Hello! I don't maintain this site at all. This means some of the links no longer work, and some of the lists are not up to date. Sorry about that. I'll try to add some archive.org links that should be a bit more reliable.
I don't own any of this information, and I am more than happy for you to just copy and paste it to your own sites. I'd love to see anything you've done if it's been inspired by this little page.
I put this page together because there are some great books for children out there. But, unfortunately, these sometimes get overlooked because people who buy books are more familiar with some of the bigger more established names. This site is supposed to be celebratory of the great books for children that exist.
Buying books for children is hard. There are so many books it's hard to know which are any good. This little webpage aims to provide some help. I list winners of the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal (a prize from UK librarians for illustration). I link to some other notable lists of prize winning books - the Carnegie Award, and then some US awards. I'm starting to add websites for book awards from other countries - Australia, Canada, etc. I would happily link to awards from non-English speaking countries, but those are a bit hard to find when I only speak English. If you have any suggestions please do email me. I am also looking for awards that celebrate diversity (especially disability) in childrens books.
Children don't usually buy books. Often books are bought for children by other people. So when you read best sellers lists you find the books that adults like to buy, but not the books that children like to read. Here's a website that discusses this, with some research about the books that children actually like reading. What British Kids Are reading
Don't limit yourself to books that are on these lists! Once you find a book that you like the look of you can find other books by that author, or illustrator, or publisher, to find very many very good books. The shortlists and longlists for each award also contain some great books. The other way to find great books is to ask your librarian, or ask the book seller. They often have fantastic suggestions tailored for the child. (I learned about the "Little Gems" series from a librarian and I think those books kick-started independent reading for a young person I know.)
So far I have the Kate Greenaway winners mostly linked to Amazon.co.uk (I do not use affilliate links.) I'll work my way through the other awards and add links for those winners too. Amazon also lets you buy (used and new) from other sellers, and it's useful to have a look at those. Watch out for P&P though. (The seller "Wordery" in the UK is a great supplier. All the books I've got from them have been great condition, as described.) Eventually I'd like to add links to different sellers. Sadly, some of the books are not available in all countires. I don't know a workaround for that.
I don't use affiliate links, and I don't use adverts. (I'm unlikely to ever have ads on this page.) dan dot bealecocks at googlemail dot com