Children's Literary Awards

Children's literary awards play a very important role in the world of children's literature. I believe that these awards are very beneficial because it allows teachers and students to know and be informed about exceptional pieces of literature that can be trusted quality pieces of literature. Readers depend on the awards for recommendations on which books they should buy or use in their classroom. Awards are also great because they give recognition to authors who have excelled and deserve to be honored for their work. If an author were to win an award this would increase their production and sales and motivate them to write more quality pieces of literature.

These awards can be controversial because some ask the question "Why are there different awards for specific cultures, races and ethnicities?" To me, the answer to this question is very easily answered. To "insiders," or members of the group, not all books accurately portray their group and are not considered a valid piece of diverse literature. I believe that there are different awards created because some groups probably felt like they were being left out or underrepresented in children's literature and wanted to create a motivating and driving force for more quality pieces of work. To "outsiders" these awards are very beneficial because they educate "outsiders" on what "insiders" believe to be high quality texts. This way, if you were an "outsider," or knowledgeable about a specific group, you could trust the "insiders" and you would know what texts would accurately portray a group.

Finally, I think that there should be awards for specific types of literature because it gives awards to authors who do exceptional work and to motivate them to do more. It also lets readers know what they should be reading.