It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and I’m not talking about the holiday season. It’s almost time for the American Library Association’s (ALA) annual youth media awards! Held on Monday, January 26th, 2026, the youth media awards include the most prestigious awards for children’s literature, including the John Newbery Medal for excellence in American Children’s Literature, the Randolph Caldecott Medal for excellence in children’s literature illustration, the Coretta Scott King Award for excellence in African-American literature and illustration, and a slew of other awards. You might already have this on your radar, and when you get back in the classroom in January, there is plenty of time to partake in mock award activities before the big event!
MOCK CALDECOTT AWARD
Feeling short on time in January? Then the Mock Caldecott Award is for you! You’ll have plenty of time to read one-two picture books a week and judge them based on pre-existing criteria. Not sure where to begin? Check out Mr. Schu’s list of picture books to consider. He and Colby Sharp also have short videos attached to the list that discuss each book and also feature some chats with the illustrators and authors. Principal Brain Samson also created a unit packet that’s ready to go! It includes the official Caldecott criteria for you and your students to discuss in class as you make your final selection. Then, watch the live event to see if you picked the winner! Don’t forget – middle graders love picture books too!
MOCK NEWBERY AWARD
Working with older students or want to dive into longer texts? Then look no further than the mock newbery award. The Heavy Medal blog, sponsored by School Library Journal, has already selected fifteen possible contenders. What’s even better is that a panel of librarians, students, and other experts will be discussing each of the fifteen books all January! There is also a discussion guide you can use, and ALA also provides a mock Newbery toolkit that’s classroom friendly. Feeling like it’s not possible to read multiple novels with your students in January? Have every kid pick a different book to read for the month and then do a report-out on their individual book using the criteria in the discussion guide to try and persuade their classmates that their book will win! It’s a great way to cover lots of ground in a short amount of time.
The New York Times just wrote an article (note: behind paywall) about how kids don’t read whole novels anymore in school, especially in English class. These mock award activities are a great way to get kids reading with a payoff they can get invested in at the end of January. Celebrate with the winners on January 26th, and celebrate books all the time! Who do you think is going to win the Caldecott and Newbery award? Leave a comment below!
