Golden Kite Award
The Golden Kite Awards are given annually by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, an international children's writing organization, to recognize excellence in children’s literature. The award is a golden medallion showing a child flying a kite. Instituted in 1973, the Golden Kite Awards are the only children’s literary award judged by a jury of peers. Eligible books must be written or illustrated by SCBWI members, and submitted either by publishers or individuals.
The award currently recognizes literature in seven categories: "Young Reader and Middle Grade Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, Nonfiction Text for Young Readers, Nonfiction text for Older Readers, Picture Book Text, Picture Book Illustration, and Illustration for Older Readers."
Winners are chosen by a panel of judges consisting of children’s book writers and illustrators. In addition to the Golden Kite Award winners, honor book recipients are named by the judges. Since 2006, each category's winner wins a $2,500 grant cash prize, as well as $1,000 to donate to their chosen non-profit organization. Honor winners receive $500, as well as $250 to donate.
Since 2003, the Sid Fleischman Award for excellence in humorous writing is given in conjunction with the Golden Kite Awards.
Recipients
In the following table, the year represents the year the awards were given, which is the year following publication. For example, the 2000 awards are for books published in 1999.| Year | Category | Author | Illustrator | Title |
| 1974 | Summer of My German Soldier | |||
| 1975 | ' | |||
| 1976 | ' | |||
| 1977 | One More Flight | |||
| 1978 | Fiction | ' | ||
| 1978 | Nonfiction | Peeper, First Voice of Spring | ||
| 1979 | Fiction | And You Give Me a Pain, Elaine | ||
| 1979 | Nonfiction | How I Came to Be a Writer | ||
| 1980 | Fiction | ' | ||
| 1980 | Nonfiction | Runaway Teens | ||
| 1981 | Fiction | Arthur, For the Very First Time | ||
| 1981 | Nonfiction | ' | ||
| 1982 | Fiction | Little, Little | ||
| 1982 | Nonfiction | Blissymbolics | ||
| 1983 | Fiction | Ralph S. Mouse | ||
| 1983 | Nonfiction | Chimney Sweeps | ||
| 1983 | Picture Book Illustration | Giorgio's Village | ||
| 1984 | Fiction | ' | ||
| 1984 | Nonfiction | ' | ||
| 1984 | Picture Book Illustration | Little Red Riding Hood | ||
| 1985 | Fiction | Tancy | ||
| 1985 | Nonfiction | Walls: Defenses Throughout History | ||
| 1985 | Picture Book Illustration | ' | ||
| 1986 | Fiction | Sarah, Plain and Tall | ||
| 1986 | Nonfiction | Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun | ||
| 1986 | Picture Book Illustration | ' | ||
| 1987 | Fiction | After the Dancing Days | ||
| 1987 | Nonfiction | Poverty in America | ||
| 1987 | Picture Book Illustration | Alphabetics | ||
| 1988 | Fiction | Rabble Starkey | ||
| 1988 | Nonfiction | Incredible Journey of Lewis and Clark | ||
| 1988 | Picture Book Illustration | ' | ||
| 1989 | Fiction | Borrowed Children | ||
| 1989 | Nonfiction | Let There Be Light | ||
| 1989 | Picture Book Illustration | Forest of Dreams | ||
| 1990 | Fiction | Jenny of the Tetons | ||
| 1990 | Nonfiction | Panama Canal: Gateway to the World | ||
| 1990 | Picture Book Illustration | Tom Thumb | ||
| 1991 | Fiction | Avi | ' | |
| 1991 | Nonfiction | ' | ||
| 1991 | Picture Book Illustration | Home Place | ||
| 1992 | Fiction | ' | ||
| 1992 | Nonfiction | ' | ||
| 1992 | Picture Book Illustration | Mama Do You Love Me? | ||
| 1993 | Fiction | Letters From a Slave Girl | ||
| 1993 | Nonfiction | ' | ||
| 1993 | Picture Book Illustration | Chicken Sunday | ||
| 1994 | Fiction | Make Lemonade | ||
| 1994 | Nonfiction | Eleanor Roosevelt | ||
| 1994 | Picture Book Illustration | By the Light of the Halloween Moon | ||
| 1995 | Fiction | Catherine, Called Birdy | ||
| 1995 | Nonfiction | Kids at Work: Lewis Hine and the Crusade Against Child Labor | ||
| 1995 | Picture Book Illustration | Big Fat Hen | ||
| 1996 | Fiction | ' | ||
| 1996 | Nonfiction | Abigail Adams | ||
| 1996 | Picture Book Illustration | and Lauren Mills | Fairy Wings | |
| 1997 | Fiction | ' | ||
| 1997 | Nonfiction | Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio | ||
| 1997 | Picture Book Illustration | Market Day | ||
| 1997 | Picture Book Text | Saving Sweetness | ||
| 1998 | Fiction | Stones in Water | ||
| 1998 | Nonfiction | Carmine's Story: A Book About a Boy Living with AIDS | ||
| 1998 | Picture Book Illustration | ' | ||
| 1998 | Picture Book Text | ' | ||
| 1999 | Fiction | Rules of the Road | ||
| 1999 | Nonfiction | Martha Graham: A Dancer's Life | ||
| 1999 | Picture Book Illustration | Snow | ||
| 1999 | Picture Book Text | Old Elm Speaks: Tree Poems | ||
| 2000 | Fiction | Speak | ||
| 2000 | Nonfiction | Space Station Science: Life in Free Fall | ||
| 2000 | Picture Book Illustration | ' | ||
| 2000 | Picture Book Text | ' | ||
| 2001 | Fiction | ' | ||
| 2001 | Nonfiction | Darkness over Denmark | ||
| 2001 | Picture Book Illustration | ' | ||
| 2001 | Picture Book Text | River Friendly, River Wild | ||
| 2002 | Fiction | True Believer | ||
| 2002 | Nonfiction | Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine | ||
| 2002 | Picture Book Illustration | ' | ||
| 2002 | Picture Book Text | ' | ||
| 2003 | Fiction | Fresh Girl | ||
| 2003 | Nonfiction | This Land was Made for You and Me: The Life and Songs of Woody Guthrie | ||
| 2003 | Picture Book Illustration | Mrs. Biddlebox | ||
| 2003 | Picture Book Text | George Hogglesberry: Grade School Alien | ||
| 2003 | Sid Fleischman Humor Award | |||
| 2004 | Fiction | Milkweed | ||
| 2004 | Nonfiction | Leonardo: Beautiful Dreamer | ||
| 2004 | Picture Book Illustration | I Dream Of Trains | ||
| 2004 | Picture Book Text | ' | ||
| 2004 | Sid Fleischman Humor Award | Millicent Min, Girl Genius | ||
| 2005 | Fiction | Bucking The Sarge | ||
| 2005 | Nonfiction | Dust To Eat: Drought and Depression in the 1930s | ||
| 2005 | Picture Book Illustration | ' | ||
| 2005 | Picture Book Text | Apples to Oregon | ||
| 2005 | Sid Fleischman Humor Award | Al Capone Does My Shirts | ||
| 2006 | Fiction | ' | ||
| 2006 | Nonfiction | Children of the Great Depression | ||
| 2006 | Picture Book Illustration | Baby Bear's Chairs | ||
| 2006 | Picture Book Text | Doña Flor | ||
| 2006 | Sid Fleischman Humor Award | Absolutely Positively Not | ||
| 2007 | Fiction | Firegirl | ||
| 2007 | Nonfiction | ' | ||
| 2007 | Picture Book Illustration | Not Afraid of Dogs | ||
| 2007 | Picture Book Text | Jazz | ||
| 2007 | Sid Fleischman Humor Award | Clementine | ||
| 2008 | Fiction | Home of the Brave | ||
| 2008 | Nonfiction | Muckrackers | ||
| 2008 | Picture Book Illustration | Little Night | ||
| 2008 | Picture Book Text | Pierre in Love | ||
| 2009 | Fiction | Down Sand Mountain | ||
| 2009 | Nonfiction | ' | ||
| 2009 | Picture Book Illustration | Last Night | ||
| 2009 | Picture Book Text | ' | ||
| 2009 | Sid Fleischman Humor Award | As If Being 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother Is Running For President | ||
| 2010 | Fiction | Sea of the Dead | ||
| 2010 | Nonfiction | Words to My Life's Song | ||
| 2010 | Picture Book Illustration | Gracias Thanks | ||
| 2010 | Picture Book Text | ' | ||
| 2010 | Sid Fleischman Humor Award | Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have | ||
| 2011 | Fiction | Turtle in Paradise | ||
| 2011 | Nonfiction | The Good, The Bad, and The Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact On Us | ||
| 2011 | Picture Book Illustration | Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes | ||
| 2011 | Picture Book Text | Big Red Lollipop | ||
| 2011 | Sid Fleischman Humor Award | Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze | ||
| 2012 | Fiction | Between Shades of Gray | ||
| 2012 | Nonfiction | Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart | ||
| 2012 | Picture Book Illustration | Balloons Over Broadway | ||
| 2012 | Picture Book Text | Over and Under the Snow | ||
| 2012 | Sid Fleischman Humor Award | ' | ||
| 2013 | Fiction | ' | ||
| 2013 | Nonfiction | Noah Webster and His Words | ||
| 2013 | Picture Book Illustration | Lester's Dreadful Sweaters | ||
| 2013 | Picture Book Text | Me and Momma and Big John | ||
| 2013 | Sid Fleischman Humor Award | Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs | ||
| 2014 | Fiction | Better Nate Than Ever | ||
| 2014 | Nonfiction | Call of the Klondike | ||
| 2014 | Picture Book Illustration | Mr. Tiger Goes Wild | ||
| 2014 | Picture Book Text | Sophie's Squash | ||
| 2014 | Sid Fleischman Humor Award | Openly Straight | ||
| 2015 | Fiction | Revolution | ||
| 2015 | Nonfiction | ' | ||
| 2015 | Picture Book Illustration | ' | ||
| 2015 | Picture Book Text | ' | ||
| 2015 | Sid Fleischman Humor Award | Evil Librarian | ||
| 2016 | Middle Grade Fiction | ' | ||
| 2016 | Nonfiction | Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir | ||
| 2016 | Picture Book Illustration | Marvelous Cornelius | ||
| 2016 | Picture Book Text | Boats for Papa | ||
| 2016 | Sid Fleischman Humor Award | Teddy Mars: Almost a World Record Beaker | ||
| 2016 | Young Adult Fiction | Challenger Deep | ||
| 2017 | Middle Grade Fiction | ' | ||
| 2017 | Picture Book Illustration | ' | ||
| 2017 | Nonfiction | We Will Not Be Silent | ||
| 2017 | Picture Book Text | ' | ||
| 2017 | Sid Fleischman Humor Award | Welcome to Wonderland: Home Sweet Motel | ||
| 2017 | Young Adult Fiction | Salt to the Sea | ||
| 2018 | Middle Grade Fiction | See You in the Cosmos | ||
| 2018 | Nonfiction Text for Older Readers | Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers | ||
| 2018 | Nonfiction Text for Younger Readers | Schomburg: [The Man Who Built a Library] | ||
| 2018 | Picture Book Illustration | Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter | ||
| 2018 | Picture Book Text | There Might Be Lobsters | ||
| 2018 | Sid Fleischman Humor Award | ' | ||
| 2018 | Young Adult Fiction | What Girls Are Made Of | ||
| 2019 | Middle Grade Fiction | Lifeboat 12 | ||
| 2019 | Nonfiction Text for Older Readers | Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam | ||
| 2019 | Nonfiction Text for Younger Readers | Otis and Will Discover the Deep | ||
| 2019 | Picture Book Illustration | Made by Hand: A Crafts Sampler | ||
| 2019 | Picture Book Text | ' | ||
| 2019 | Sid Fleischman Humor Award | Stella Diaz Has Something to Say | ||
| 2019 | Young Adult Fiction | Mapping the Bones | ||
| 2020 | Nonfiction Text for Older Readers | Torpedoed: The True Story of the World War II Sinking of the Children's Ship | ||
| 2020 | Nonfiction Text for Younger Readers | Mario and the Hole in the Sky: How a Chemist Saved Our Planet | ||
| 2020 | Picture Book Illustration | Clever Little Witch | ||
| 2020 | Picture Book Text | ' | ||
| 2020 | Sid Fleischman Humor Award | Pie in the Sky | ||
| 2020 | Young Adult Fiction | Lovely War | ||
| 2020 | Young Reader and Middle Grade Fiction | ' | ||
| 2021 | Illustrated Book for Older Readers | Chance: Escape from the Holocaust: Memories of a Refugee Childhood | ||
| 2021 | Middle Grade/Young Readers Fiction | Ways to Make Sunshine | ||
| 2021 | Nonfiction Text for Older Readers | All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys' Soccer Team | ||
| 2021 | Nonfiction Text for Younger Readers | Don Tate | William Still and His Freedom Stories | |
| 2021 | Picture Book Illustration | ' | ||
| 2021 | Picture Book Text | All Because You Matter | ||
| 2021 | Sid Fleischman Humor Award | Lupe Wong Won't Dance | ||
| 2021 | Young Adult Fiction | ' | ||
| 2022 | Illustrated Book for Older Readers | Samira Surfs | ||
| 2022 | Middle Grade Fiction | Red, White, and Whole | ||
| 2022 | Nonfiction Text for Older Readers | ' | ||
| 2022 | Nonfiction Text for Older Readers | Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians but Were Afraid to Ask: Young Readers Edition | ||
| 2022 | Nonfiction Text for Younger Readers | |||
| 2022 | Picture Book Illustration | King of Ragtime: The Story of Scott Joplin | ||
| 2022 | Picture Book Text | Eyes That Kiss in the Corners | ||
| 2022 | Young Adult Fiction | When You Look Like Us | ||
| 2023 | Illustrated Book for Older Readers | |||
| 2023 | Middle Grade Fiction | |||
| 2023 | Nonfiction Text for Older Readers | Absurd Words: A Kids’ Fun and Hilarious Vocabulary Builder for Future Word Nerds | ||
| 2023 | Nonfiction Text for Younger Readers | Our Planet: There’s No Place Like Earth | ||
| 2023 | Picture Book Illustration | Kumo the Bashful Cloud | ||
| 2023 | Picture Book Text | Fly | ||
| 2023 | Sid Fleischman Humor Award | Freddie vs. the Family Curse | ||
| 2023 | Young Adult Fiction | Beneath the Wide Silk Sky | ||
| 2024 | Illustrated Book for Older Readers | Curlfriends | ||
| 2024 | Middle Grade Fiction | |||
| 2024 | Nonfiction Text for Older Readers | |||
| 2024 | Nonfiction Text for Younger Readers | Tomfoolery: Randolph Caldecott and the Rambunctious Coming-of-Age of Children's Books | ||
| 2024 | Picture Book Illustration | Big | ||
| 2024 | Picture Book Text | Nell Plants a Tree | ||
| 2024 | Sid Fleischman Humor Award | To Catch a Thief | ||
| 2024 | Young Adult Fiction |