The Scott O'Dell Award

Cover of All He Knew by Helen Frost--2021 Scott O'Dell Award winner

This award was established in 1982 by the noted writer of historical fiction, who hoped to increase interest in the genre. It is awarded annually to "a meritorious book published in the previous year for children or young adults." To be eligible, "a book must have been published as a book intended for children or young people, it must be set in the New World (Canada, Central or South America, or the United States), it must be published by a publisher in the United States, and it must be written in English by a citizen of the United States." That explains why books such as A Single Shard, an historical fiction Newbery winner in 2002, wouldn't even have been considered for the O'Dell--it was set in Korea.

I link the book titles to Bookshop.org, the website of the independent booksellers, where you can learn more or buy the books. You can also find my list of recent Scott O'Dell Award winners there, updated to 2023.

More information about the Scott O'Dell Award: this link leads to the page on the Scott O'Dell site which describes the Award; it includes a list of past winners.

Children's Book Awards Index page

Newbery Medal | Caldecott Medal | Coretta Scott King Award | Lifetime Achievement Awards
NBA Young People's Award | Young Adult Book Awards | Sibert Informational Book Award | The Pura Belpré Award

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