermediate | |||
| Middle School/Junior High | |||
| Young Adult | Ironman | ||
| 1999 | Primary | , illus. by Henry Cole | Livingstone Mouse |
| Intermediate | , illus. by Peter Sis | ||
| Middle School/Junior High | Under the Blood Red Sun | ||
| Young Adult |
| 2000 | Primary | and Celeste Lewis, illus. by Johnson | Lost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intermediate | Riding Freedom | |||
| Middle School/Junior High | Ella Enchanted | |||
| Young Adult | Breaking Bones | |||
| 2001 | Primary | Grandpa's Teeth | ||
| Intermediate | Honus & Me | |||
| Middle School/Junior High | Among the Hidden | |||
| Young Adult | and Bruce Coville | Armageddon Summer | ||
| 2002 | Primary | , illus. by Lynn M. Munsinger | Hooway for Wodney Wat | |
| Intermediate | ||||
| Middle School/Junior High | Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key | |||
| Picture Books for Older Readers | Weslandia | |||
| Young Adult | Bad | |||
| 2003 | Primary | I Will Never, Not Ever, Eat a Tomato | ||
| Intermediate | Because of Winn-Dixie | |||
| Middle School/Junior High | Touching Spirit Bear | |||
| Picture Books for Older Readers | ||||
| Young Adult | Define Normal | |||
| 2004 | Primary | , illus. by Harry Bliss | ||
| Intermediate | ||||
| Middle School/Junior High | Flipped | |||
| Picture Books for Older Readers | And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon | |||
| Young Adult | Ties that Bind, Ties that Break | |||
| 2005 | Primary | , illus. by G. Brian Karas | Muncha! Muncha | Muncha! |
| Intermediate | Ruby Holler | |||
| Middle School/Junior High | Things Not Seen | |||
| Picture Books for Older Readers | Mr. Lincoln's Way | |||
| Young Adult | Stormbreaker | |||
| 2006 | Primary | Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook | ||
| Intermediate | Avi | |||
| Middle School/Junior High | 12 Again | |||
| Picture Books for Older Readers | , illus. by Stacey Dressen-McQueen | Boxes for Katje | ||
| Young Adult | After | |||
| 2007 | Primary | My Lucky Day | ||
| Intermediate | Christopher Mouse | |||
| Middle School/Junior High | Al Capone Does My Shirts | |||
| Picture Books for Older Readers | , illus. by Wendy Watson | |||
| Young Adult | Shattering Glass | |||
| 2008 | Primary | , illus. by Mark Buehner | Superdog: The Heart of a Hero | |
| Intermediate | Each Little Bird That Sings | |||
| Middle School/Junior High | ||||
| Picture Books for Older Readers | , illus. by Devin Asch | Mr. Maxwell's Mouse | ||
| Young Adult | Private Peaceful | |||
| 2009 | Primary | , illus. by Bill Slavin | Stanley's Wild Ride | |
| Intermediate | Sheep | |||
| Middle School/Junior High | Heat | |||
| Picture Books for Older Readers | Mystery at the Club Sandwich | |||
| Young Adult | Sold |
| 2010 | Primary | Millie Waits for the Mail | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intermediate | No Talking | ||
| Middle School/Junior High | Alabama Moon | ||
| Picture Books for Older Readers | , illus. by Lynne Barasch | Owney: The Mail-Pouch Pooch | |
| Young Adult | |||
| 2011 | Primary | , illus. by Michael Austin | Martina the Beautiful Cockroach |
| Intermediate | Zorgamazoo | ||
| Middle School/Junior High | Cracker: The Best Dog in Vietnam | ||
| Picture Books for Older Readers | John, Paul, George & Ben | ||
| Young Adult | |||
| 2012 | Primary | , illus. by Howard McWilliam | I Need My Monster |
| Intermediate | Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning | ||
| Middle School/Junior High | Every Soul a Star | ||
| Picture Books for Older Readers | , illus. by Kadir Nelson | Henry's Freedom Box | |
| Young Adult | Graceling | ||
| 2013 | Primary | We Are in a Book! | |
| Intermediate | |||
| Middle School/Junior High | Out of My Mind | ||
| Picture Books for Older Readers | , Kirby Larson, and Mary Nethery, illus. and photos from members of the Marines team | Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine and a Miracle | |
| Young Adult | Matched | ||
| 2014 | Primary | Press Here | |
| Intermediate | |||
| Middle School/Junior High | Wonderstruck | ||
| Picture Books for Older Readers | Queen of the Falls | ||
| Young Adult | Divergent | ||
| 2015 | Primary | , illus. by Tom Lichtenheld | Exclamation Mark |
| Intermediate | Wonder | ||
| Middle School/Junior High | |||
| Picture Books for Older Readers | , illus. by Steven Salerno | Brothers at Bat: The True Story of an Amazing All-Brother Team | |
| Young Adult | |||
| 2016 | Primary | , illus. by Oliver Jeffers | |
| Intermediate | |||
| Middle School/Junior High | Dogtag Summer | ||
| Picture Books for Older Readers | , illus. by Matt Tavares | Helen's Big World: The Life of Helen Keller | |
| Young Adult | Cinder | ||
| 2017 | Primary | , illus. by Jon Klassen | Sam & Dave Dig a Hole |
| Intermediate | Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library | ||
| Middle School/Junior High | Keeper of the Lost Cities | ||
| Picture Books for Older Readers | , illus. by E. B. Lewis | Each Kindness | |
| Young Adult | Red Queen | ||
| 2018 | Primary | ||
| Intermediate | , illus. by Jon Klassen | Pax | |
| Middle School/Junior High | |||
| Picture Books for Older Readers | , illus. by Yuko Shimizu | Barbed Wire Baseball | |
| Young Adult | Salt to the Sea | ||
| 2019 | Primary | ||
| Intermediate | |||
| Middle School/Junior High | Echo | ||
| Picture Books for Older Readers | , illus. by Sean Qualls | Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah | |
| Young Adult | Written in the Stars |
| 2020 | Primary | , illus. by Adam Rex | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intermediate | |||
| Middle School/Junior High | Refugee | ||
| Picture Books for Older Readers | , illus. by Shawn Harris | Her Right Foot | |
| Young Adult | Scythe | ||
| 2021 | Primary | Poor Louie | |
| Intermediate | Restart | ||
| Middle School/Junior High | Lily and Dunkin | ||
| Picture Books for Older Readers | , illus. by Iacopo Bruno | Sergeant Reckless | |
| Young Adult | All We Have Left | ||
| 2022 | Primary | , illus. by Dan Santat | Drawn Together |
| Intermediate | |||
| Middle School/Junior High | |||
| Picture Books for Older Readers | , illus. by Gijsbert Van Frankenhuyzen | ||
| Young Adult | |||
| 2023 | Primary | We Don't Eat Our Classmates | |
| Intermediate | |||
| Middle School/Junior High | Winterhouse | ||
| Picture Books for Older Readers | , illus. by Charles Santoso | This Way, Charlie | |
| Young Adult | With the Fire on High |