Golden Kite Award Explained

The Golden Kite Awards are given annually by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, an international children's writing organization, to recognize excellence in children’s literature. The award is a golden medallion showing a child flying a kite. Instituted in 1973, the Golden Kite Awards are the only children’s literary award judged by a jury of peers. Eligible books must be written or illustrated by SCBWI members, and submitted either by publishers or individuals.[1]

The award currently recognizes literature in seven categories: "Young Reader and Middle Grade Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, Nonfiction Text for Young Readers, Nonfiction text for Older Readers, Picture Book Text,Picture Book Illustration, and Illustration for Older Readers."

Winners are chosen by a panel of judges consisting of children’s book writers and illustrators. In addition to the Golden Kite Award winners, honor book recipients are named by the judges. Since 2006, each category's winner wins a $2,500 grant cash prize, as well as $1,000 to donate to their chosen non-profit organization. Honor winners receive $500, as well as $250 to donate.

Since 2003, the Sid Fleischman Award for excellence in humorous writing is given in conjunction with the Golden Kite Awards.[2]

Recipients

In the following table, the year represents the year the awards were given, which is the year following publication. For example, the 2000 awards are for books published in 1999.

Golden Kite Award winners!Year!Category!Author!Illustrator!Title
1974Summer of My German Soldier
1975
1976
1977One More Flight
1978Fiction
NonfictionPeeper, First Voice of Spring
1979FictionAnd You Give Me a Pain, Elaine
NonfictionHow I Came to Be a Writer
1980Fiction
NonfictionRunaway Teens
1981FictionArthur, For the Very First Time
Nonfiction
1982FictionLittle, Little
NonfictionBlissymbolics
1983FictionRalph S. Mouse
NonfictionChimney Sweeps
Picture Book IllustrationGiorgio's Village
1984Fiction
Nonfiction
Picture Book IllustrationLittle Red Riding Hood
1985FictionTancy
NonfictionWalls: Defenses Throughout History
Picture Book Illustration
1986FictionSarah, Plain and Tall
NonfictionCommodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun
Picture Book Illustration
1987FictionAfter the Dancing Days
NonfictionPoverty in America
Picture Book IllustrationAlphabetics
1988FictionRabble Starkey
NonfictionIncredible Journey of Lewis and Clark
Picture Book Illustration
1989FictionBorrowed Children
NonfictionLet There Be Light
Picture Book IllustrationForest of Dreams
1990FictionJenny of the Tetons
NonfictionPanama Canal: Gateway to the World
Picture Book IllustrationTom Thumb
1991FictionAvi
Nonfiction
Picture Book IllustrationHome Place
1992Fiction
Nonfiction
Picture Book IllustrationMama Do You Love Me?
1993FictionLetters From a Slave Girl
Nonfiction
Picture Book IllustrationChicken Sunday
1994FictionMake Lemonade
NonfictionEleanor Roosevelt
Picture Book IllustrationBy the Light of the Halloween Moon
1995FictionCatherine, Called Birdy
NonfictionKids at Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor
Picture Book IllustrationBig Fat Hen
1996Fiction
NonfictionAbigail Adams
Picture Book Illustration and Lauren MillsFairy Wings
1997Fiction
Nonfiction
Picture Book IllustrationMarket Day
Picture Book TextSaving Sweetness
1998FictionStones in Water
NonfictionCarmine's Story: A Book About a Boy Living with AIDS
Picture Book Illustration
Picture Book Text
1999FictionRules of the Road
NonfictionMartha Graham: A Dancer's Life
Picture Book IllustrationSnow
Picture Book TextOld Elm Speaks: Tree Poems
2000FictionSpeak
NonfictionSpace Station Science: Life in Free Fall
Picture Book Illustration
Picture Book Text
2001[3] Fiction
NonfictionDarkness over Denmark
Picture Book Illustration
Picture Book TextRiver Friendly, River Wild
2002FictionTrue Believer
NonfictionBlack Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine
Picture Book Illustration
Picture Book Text
2003FictionFresh Girl
NonfictionThis Land was Made for You and Me: The Life and Songs of Woody Guthrie
Picture Book IllustrationMrs. Biddlebox
Picture Book TextGeorge Hogglesberry: Grade School Alien
Sid Fleischman Humor Award
2004FictionMilkweed
NonfictionLeonardo: Beautiful Dreamer
Picture Book IllustrationI Dream Of Trains
Picture Book Text
Sid Fleischman Humor AwardMillicent Min, Girl Genius
2005FictionBucking The Sarge
NonfictionDust To Eat: Drought and Depression in the 1930s
Picture Book Illustration
Picture Book TextApples to Oregon
Sid Fleischman Humor AwardAl Capone Does My Shirts
2006[4] Fiction
NonfictionChildren of the Great Depression
Picture Book IllustrationBaby Bear's Chairs
Picture Book TextDoña Flor
Sid Fleischman Humor AwardAbsolutely Positively Not[5]
2007[6] FictionFiregirl
Nonfiction
Picture Book IllustrationNot Afraid of Dogs
Picture Book TextJazz
Sid Fleischman Humor AwardClementine
2008[7] FictionHome of the Brave
NonfictionMuckrackers
Picture Book IllustrationLittle Night
Picture Book TextPierre in Love
2009[8] FictionDown Sand Mountain
Nonfiction
Picture Book IllustrationLast Night
Picture Book Text
Sid Fleischman Humor AwardAs If Being 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother Is Running For President
2010[9] [10] FictionSea of the Dead
NonfictionWords to My Life's Song
Picture Book IllustrationGracias Thanks
Picture Book Text
Sid Fleischman Humor AwardFood, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have
2011FictionTurtle in Paradise
Nonfiction

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Golden Kite Awards. live. 2021-04-19. Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. 2013-09-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20130927232811/http://www.scbwi.org/Pages.aspx/Golden-Kite-Award.
  2. Web site: Sid Fleischman Award. scbwi.org. en-US. 2019-01-18. 2019-01-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121336/https://www.scbwi.org/awards/sid-fleischman-award/. live.
  3. Web site: 2001-04-23 . Golden Kites Fly High . 2023-02-23 . PublishersWeekly.com . en . 2023-02-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230223220509/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20010423/25825-golden-kites-fly-high.html . live .
  4. Web site: March 3, 2006 . High-Flying Golden Kite Award Winners . 2023-02-23 . . 2017-10-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171002003250/http://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=159 . live .
  5. Web site: April 14, 2006 . Absolutely Positively Not Wins Fleischman Humor Award . 2023-02-23 . . 2017-10-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171002010408/http://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=189 . live .
  6. Web site: March 5, 2007 . Awards: Golden Kite; James Patterson PageTurners . 2023-02-23 . . 2017-10-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171001211537/http://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=388 . live .
  7. Web site: March 12, 2008 . Awards: Golden Kite Winners and Honor Recipients . 2023-02-23 . . 2021-07-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210728030842/https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=631 . live .
  8. Web site: March 3, 2009 . Awards: Golden Kite Winners; L.A. Times Book Award Nominees . 2023-02-23 . . 2022-12-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221226010946/https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=870 . live .
  9. Web site: Bluemle . Elizabeth . January 21, 2010 . 2009 Children’s Book Awards — A Round-Up . 2023-02-23 . . en-US . 2012-03-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120313032630/http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/shelftalker/?p=587 . live .
  10. Web site: March 3, 2010 . Awards: Golden Kite; CCBA Finalists; Montana Book Award . 2023-02-23 . . 2016-08-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160811191157/http://shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=1128 . live .