California Young Reader Medal

The California Young Reader Medal is a set of five annual literary awards conferred upon picture books and fiction books selected by vote of California schoolchildren from a ballot prepared by committee.^[1] The program was established in 1974 with Intermediate, Primary, and Young Adult Medals that were inaugurated in 1975, 1976, and 1977 and were conferred biennially, and annually beginning in 1983.^{[2][lower-alpha 1]}

The program is intended to encourage recreational reading and is sponsored by four organizations that promote reading and literacy: the California Association of Teachers of English, the California Library Association, the California Reading Association, and the California School Library Association.^[1]

There are five medals, last modified for 2002: Primary (grades K-3), Intermediate (grades 3–6), Middle School/Junior High (grades 6–9), Young Adult (grades 9–12), and Picture Books for Older Readers (grades 4 and up)—that is, roughly age 10 and up.^{[lower-alpha 2]} Both writer and illustrator receive the Primary and Picture Book Medals, where applicable.^[1]

The ballot for each medal comprises 3–5 books published during the preceding four years—two to five years ago when the process concludes. For example, 17 books published from 2010 to 2013 were nominated for 2014–2015.^[3]

Rules and process

Young readers, their parents, educators, librarians, and "anyone who works with young people" may recommend books. Candidates must be original works of fiction by living authors, available in English, published during the four preceding years and still in print.^[4]

Nominations are made by award category and the books should be "often read or requested" and have "strong appeal for the age group".^[4] A committee of the sponsoring organizations selects "a well-balanced list of nominees" (finalists), considering merit and appeal.^[1]

Children may vote in all categories where they know all of the candidates by reading or hearing read aloud. They cast a combined paper ballot at once, in a classroom or library monitored by an adult.^{[5][lower-alpha 3]}

Winners

The medals in four categories inaugurated in 1975, 1976, 1977, and 1980 were biennial until 1983, and thereafter annual.^[2] For each category (now five) CYRM maintains a "Booklist" of finalists (3–5 annually) that provides basic bibliographic data for all, and cover images beginning in 2005 or so.^[6]

1970s

California Young Reader Medal winners, 1975–1979^[2]

Year	Category	Author	Title
1975	Intermediate	Thomas Rockwell	How to Eat Fried Worms
1976	Primary	Bill Peet	How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head
1977	Intermediate	Mary Rodgers	Freaky Friday
	Young Adult	Richard Adams	Watership Down
1978	Primary	Lucy Bate, illus. by Diane de Groat	Little Rabbit's Loose Tooth
1979	Intermediate	Roald Dahl	Danny, the Champion of the World
	Young Adult	Sandra Scoppettone	The Late Great Me

1980s

California Young Reader Medal winners, 1980–1989^[2]

Year	Category	Author	Title
1980	Middle School/Junior High	Betsy Byars	The Pinballs
	Primary	Bill Peet	Big Bad Bruce
1981	Intermediate	Wilson Rawls	Summer of the Monkeys
	Young Adult	Lois Lowry	A Summer to Die
1982	Primary	Harry Allard, illus. by James Marshall	Miss Nelson is Missing
	Middle School/Junior High	Ellen Conford	Hail, Hail Camp Timberwood
1983	Primary	Mercer Mayer	Liza Lou and the Yeller Belly Swamp
	Intermediate	Judy Blume	Superfudge
	Middle School/Junior High	Judy Blume	Tiger Eyes
	Young Adult	Lois Duncan	Summer of Fear
1984	Primary	Phyllis Green, illus. by Joel Schick	Bagdad Ate It
	Intermediate	Theodore Taylor	The Trouble with Tuck
	Middle School/Junior High	Paula Danziger	There's a Bat in Bunk Five
	Young Adult	Lois Duncan	Stranger with My Face
1985	Primary	Carol Chapman, illus. by Kelly Oechsli	Herbie's Troubles
	Intermediate	Lynne Reid Banks	The Indian in the Cupboard
	Middle School/Junior High	Norma Fox Mazer	Taking Terri Mueller
	Young Adult	Frances Miller	The Truth Trap
1986	Primary	Edward Marshall, illus. by James Marshall	Space Case
	Intermediate	Barthe DeClements	Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade
	Middle School/Junior High	Willo Davis Roberts	Girl with the Silver Eyes
	Young Adult	Meredith Pierce	The Darkangel
1987[lower-alpha 4]	Primary	Audrey Wood, illus. by Don Wood	The Napping House
	Intermediate	Betty Ren Wright	The Dollhouse Murders
	Middle School/Junior High	Patricia Hermes	You Shouldn't Have to Say Goodbye
	Young Adult	Michael French	Pursuit
1988	Primary	Laura Joffe Numeroff, illus. by Felicia Bond	If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
	Intermediate	Stephen Manes	Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days
	Middle School/Junior High	Janet Lunn	The Root Cellar
	Young Adult	William Sleator	Interstellar Pig
1989	Primary	Carol Carrick, illus. by Donald Carrick	What Happened to Patrick's Dinosaurs?
	Intermediate	Elizabeth Winthrop	The Castle in the Attic
	Middle School/Junior High	Joan Lowery Nixon	The Stalker
	Young Adult	Eve Bunting	The Face at the Edge of the World

1990s

California Young Reader Medal winners, 1990–1999^[2]

Year	Category	Author	Title
1990	Primary	Margaret Leaf, illus. by Ed Young	Eyes of the Dragon
	Intermediate	Robert Kimmel Smith	The War with Grandpa
	Middle School/Junior High	Joan Lowery Nixon	The Other Side of Dark
	Young Adult	Cynthia Voigt	Izzy, Willy Nilly
1991	Primary	Helen Lester, illus. by Lynn M. Munsinger	Tacky the Penguin
	Intermediate	Dick King-Smith	Harry's Mad
	Middle School/Junior High	Mary Downing Hahn	December Stillness
	Young Adult	M.E. Kerr	Night Kites
1992	Primary	Denys Cazet	Never Spit on Your Shoes
	Intermediate	Lois Lowry	All About Sam
	Middle School/Junior High	Theodore Taylor	Sniper
	Young Adult	Eve Bunting	A Sudden Silence
1993	Primary	Kevin Henkes	Julius, the Baby of the World
	Intermediate	Judy Blume	Fudge-a-Mania
	Middle School/Junior High	Avi	Something Upstairs
	Young Adult	Annette Curtis Klause	The Silver Kiss
1994	Primary	Mary Calhoun, illus. by Erick Ingraham	High-Wire Henry
	Intermediate	Willo Davis Roberts	Scared Stiff
	Middle School/Junior High	Jerry Spinelli	There's a Girl in My Hammerlock
	Young Adult	Robert Cormier	We All Fall Down
1995	Primary	Susan Meddaugh	Martha Speaks
	Intermediate	Pam Conrad	Stonewords
	Middle School/Junior High	Ben Mikaelsen	Rescue Josh McGuire
	Young Adult	Will Hobbs	Downriver
1996	Primary	Janell Cannon	Stellaluna
	Intermediate	Mary Downing Hahn	Time for Andrew
	Middle School/Junior High	Rodman Philbrick	Freak the Mighty
	Young Adult	Sherry Garland	Shadow of the Dragon
1997	Primary	Erica Silverman, illus. by S. D. Schindler	Don't Fidget a Feather!
	Intermediate	Bruce Coville	Jennifer Murdley's Toad
	Middle School/Junior High	Ben Mikaelsen	Sparrow Hawk Red
	Young Adult	Chris Crutcher	Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes
1998	Primary	Dav Pilkey	Dog Breath
	Intermediate	Erika Tamar	The Junkyard Dog
	Middle School/Junior High	Christopher Paul Curtis	The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963
	Young Adult	Chris Crutcher	Ironman
1999	Primary	Pamela Duncan Edwards, illus. by Henry Cole	Livingstone Mouse
	Intermediate	Sid Fleischman, illus. by Peter Sis	The 13th Floor
	Middle School/Junior High	Graham Salisbury	Under the Blood Red Sun
	Young Adult	Kristen Randle	The Only Alien on the Planet

2000s

California Young Reader Medal winners, 2000–2009^[2]

Year	Category	Author	Title
2000	Primary	Paul Brett Johnson and Celeste Lewis, illus. by Johnson	Lost
	Intermediate	Pam Muñoz Ryan	Riding Freedom
	Middle School/Junior High	Gail Carson Levine	Ella Enchanted
	Young Adult	A. M. Jenkins	Breaking Bones
2001	Primary	Rod Clement	Grandpa's Teeth
	Intermediate	Dan Gutman	Honus & Me
	Middle School/Junior High	Margaret Peterson Haddix	Among the Hidden
	Young Adult	Jane Yolen and Bruce Coville	Armageddon Summer
2002	Primary	Helen Lester, illus. by Lynn M. Munsinger	Hooway for Wodney Wat
	Intermediate	Dan Gutman	The Million Dollar Shot
	Middle School/Junior High	Jack Gantos	Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key
	Picture Books for Older Readers	Paul Fleischman	Weslandia
	Young Adult	Jean Ferris	Bad
2003	Primary	Lauren Child	I Will Never, Not Ever, Eat a Tomato
	Intermediate	Kate DiCamillo	Because of Winn-Dixie
	Middle School/Junior High	Ben Mikaelsen	Touching Spirit Bear
	Picture Books for Older Readers	David A. Adler	The Babe and I
	Young Adult	Julie Anne Peters	Define Normal
2004	Primary	Sharon Creech, illus. by Harry Bliss	A Fine, Fine School
	Intermediate	Andrew Clements	The School Story
	Middle School/Junior High	Wendelin Van Draanen	Flipped
	Picture Books for Older Readers	Janet Stevens	And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon
	Young Adult	Lensey Namioka	Ties that Bind, Ties that Break
2005	Primary	Candace Fleming, illus. by G. Brian Karas	Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!
	Intermediate	Sharon Creech	Ruby Holler
	Middle School/Junior High	Andrew Clements	Things Not Seen
	Picture Books for Older Readers	Patricia Polacco	Mr. Lincoln's Way
	Young Adult	Anthony Horowitz	Stormbreaker
2006	Primary	Michael Garland	Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook
	Intermediate	Avi	The Good Dog
	Middle School/Junior High	Sue Corbett	12 Again
	Picture Books for Older Readers	Candace Fleming, illus. by Stacey Dressen-McQueen	Boxes for Katje
	Young Adult	Francine Prose	After
2007	Primary	Keiko Kasza	My Lucky Day
	Intermediate	William Wise	Christopher Mouse
	Middle School/Junior High	Gennifer Choldenko	Al Capone Does My Shirts
	Picture Books for Older Readers	Karen Hesse, illus. by Wendy Watson	The Cats in Krasinski Square
	Young Adult	Gail Giles	Shattering Glass
2008	Primary	Caralyn Buehner, illus. by Mark Buehner	Superdog: The Heart of a Hero
	Intermediate	Deborah Wiles	Each Little Bird That Sings
	Middle School/Junior High	Neal Shusterman	The Schwa Was Here
	Picture Books for Older Readers	Frank Asch, illus. by Devin Asch	Mr. Maxwell's Mouse
	Young Adult	Michael Morpurgo	Private Peaceful
2009	Primary	Linda Bailey, illus. by Bill Slavin	Stanley's Wild Ride
	Intermediate	Valerie Hobbs	Sheep
	Middle School/Junior High	Mike Lupica	Heat
	Picture Books for Older Readers	Doug Cushman	Mystery at the Club Sandwich
	Young Adult	Patricia McCormick	Sold

2010s

California Young Reader Medal winners, 2010–2019^[2]

Year	Category	Author	Title
2010	Primary	Alexander Steffensmeier	Millie Waits for the Mail
	Intermediate	Andrew Clements	No Talking
	Middle School/Junior High	Watt Key	Alabama Moon
	Picture Books for Older Readers	Mona Kerby, illus. by Lynne Barasch	Owney: The Mail-Pouch Pooch
	Young Adult	Sherman Alexie	The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
2011	Primary	Carmen Agra Deedy, illus. by Michael Austin	Martina the Beautiful Cockroach
	Intermediate	Robert Paul Weston	Zorgamazoo
	Middle School/Junior High	Cynthia Kadohata	Cracker: The Best Dog in Vietnam
	Picture Books for Older Readers	Lane Smith	John, Paul, George & Ben
	Young Adult	Suzanne Collins	The Hunger Games
2012	Primary	Amanda Noll, illus. by Howard McWilliam	I Need My Monster
	Intermediate	Danette Haworth	Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning
	Middle School/Junior High	Wendy Mass	Every Soul a Star
	Picture Books for Older Readers	Ellen Levine, illus. by Kadir Nelson	Henry's Freedom Box
	Young Adult	Kristin Cashore	Graceling
2013	Primary	Mo Willems	We Are in a Book!
	Intermediate	Iain Lawrence	The Giant Slayer
	Middle School/Junior High	Sharon Draper	Out of My Mind
	Picture Books for Older Readers	Major Brian Dennis, Kirby Larson, and Mary Nethery, illus. and photos from members of the Marines team	Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine and a Miracle
	Young Adult	Ally Condie	Matched
2014	Primary	Herve Tullet	Press Here
	Intermediate	Lisa McMann	The Unwanteds
	Middle School/Junior High	Brian Selznick	Wonderstruck
	Picture Books for Older Readers	Chris Van Allsburg	Queen of the Falls
	Young Adult	Veronica Roth	Divergent
2015	Primary	Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illus. by Tom Lichtenheld	Exclamation Mark
	Intermediate	R. J. Palacio	Wonder
	Middle School/Junior High	Jennifer A. Nielsen	The False Prince
	Picture Books for Older Readers	Audrey Vernick, illus. by Steven Salerno	Brothers at Bat: The True Story of an Amazing All-Brother Team
	Young Adult	John Green	The Fault in Our Stars
2016	Primary	Drew Daywalt, illus. by Oliver Jeffers	The Day the Crayons Quit
	Intermediate	Sarah Lean	A Dog Called Homeless
	Middle School/Junior High	Elizabeth Partridge	Dogtag Summer
	Picture Books for Older Readers	Doreen Rappaport, illus. by Matt Tavares	Helen's Big World: The Life of Helen Keller
	Young Adult	Marissa Meyer	Cinder
2017	Primary	Mac Barnett, illus. by Jon Klassen	Sam & Dave Dig a Hole
	Intermediate	Chris Grabenstein	Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library
	Middle School/Junior High	Shannon Messenger	Keeper of the Lost Cities
	Picture Books for Older Readers	Jacqueline Woodson, illus. by E. B. Lewis	Each Kindness
	Young Adult	Victoria Aveyard	Red Queen
2018	Primary	B. J. Novak	The Book with No Pictures
	Intermediate	Sara Pennypacker, illus. by Jon Klassen	Pax
	Middle School/Junior High	Jennifer A. Nielsen	A Night Divided
	Picture Books for Older Readers	Marissa Moss, illus. by Yuko Shimizu	Barbed Wire Baseball
	Young Adult	Ruta Sepetys	Salt to the Sea
2019	Primary	David Litchfield	The Bear and the Piano
	Intermediate	Kimberly Brubaker Bradley	The War That Saved My Life
	Middle School/Junior High	Pam Muñoz Ryan	Echo
	Picture Books for Older Readers	Laurie Ann Thompson, illus. by Sean Qualls	Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah
	Young Adult	Aisha Saeed	Written in the Stars

2020s

California Young Reader Medal winners, 2020–present^[2]

Year	Category	Author	Title
2020	Primary	Drew Daywalt, illus. by Adam Rex	The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors
	Intermediate	Kimberly Brubaker Bradley	The War I Finally Won
	Middle School/Junior High	Alan Gratz	Refugee
	Picture Books for Older Readers	Dave Eggers, illus. by Shawn Harris	Her Right Foot
	Young Adult	Neal Shusterman	Scythe
2021	Primary	Tony Fucile	Poor Louie
	Intermediate	Gordon Korman	Restart
	Middle School/Junior High	Donna Gephart	Lily and Dunkin
	Picture Books for Older Readers	Patricia McCormick, illus. by Iacopo Bruno	Sergeant Reckless
	Young Adult	Wendy Mills	All We Have Left
2022	Primary	Minh Lê, illus. by Dan Santat	Drawn Together
	Intermediate	Dan Gemeinhart	The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise
	Middle School/Junior High	Kristin Levine	The Jigsaw Jungle
	Picture Books for Older Readers	Susan Wood, illus. by Gijsbert Van Frankenhuyzen	The Skydiving Beavers
	Young Adult	Ruta Sepetys	The Fountains of Silence
2023	Primary	Ryan T. Higgins	We Don't Eat Our Classmates
	Intermediate	Jennifer L. Holm	The Lion of Mars
	Middle School/Junior High	Ben Guterson	Winterhouse
	Picture Books for Older Readers	Caron Levis, illus. by Charles Santoso	This Way, Charlie
	Young Adult	Elizabeth Acevedo	With the Fire on High

Notes

1. The Middle School/Junior High Medal was added in 1980 and all four became annual in 1983. The fifth award category, Picture Books for Older Readers, was inaugurated in 2002. ("Nominees and Winners List" at google.docs)
2. US school children commonly turn six years old during kindergarten (K), nine years old in grade 3, and so on.
3. Presumably children may cast ballots at school and once for each public library or after-school program they join. ("Vote" at CYRM)
4. Beginning in 1987, the illustrators of Primary Award-winning books have officially received full recognition alongside the writers.

References

1. "(Home page)". California Young Reader Medal. May 1, 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-04-04. Retrieved 2015-05-01.
    The home page covers the current cycle below a short introduction. As of May 18, 2015, for example, it presents the five 2015 medal winners and the 17 books that are on the 2016 ballots.
2. "California Young Reader Medal Nominees and Winners List". CYRM (at google.docs). Archived from the original on 2016-04-07. Retrieved 2015-05-18.
3. "Nominees" Archived 2015-07-06 at the Wayback Machine. CYRM. Retrieved 2015-05-18. Linked front cover images 2010–2011 to present.
4. "California Young Reader Medal Recommendation Form"^{[permanent dead link]}. CYRM. Retrieved 2015-05-18.
5. "Vote" Archived 2015-07-06 at the Wayback Machine. CYRM. Retrieved 2015-05-18.
6. "Winners". CYRM. Archived from the original on 2021-10-28. Retrieved 2021-08-12. Linked front cover images 2011 to present.