Eagle Book Club

The John Newbery Medal and the Randolph Caldecott Medal are awards given out each year by the Association for Library Service to Children. Both medals are equally important to children's literature and play an important role in recognizing excellence.

The Newbery Medal
• The medal is named after John Newbery who sold books in the 1700’s.
• The medal is awarded to authors of outstanding children’s literature.
• The Newbery Medal was the first award given out for children’s literature.
• The Association for Library Service to Children selects the winner.
• The medal is awarded to the author of an American children’s book only.
• Winner receives a bronze medal with their name engraved on it.
• Books that don’t win the award but are deemed worthy by the association are called honor books.

The following list outlines the terms for being selected for the Newbery Medal:
• The medal is awarded annually to authors of American children’s literature.
• The book must have been written the previous year.
• The author of the book must be a resident of the United States.

The committee members will examine the following aspects of the story in order to select books for the award:
• Theme
• Clarity and organization of the story
• Plot
• Characters
• Setting

The Caldecott Medal
• The medal is named after Randolph Caldecott who was an illustrator in 1800’s.
• The Association for Library Service to Children selects the winner.
• The award is given to artist of excellent picture books.
• Winner receives a bronze medal with their name engraved on it.
• Books that don’t win the award but are deemed worthy by the association are called honor books.

The following list outlines the terms for being selected for the Caldecott Medal:
• The medal is awarded annually to an artist of American picture book.
• The book must have been illustrated the previous year.
• The illustrator of the book must be a resident of the United States.

The committee members will examine the following aspects of the picture book in order to select books for the award:
• Technique
• Pictorial theme
• Style
• Explanation of plot and characters with pictures
• Audience