The Children's Literature Web Guide

The Christopher Awards

Books for Young People

Presented each February by The Christophers to books "which affirm the highest values of the human spirit." The Christopher Awards began in 1949; the Books for Young People category was added in 1970.

1997

*The Log Cabin Quilt, by Ellen Howard, illustrated by Ronald Himler (Ages 4-6, Holiday House)

*Minty: A Story of Young Harriet Tubman, by Alan Schroeder, pictures by Jerry Pinkney (Ages 6-9, Dial)

*Frindle, by Andrew Clements, pictures by Brian Selznick (Ages 10-12, Simon & Schuster)

*Glennis, Before and After, by Patricia Calvert (Ages 12 and up, Atheneum)

*Irrepressible Spirit: Conversations with Human Rights Activitsts, by Susan Kuklin (Putnam)


1996

*The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey, by Susan Wojciechowski, illustrated by P.J. Lynch (Ages 6-9, Candlewick Press)

*Been to Yesterdays: Poems of a Life, by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illustrated by Charlene Rendeiro (Ages 10-12, Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press)

*Mother Jones: One Woman's Fight for Labor, by Betsy Harvey Kraft (Ages 12-14, Clarion Books)

*Parallel Journeys, by Eleanor Ayer, with Helen Waterford and Alfons Heck (Young Adult, Atheneum)


1995

*I'll See You When the Moon is Full, by Susi Gregg Fowler, pictures by Jim Fowler (Ages 4-6, Greenwillow)

*Prize in the Snow, by Bill Easterling, illustrations by Mary Beth Owens (Ages 6-8, Little Brown)

*The Ledgerbook of Thomas Blue Eagle by Jewel H. Grutman and Gay Matthaei, illustrations by Adam Cvijanovic (Ages 8-12. Thomasson-Grant)

*Taking Hold: My Journey Into Blindness, by Sally Hobart Alexander (Ages 12 and up, Macmillan)


1994

*The Crystal Ball, by Gerda Marie Scheidl, illustrated by Nathalie Duroussy, translated by Rosemary Lanning (Ages 5-8, North-South Books)

*It's Our World, Too! Stories of Young People Whe Are Making a Difference, by Phillip Hoose (Ages 10 and up, Joy Street/Little Brown)

*Anne Frank: Beyond the diary, by Ruud van der Rol and Rian Verhoeven, translated by Tony Langham and Plym Peters (Young Adult, Viking)


1993

*The Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Pfister, translated by J. Alison James (Ages 5-8, North-South Books)

*Rosie & the Yellow Ribbon, by Paula DePaolo, pictures by Janet Wolf (Ages 6-8, Little Brown)

*Letters from Rifka, by Karen Hesse (Ages 8-12, Henry Holt)

*Mississippi Challenge, by Mildred Pitts Walter (Ages 12 and up, Bradbury)


1992

*Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch, by Eileen Spinelli, pictures by Paul Yalowitz (Ages 4-6, Bradbury)

*Stephen's Feast, by Jean Richardson, illustrated by Alice Englander (Ages 6-8, Little Brown)

*The Gold Coin, by Alma Flor Ada, illustrated by Neil Waldman, translated by Bernice Randall (Ages 8-10, Atheneum)

*The Star Fisher, by Laurence Yep (Ages 10 and up, Morrow)

*Where Does God Live? Questions and Answers for Parents and Children, by Rabbi Marc Gellman and Monsignor Thomas Hartman, illustrated by William Zdinak (All ages, Triumph Books)


1991

*Mississippi Bridge, by Mildred D. Taylor, illustrated by Max Ginsburg (Ages 9-12, Dial)

*Paul Revere's Ride, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem as illustrated by Ted Rand (All ages, Dutton)


1990

*Keeping a Christmas Secret, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, illustrated by Lena Shiffman (Ages 4-7, Atheneum)

*William and Grandpa, by Alice Schertle, illustrated by Lydia Dabcovich (Ages 8-11, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard)

*Can the Whales Be Saved?, by Dr. Philip Whitfield (Ages 10-12, Viking Kestrel)

*So Much to Tell You..., by John Marsden (Young Adult, Joy Street/Little Brown)


1989

*The Good-Bye Book, by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Kay Chorao (Ages 5-7, Macmillan)

*Family Farm, by Thomas Locker (Ages 7-10, Dial)

*Lies, Deception and Truth, by Ann E. Weiss (Ages 10-14, Houghton Mifflin)

*Looking the Tiger in the Eye: Confronting the Nuclear Threat, by Carl B. Feldbaum and Ronald J. Bee (Young Adult, Harper & Row)


1988

*Heckedy Peg, by Audrey Wood, illustrated by Don Wood (Picture book, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich)

*Humphrey's Bear, by Jan Wahl, illustrated by William Joyce (Ages 6-8, Henry Holt)

*The Gold Cadillac, by Mildred D. Taylor, pictures by Michael Hays (Ages 9-12, Dial)

*Into a Strange Land: Unaccompanied Refugee Youth in America, by Brent Ashabranner and Melissa Ashabranner (Ages 12 and up, Dodd Mead)


1987

*Duncan and Dolores, by Barbara Samuels (Ages 4-6, Bradbury)

*The Purple Coat, by Amy Hest, pictures by Amy Schwartz (Ages 6-8, Four Winds)

*Borrowed Summer, by Marion Walker Doren (Ages 8-12, Harper & Row)

*Class Dismissed II: More High School Poems, by Mel Glenn, photographs by Michael J. Bernstein (Clarion)


1986

*The Patchwork Quilt, by Valerie Flournoy, pictures by Jerry Pinkney (Dial)

*Sarah, Plain and Tall, by Patricia MacLachlan (Harper)

*Promise Not to Tell, by Carolyn Polese, illustrated by Jennifer Barrett (Human Sciences)

*Underdog, by Marilyn Sachs (Doubleday)

*The Mount Rushmore Story, by Judith St. George (Putnam)


1985

*Picnic, Emily Arnold McCully (Picture book, Harper)

*How My Parents Learned to Eat, by Ina R. Friedman, illustrated by Allen Say (Ages 6-8, Houghton)

*Secrets of a Small Brother, by Richard J. Margolis, illustrated by Donald Carrick (Ages 8-10, Macmillan)

*One-Eyed Cat, by Paula Fox (Ages 10 and up, Bradbury)

*Imagine That!!! Exploring Make Believe, by Joyce Strauss, illustrated by Jennifer Barrett (All ages, Human Science)


1984

*Posy, by Charlotte Pomerantz, pictures by Catherine Stock (Picture book, Greenwillow)

*Dear Mr. Henshaw, by Beverly Cleary, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky (Ages 8-10, Morrow)

*The Sign of the Beaver, by Elizabeth George Speare (Ages 10-12, Houghton)

*The Nuclear Arms Race: Can We Survive It?, by Ann E. Weiss (Ages 12 and up, Houghton)


1983

*We Can't Sleep, by James Stevenson (Ages 4-7, Greenwillow)

*Homesick: My Own Story, by Jean Fritz, illustrated by Margot Tomes (Ages 8-12, Putnam)

*A Formal Feeling, by Zibby Oneal (Ages 12 and up, Viking)

*Drawing from Nature, by Jim Arnosky (All ages, Lothrop)


1982

*My Mom Travels a Lot, Caroline Feller Bauer, illustrated by Nancy Winslow Parker (Picture book, Warne)

*Even if I Did Something Awful, by Barbara Shook Hazen, pictures by Nancy Kincade (Ages 6-9, Atheneum)

*A Gift of Mirrorvax, by Malcolm MacCloud (Ages 10-14, Atheneum)

*The Islanders, by John Rowe Townsend (Young adult, Lippincott)


1981

*People, by Peter Spier (Picture book, Doubleday)

*Son for a Day, by Corrine Gerson, illustrated by Velma Ilsley (Ages 8-12, Atheneum)

*All Times, All Peoples: a World History of Slavery, by Milton Meltzer, illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher (Ages 8-12, Harper)

*Encounter at Easton, by Avi (Ages 12 and up, Pantheon)

*The Hardest Lesson: Personal Stories of a School Desegregation Crisis, by Pamela Bullard and Judith Stoia (Ages 12 and up, Little)


1980

*Frederick's Alligator, by Esther Allen Peterson, illustrated by Susanne Natti (Ages 5-8, Crown)

*What Happened in Hamelin, by Gloria Skurzynski (Ages 9-12, Four Winds)

*All Together Now, by Sue Ellen Bridgers (Ages 12 and up, Knopf)

*The New York Kid's Book: 170 Children's Writers and Artists Celebrate New York City, by Catherine Edmonds and others (All ages, Doubleday)


1979

*Panda Cake, by Rosalie Seidler (Picture book, Parents)

*Chester Chipmunk's Thanksgiving, by Barbara Williams, illustrated by Kay Chorao (Ages 7-9, Dutton)

*The Great Gilly Hopkins, by Katherine Paterson (Ages 9-12, Crowell)

*Gentlehands, by M.E. Kerr (Young adult, Harper)


1978

*Noah's Ark, by Peter Spier (Picture book, Doubleday)

*The Seeing Stick, by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Remy Charlip and Demetra Maraslis (Ages 6-9, Crowell)

*Come to the Edge, by Julia Cunningham (Ages 12 and up, Pantheon)

*Where's Your Head? Psychology for Teenagers, by Dale Bick Carlson, illustrated by Carol Nicklaus (Ages 12 and up, Atheneum)

*The Wheel of King Asoka, by Ashok Davar (All ages, Follett)


1977

*Willy Bear, by Mildred Kantrowitz, illustrated by Nancy Winslow Parker (Picture book, Parents)

*Frog and Toad All Year, by Arnold Lobel (Ages 6-8, Harper)

*The Champion of Merrimack Country, by Roger W. Drury, illustrated by Fritz Wegner (Ages 9-12, Little)

*Hurry, Hurry, Mary Dear! and other nonsense poems, by N.M. Bodecker (Ages 9 and up, Atheneum/McElderry)

*Dear Bill, Remember Me? and other stories, by Norma Fox Mazer (Ages 12 and up, Delacorte)


1976

*Anno's Alphabet: an Adventure in Imagination, by Mitsumasa Anno (Picture book, Crowell)

*How the Witch Got Alf, by Cora Annett Scott, illustrated by Steven Kellogg (Ages 7-11, Watts)

*Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt (Ages 9-12, Farrar Straus & Giroux)

*Bert Breen's Barn, by Walter D. Edmonds (Ages 12 and up, Little)

*Pyramid, by David Macaulay (Nonfiction, Houghton)


1975

*Dawn, by Uri Shulevitz (Preschool, Farrar Straus & Giroux)

*My Grandson Lew, by Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by William Pene duBois (Ages 4-8, Harper)

*First Snow, by Helen Coutant, illustrated by Vo-Dinh (Ages 8-12, Knopf)

*Save the Mustangs! How a Federal Law is Passed, by Ann E. Weiss, illustrated with photographs (Ages 8-12, Messner)

*A Billion for Boris, by Mary Rodgers (Ages 12 and up, Harper)


1974

*It's Raining, Said John Twaining: Danish Nursery Rhymes, by N.M. Bodecker (Preschool, Atheneum/McElderry)

*Gorilla, Gorilla, by Carol Fenner, illustrated by Symeon Shimin (Ages 4-8, Random)

*I'll Protect You from the Jungle Beasts, by Martha Alexander (Ages 4-8, Dial)

*The Wolf, by Michael Fox, illustrated by Charles Frace (Ages 8-12, Coward)

*Guests in the Promised Land: Stories, by Kristin Hunter (Ages 12 and up, Scribner)

*The Right to Know: Censorship in America, by Robert A. Liston (Ages 12 and up, Watts)


1973

*The Adventures of Obadiah, by Brinton Turkle (Ages 4-8, Viking)

*The Book of Giant Stories, by David L. Harrison, illustrated by Philippe Fix (Ages 8-12, American Heritage Press)

*Tracking the Unearthly Creatures of Marsh and Pond, by Howard G. Smith, illustrated by Anne Marie Jauss (Ages 8-12, Abingdon)

*Freaky Friday, by Mary Rodgers (Teenage, Harper)

*Vanishing Wings: a Tale of Three Birds of Prey, by Griffing Bancroft, illustrated by John Hamberger (Teenage, Watts)

*This Star Shall Abide, by Sylvia Louise Engdahl, illustrated by Richard Cuffari (Young Adult, Atheneum)

*Dominic, by William Steig (All Ages, Farrar Straus & Giroux)


1972

*Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, by Russell Hoban, illustrated by Lillian Hoban (Ages 4-8, Parents)

*On the Day Peter Stuyvestant Sailed into Town, by Arnold Lobel (Ages 4-8, Harper)

*Annie and the Old One, by Miska Miles, illustrated by Peter Parnall (Ages 8-12, Atlantic-Little)

*Pocahontas and the Strangers, by Clyde Robert Bulla, illustrated by Peter Burchard (Ages 8-12, Crowell)

*The Headless Cupid, by Zilha Keatley Snyder, illustrated by Alton Raible (Teenage, Atheneum)

*The Rights of the People: the Major Decisions of the Warren Court, by Walter and Elaine Goodman (Teenage, Farrar Straus & Giroux)


1971

*The Erie Canal, by Peter Spier (Ages 4-8, Doubleday)

*A Moment of Silence, by Pierre Janssen, illustrated with photographs by Hans Samson, translated by William Tyler (Ages 8-12, Atheneum)

*The Changeling, by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, illustrated by Alton Raible (Ages 8-12, Atheneum)

*The Guardians, by John Christopher (Teenage, Macmillan)

*Sea and Earth: the Life of Rachel Carson, (Teenage, Crowell)

*UNICEF Book of Children's Legends, by William I. Kaufman, illustrated with photographs (All ages, Stackpole)

*UNICEF Book of Children's Poems, by William I. Kaufman, illustrated with photographs (All ages, Stackpole)

*UNICEF Book of Children's Prayers, by William I. Kaufman, illustrated with photographs (All ages, Stackpole)

*UNICEF Book of Children's Songs, by William I. Kaufman, illustrated with photographs (All ages, Stackpole)


1970

*Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse, by Leo Lionni (Ages 4-8, Pantheon)

*Tucker's Countryside, by George Selden, illustrated by Garth Williams (Ages 8-12, Farrar Straus & Giroux)

*Brother Can You Spare a Dime? The Great Depression, 1929-1933, by Milton Meltzer, illustrated with photographs (Teenage, Knopf)

*Escape from Nowhere, by Jeannette Eyerly (Teenage, Lippincott)


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Monday, June 2, 1997
Copyright © 1997 David K. Brown. All rights reserved
The Children's Literature Web Guide