Sydney Taylor Book Award
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The Sydney Taylor Book Award recognizes the best in
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
ish
children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...
. Medals are awarded annually for outstanding books that authentically portray the Jewish experience. The award was established in 1968 by the
Association of Jewish Libraries The Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) is an international organization dedicated to the production, collection, organization and dissemination of Judaic resources and library/media/information service. AJL has members in the United States, Can ...
. It is named in memory of
Sydney Taylor Sydney Taylor (October 30, 1904 – February 12, 1978) was an American writer, known for her series of children's books about a Jewish-American family in New York during the early 20th century. Her first book won the Charles W. Follett Award in chi ...
, author of the classic ''
All-of-a-Kind Family ''All-of-a-Kind Family'' is a 1951 children's book by Sydney Taylor about a family of five American Jewish girls growing up on the Lower East Side of New York City in 1912. It was followed by four sequels. Background ''All-of-a-Kind Family'' ...
'' series. Taylor's were some of the first children's books with Jewish characters that were of literary interest to readers of all backgrounds.


History

The award was first established by the
Association of Jewish Libraries The Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) is an international organization dedicated to the production, collection, organization and dissemination of Judaic resources and library/media/information service. AJL has members in the United States, Can ...
in 1968. It was the first of the identity-based awards as a result of Nancy Larrick's 1965 piece ''The All-White World of Children’s Books'', establishing new precedent wherein literary excellence is pared with authentic and well-crafted representation of a particular identity, culture, and experience. Originally, it was known as the Shirley Kravitz Children's Book Award and was later renamed in honor of
Sydney Taylor Sydney Taylor (October 30, 1904 – February 12, 1978) was an American writer, known for her series of children's books about a Jewish-American family in New York during the early 20th century. Her first book won the Charles W. Follett Award in chi ...
in 1978. The award initially recognized books for older children, but in 1981, the award committee started to recognize books for younger readers and in 2007, began to recognize young adult literature. In 1988, Honor Award Winners were added and these books receive a silver seal. The current president is Rebecca Levitan.


About

Awards are presented in three categories: Younger Readers, Older Readers and Teen Readers. In each category, a single gold medalist is named annually. Each year there may also be several silver medalists named in each category. A list of ten to twenty Notable Children's Books of Jewish Content is also named in each category, but these titles do not receive medals. The award committee is made up of volunteers from the
Association of Jewish Libraries The Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) is an international organization dedicated to the production, collection, organization and dissemination of Judaic resources and library/media/information service. AJL has members in the United States, Can ...
. Books are evaluated based on certain criteria one of which is
literary merit Artistic merit is the artistic quality or value of any given work of art, music, film, literature, sculpture or painting. Obscenity and literary merit The 1921 US trial of James Joyce's novel ''Ulysses'' concerned the publication of the ''Nausi ...
. Books must also be appropriate to the age level, rooted in "authentic and accurate detail" and have a positive and/or authentic Jewish religious or cultural content. Books nominated are newly published books for the year. Books can be
picture book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...
s, non-fiction, fiction and
poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
.


Criteria

* The book has literary merit. * The book has positive and authentic Jewish religious or cultural content. * The book is appropriate for the intended grade level in style, vocabulary, format, and illustration. * Whether fiction or nonfiction, the book is solidly rooted in authentic and accurate detail through scholarship and research by the author. * Particular attention will be paid to titles that demonstrate the broad diversity of the Jewish experience, including diversity of time period and country of origin. * Textbooks, liturgy, and reprints are not eligible. Significantly revised editions and re-illustrated editions are eligible. * Books must be commercially available for purchase in order to be eligible. * Self-published books are not eligible. The author and illustrator must not have paid any money to the publisher. The book must be edited by a professional editor at no cost to the author/illustrator. The publisher must publish books by multiple authors. * Books must be published in English (whether originally in English or in translation) * If the same book is published in English in multiple countries, the first version submitted will be considered for the award. Other versions then become ineligible.


Themes

Most Sydney Taylor Book Award winning titles are universal in theme while Judaic in specific content, highlighting the rich diversity of Jewish lives and experiences, traditions, and values to Jewish and non-Jewish readers alike.


Children's Book Award Recipients

} , Notable , - , , , ''And Then There Were Four'' , Notable , - , , , ''Anne Frank: Life in Hiding'' , Notable , - style="background:Lavender; color:black" ! rowspan="5" scope="row" , Teen Reader , , , ''Rescue: The Story of How Gentiles Saved Jews in the Holocaust'' , Honor , - , , , , Notable , - , , , ''Emma Lazarus'' , Notable , - , , , ''Smoke and Ashes: The Story of the Holocaust'' , Notable , - , , , ''Touch Wood: A Girlhood in Occupied France'' , Notable , - style="background:LemonChiffon; color:black" ! rowspan="23" scope="row" , 1987 ! rowspan="6" scope="row" , Younger Reader , , , , Winner , - , , , ''Apple Pie and Onions'' , Notable , - , , , ''Even Higher'' , Notable , - , , , ''Gittel and the Bell'' , Notable , - , , , ''Queen Esther'' , Notable , - , , , ''My Sister's Wedding'' , Notable , - style="background:LemonChiffon; color:black" !rowspan="10" scope="row" , Older Reader , , , , Winner , - , , , ''Esther'' , Notable , - , , , ''Exodus'' , Notable , - , , , ''Yossi Tries to Help God'' , Notable , - , , , ''Joseph's Wardrobe'' , Notable , - , , , , Notable , - , , , ''First Fast'' , Notable , - , , , ''Jerusalem, Shining Still'' , Notable , - , , , , Notable , - , and Judyth Groner , , ''Miracle Meals: Eight Nights of Food 'n Fun for Chanukah'' , Notable , - ! rowspan="7" scope="row" , Teen Reader , , , ''Also Known as Sadzia! The Belly Dancer!'' , Notable , - , , , ''Eliezer Ben-Yehuda: The Father of Modern Hebrew'' , Notable , - , , , , Notable , - , , , ''Daughter of My People: Henrietta Szold and Hadassah'' , Notable , - , , , , Notable , - , (editor) , , , Notable , - , , , ''Forever My Jerusalem'' , Notable , - style="background:LemonChiffon; color:black" !rowspan="20" scope="row" , 1986 !rowspan="5" scope="row" , Younger Reader , , , ''Joseph Who Loved the Sabbath'' , Winner , - , , , ''Moses in the Bulrushes'' , Notable , - , , , ''Ima on the Bima: My Mommy is a Rabbi'' , Notable , - , , , , Notable , - , , , ''Yossel Zissel and the Wisdom of Chelm'' , Notable , - style="background:LemonChiffon; color:black" !rowspan="9" scope="row" , Older Reader , , , ''Beyond the High White Wall'' , Winner , - , , and Diane Wolfe , ''Cooking the Israeli Way'' , Notable , - , , , ''Aviva's Piano'' , Notable , - , , , ''Sound the Shofar: The Story and Meaning of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur'' , Notable , - , , , , Notable , - , (editor) , , ''Poems for Jewish Holidays'' , Notable , - , , , , Notable , - , , , ''Hannah Szenes: A Song of Light'' , Notable , - , , , , Notable , - ! rowspan="6" scope="row" , Teen Reader , , , ''Uncle Jacob's Ghost Story'' , Notable , - , , , ''Sigmund Freud: Doctor of the Mind'' , Notable , - , , , ''I Lift My Lamp: Emma Lazarus and the Statue of Liberty'' , Notable , - , , , ''One Man's Valor: Leo Baeck and the Holocaust'' , Notable , - , , , ''Monday in Odessa'' , Notable , - , , , , Notable , - style="background:LemonChiffon; color:black" ! rowspan="30" scope="row" , 1985 ! rowspan="12" scope="row" , Younger Reader , , , ''Brothers'' , Winner , - , , , , Notable , - , , , , Notable , - , , , ''I Love Passover'' , Notable , - , , , ''My First Book of Mitzvos'' , Notable , - , , , ''Watch the Stars Come Out'' , Notable , - , , , , Notable , - , , , ''Who Will Lead the Kiddush?'' , Notable , - , , , , Notable , - , , and Eliyahu Meshchaninov , , Notable , - , , , ''Washday on Noah's Ark'' , Notable , - , , , ''Joshua's Dream'' , Notable , - style="background:LemonChiffon; color:black" ! rowspan="12" scope="row" , Older Reader , , , ''Ike and Mama and the Seven Surprises'' , Winner , - , , , ''Ask Another Question: The Story and Meaning of Passover'' , Notable , - , , , ''Yossi Asks the Angels for Help'' , Notable , - , , , , Notable , - , , , ''Secret Grove'' , Notable , - , , , , Notable , - , , and Lars Hokanson , ''Remember Not to Forget'' , Notable , - , & Agnes Herman , , , Notable , - , and Howard I. Gogot , , , Notable , - , , , ''Toba at the Hands of a Thief'' , Notable , - , , , ''Shnook the Peddler'' , Notable , - , , David Waskow, and Shoshana Waskow , , ''Before There Was a Before'' , Notable , - ! rowspan="6" scope="row" , Teen Reader , , , ''One Way to Ansonia'' , Notable , - , , , ''In Kindling Flame: The Story of Hannah Senesh, 1921-1944'' , Notable , - , , , , Notable , - , , , ''Does Anyone Here Know the Way to Thirteen?'' , Notable , - , , , ''Star without a Sky'' , Notable , - , , , ''Bar Mitzvah'' , Notable , - style="background:LemonChiffon; color:black" !rowspan="2" scope="row" , 1984 ! Younger Reader , , , ''Mrs. Moskowitz and the Sabbath Candlesticks'' , Winner , - style="background:LemonChiffon; color:black" ! Older Reader , , , , Winner , - style="background:LemonChiffon; color:black" !rowspan="2" scope="row" , 1983 ! Younger Reader , , , ''Bubby, Me, and Memories'' , Winner , - style="background:LemonChiffon; color:black" ! Older Reader , , , ''In the Mouth of the Wolf'' , Winner , - style="background:LemonChiffon; color:black" !rowspan="2" scope="row" , 1982 ! Younger Reader , , , , Winner , - style="background:LemonChiffon; color:black" ! Older Reader , , , ''Call Me Ruth'' , Winner , - style="background:LemonChiffon; color:black" !rowspan="2" scope="row" , 1981 ! Younger Reader , , , ''Yussel’s Prayer'' , Winner , - style="background:LemonChiffon; color:black" ! Older Reader , , , , Winner , - style="background:LemonChiffon; color:black" ! 1980 ! , , , , Winner , - style="background:LemonChiffon; color:black" ! 1979 ! , , , ''Ike and Mama and the Block Wedding'' , Winner , - style="background:LemonChiffon; color:black" ! 1978 ! , , , , Winner , - style="background:LemonChiffon; color:black" ! 1977 ! , , , ''Exit from Home'' , Winner , - style="background:LemonChiffon; color:black" ! 1976 ! , , , ''Never to Forget'' , Winner , - style="background:LemonChiffon; color:black" ! 1975 ! , , , ''Waiting for Mama'' , Winner , - ! 1974 , , No Award Given , , , , - style="background:LemonChiffon; color:black" ! 1973 ! , , , ''Uncle Misha’s Partisans'' , Winner , - ! 1972 , , No Award Given , , , , - ! 1971 , , No Award Given , , , , - style="background:LemonChiffon; color:black" ! 1970 ! , , , , Winner , - style="background:LemonChiffon; color:black" ! 1969 ! , , , ''Our Eddie'' , Winner , - style="background:LemonChiffon; color:black" ! 1968 ! , , , , Winner


Body-of-Work Award

The body-of-work award is given "to recognize an author or entity who has made a substantial contribution over time to the genre of Jewish children’s literature." Beginning in 2018, the award became biennial instead of periodic.


Recipients


Manuscript Award

The Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award for children's books was first awarded in 1985. The winner receives $1,000.


References


Citations


Sources

*


External links


Official site

News related to the award

List of all winners 1968-present
{{Portal, Children's literature Children's literary awards Awards established in 1968 Jewish literary awards