National Institute 2026

Every year brings a cornucopia of distinguished children's books beyond what wins the Newbery and Caldecott Medals, and there are a number of awards that recognize different types of excellence. In this session, you'll learn about some of those awards from book award committee veteran and reviewer Adrienne Pettinelli. Then you'll do hands-on activities to examine some 2026 award contenders and predict which award they're most likely to win. You'll leave this session ready to be part of the awards conversation and maybe even ready to volunteer to serve on a book award committee yourself!

Gentle Reminder from ALSC: Current book award committee members must refrain from discussing eligible titles in public evaluation forums, and former members are precluded from discussing any decision making details from their committee conversations.