Garden State Children's Book Awards
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Chairperson (2023-2024): Ellen Ryan
To contact the committee send an email to GSCBACom@gmail.com.
You can also interact with the committee via social media: Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.
2024 GSCBA Winners
| Early Readers | Fiction | Graphic Novel | Nonfiction |
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The Garden State Children's Book Awards were established in 1977 to honor books for younger readers. The Children's Services Section (CSS) of the New Jersey Library Association felt that books for the early and middle grades seldom received proper recognition. Yet it is at this age, more than any other, that the potential reader needs to be encouraged, stimulated and captivated by the printed work and good illustration.
The winners are chosen by a committee of the Children's Services Section of the New Jersey Library Association on the basis of literary merit and popularity with readers. The awards are given to both author and illustrator in four categories: Early Reader, Fiction, Graphic Novel, and Nonfiction. Because children vote for their favorite books, the committee works with titles published three years before the award.
A volunteer committee of CSS members meets three times a year to draw up a ballot. Eligible books are American hardcover titles. Reprints, re-issues and newly illustrated versions of older titles are not considered. The ballot is examined for literary merit and appeal to readers, with the primary audience being children in grades 2 to 5. A list of up to 20 books in each category is selected and distributed to New Jersey school and public libraries for voting by children.
The committee then meets to tabulate results and to write original citations for all winning authors and illustrators. Presentation of the awards is made at the Spring Conference of NJLA.
The Garden State Children's Book Award Committee wishes to thank the children of New Jersey for their participation and to thank all those schools and public libraries across the state who with their support have made this award happen.
The committee has created a tip sheet with ideas for promoting the awards in your library.
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