Children's Literature Legacy Award

じどうぶんがくれがしーしょう

An ALSC-sponsored lifetime achievement award honoring authors and illustrators of children's books for their significant and sustained contributions to children's literature over many years.

Children's literatureLifetime achievement award (Lifetime Achievement)For authors and illustrators

Established: 1954
Organizer: Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA)
Category: Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Picture Books
Selection Method: Recommendation
Target: Professional
Frequency: 1 per year
Status: Active

Description

The Children's Literature Legacy Award (former name: Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal) was established in 1954 and is awarded by ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association) as a lifetime achievement award in children's literature. Targets authors or illustrators of children's books published in the United States who have made significant and sustained contributions to children's literature over many years. Nominations are possible posthumously, with requirements such as part of the candidate's achievements being within 25 years prior to nomination, and some representative works having been read by children for at least 10 years. It was formerly named "Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal," but the name was changed in 2018. The award is a bronze medal, and no monetary prize is publicly announced.

Prize

Main Prize: Bronze medal (honorary award). No publicly announced monetary prize.

Bronze medal
Publicity and recognition by ALSC/ALA
Honorary title (recognition as lifetime achievement)

Selection

Selection Process

Stage	Judges	Pass Rate	Announcement
Nomination (recommendation)	Candidates accepted by ALSC selection committee (posthumous nominations allowed).	—	Nominations are submitted to the committee and proceed to subsequent review stages.
Committee review	Relevant committee within ALSC (selection committee)	—	Committee reviews and narrows down based on eligibility criteria (US publication, target age, long-term impact, etc.).
Board approval and announcement	ALSC board and ALA procedures	—	Final winners announced via official ALA/ALSC announcements (website or press releases).

Nomination (recommendation)

Judges Candidates accepted by ALSC selection committee (posthumous nominations allowed).

Announcement Nominations are submitted to the committee and proceed to subsequent review stages.

Committee review

Judges Relevant committee within ALSC (selection committee)

Announcement Committee reviews and narrows down based on eligibility criteria (US publication, target age, long-term impact, etc.).

Board approval and announcement

Judges ALSC board and ALA procedures

Announcement Final winners announced via official ALA/ALSC announcements (website or press releases).

Criteria

Awarded to authors or illustrators (including co-authors, co-illustrators, those doing both writing and illustration). Posthumous nominations allowed.
Some of the candidate's children's book activities must have occurred within 25 years prior to nomination.
Candidate's nationality or residence not considered.
Candidate's works must have been published in the US (first publication does not need to be in the US).
Some of the candidate's representative works have been read by children for at least 10 years.
Works occupy an important place in US children's literature, continue to be read, and are in demand.
Committee evaluates only children's books (target under 14 years old) from candidate's total works.

Application Tips

Dos

Demonstrate the candidate's long-term achievements and impact on children's literature with specific examples (representative works, library usage, reviews, etc.).
Specify that representative works were published in the US and state the publication years.
Cite representative works that have been read by children for at least 10 years.
Organize and present activities and achievements from the past 25 years.
Enhance credibility with recommendation letters or third-party materials (reviews, circulation data, educational usage examples, etc.).

Don''ts

Emphasize only a single short-term hit work.
Highlight only works without US publication records.
Center explanations on ineligible age groups (over 14 years).
Emphasize defenses of discriminatory or stereotypical expressions.

From Judges

The committee prioritizes long-term reader demand and sustained impact of the works.
Nationality or residence irrelevant, but note that US publication is key to review.
Posthumous nominations are possible.
Documents proving representative works read continuously for at least 10 years are compelling.