Who wins the prize? Book Awards and Children as Choosers

 

I recently watched the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s 2025 Book of the Year Awards as a professional development activity (Children’s Book Council of Australia, 2025). I had a minimal understanding of the influence of literary prizes in libraries, but viewing the awards ceremony, alongside broader research, revealed a tension between literary experts' determination of merit and the inclusion of children in determining what makes a book prize-worthy.

One surprise was the role of children as shadow judges: reading and evaluating shortlisted titles through reviews, book trailers, and tactile projects, promoting literacy and lifelong learning through inclusion and agency. I applaud the inclusion of children as contributors to the event and the support provided to help them critically judge the books and voice their opinions (Erskine & Nicoll-Hatton, 2023).

Willeton SHS Shadow Judges meet with CBCA Older Readers judge Maria Alessandrino (CBCA, 2024)

Beyond this, I learnt that literary prizes are treated as markers of quality, with this recommendation often becoming the basis for library selection criteria. Lawrence and Floegel (2022) warn that despite this practice being efficient and practical for libraries, there are concerns about libraries promoting literary standards inherited from the “commercial realm.” Book awards are not inherently neutral; despite recent attempts to diversify, they can reinforce dominant voices and privilege certain literary styles or themes over others.  

This led to my discovery of the ASLA DANZ Children’s Book Awards, created to celebrate diverse children’s books published in Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand.  Submitted books must celebrate stories in which diversity, including “disability, culture, class, LGBTQIA, race, and religion,” is integral to the story and represented in an accurate and sensitively appropriate manner (Australian School Library Association, 2025). I appreciate ASLA DANZ's aim of treating such stories as important staples of children’s literature and reducing the misrepresentation of marginalised voices in children’s literature.

                                                                                                                Middle Grade Longlist (ASLA DANZ, 2026)

Alongside this is the seeming disconnect between award winners and popular reading trends; best-selling titles that achieve wide readership and influence are not always reflected in award selections (Rebecca Fitzsimmons, 2016). Understanding this misalignment, van Engelen (2024) asked, “Are judges out of touch with what children want to read?”  Does having highly educated literary or library professionals, such as the Children’s Book Council of Australia panel, dictate what counts as quality literature to children still developing their appreciation of reading? Does promoting such titles mean that children engage less with books that might be more interesting and engaging to them?

I investigated this further and found alternatives such as the YABBA, the Young Australians Best Book Awards. As a reader-voted award, YABBA has children “Recommend, Read, Rate and Reward their favourite Australian books” again promoting young voices over professional critics (Young Australians Best Book Awards Council, 2023).

Children's Choice Book Awards, Shortlist 2026 (YABBA, 2026)

In terms of professional practice, this activity reinforced the need to approach collection development based on literary awards with a degree of critical awareness. While award-winning titles provide a useful foundation, there are a variety of awards with their own aims and level of engagement with their audience, the readers.  Observing the enthusiasm of young shadow judges made me consider how best to promote a range of books, awarded by literary experts and child judges, that meet the needs of the diverse readership of children served by the library, and how I might approach book awards in public library programming in a way that centres child voices. 

References

Australian School Library Association. (2025). About DANZ. The ASLA DANZ Children’s Book Awards. https://www.thedanzchildrensbookaward.com/about

Children’s Book Council of Australia. (2025, August 15). 2025 Book of the Year Awards: Announcement [Video] YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEpS1-F2BTU

Erskine, G., & Nicoll-Hatton, V. (2023). Beyond comprehension: The child reader as critic. Scan: The Journal for Educators, 42(2), 55–60. https://doi.org/10.3316/informit.141748291578569

Fitzsimmons, R. (2016). Prizing popularity: How the blockbuster book has reshaped children’s literature. In Prizing Children’s Literature: The Cultural Politics of Children’s Book Awards (pp. 202–216). Taylor & Francis Group. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csuau/detail.action?docID=4741314

Lawrence, E. E., & Floegel, D. (2022). Creating award winners in the library: An account of “reprizing.” The Library Quarterly, 92(1), 39–67. https://doi.org/10.1086/717235

The Children’s Book Council of Australia. (2025). 2025 Book of the Year Awards: Winners. The Children’s Book Council of Australia. https://cbca.org.au/2025-winners/

Van Engelen, V. (2024). The changing face of book awards and the implications for teacher librarians. Access, 38(2), 48–51.