Sydney Taylor Book Award
The Sydney Taylor Book Award recognizes the best in Jewish children's literature. Medals are awarded annually for outstanding books that authentically portray the Jewish experience. The award was established in 1968 by the Association of Jewish Libraries. It is named in memory of Sydney Taylor, author of the classic All-of-a-Kind Family series. Taylor's were some of the first children's books with Jewish characters that were of literary interest to readers of all backgrounds.
Awards
Awards are presented in three categories: Younger Readers, Older Readers and Teen Readers. In each category, a single gold medalist is named annually. Each year there may also be several silver medalists named in each category. A list of ten to twenty Notable Children's Books of Jewish Content is also named in each category, but these titles do not receive medals.
Themes
Most Sydney Taylor Book Award winning titles are universal in theme while Judaic in specific content, and will be of interest to Jewish and non-Jewish readers alike.
2018 winners
Younger Reader: The Language of Angels: A Story About the Reinvention of Hebrew by Richard Michelson, illustrated by Karla Gudeon
Older Reader: Refugee by Alan Gratz
Teen Reader: The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe, translated by Lilit Thwaite
2018 Honor books
Younger Readers: Yaffa and Fatima: Shalom, Salaam by Fawzia Gilani-Williams, Drop by Drop: A Story of Rabbi Akiva by Jacqueline Jules
Older Readers: Viva, Rose! by Susan Krawitz, This Is Just a Test by Madelyn Rosenberg and Wendy Wan-Long Shang, and The Six-Day Hero by Tammar Stein
Teen Readers: To Look a Nazi in the Eye: A Teen’s Account of a War Criminal Trial by Kathy Kacer with Jordana Lebowitz, Almost Autumn by Marianne Kaurin, translated by Rosie Hedger, and The Girl with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke
Past winners
Authors who have received the award include Jane Yolen, Paul Janeczko, Daniel Pinkwater, Michael Morpurgo, Barbara Cohen, Gregory Maguire, Eric Kimmel, Tomie dePaola and April Halprin Wayland.