Georgia Children’s Book Awards

The Georgia Children’s Book Awards were created in the late 1960s by an education professor, Dr. Sheldon Root, at the University of Georgia. The Department of Language and Literacy Education at the University of Georgia sponsors this award. The awards are given in two categories – picture books and middle grades novels. Nominations for the awards are submitted by teachers and media specialists across Georgia. Next, a committee chooses the final list of nominees. Throughout the school year, teachers and media specialists promote the nominee books by encouraging students to read them at school and at home, reading them aloud, and connecting them to the curriculum. In March, students vote on a book they believe should win the award for that category. The winners are revealed at the annual Georgia Children’s Book Awards Conference in March of each year.