DLA

Blue Hen Book Award

The ballot for the 2027 Blue Hen Book Award will be announced on April 1, and voting will be open April 1-October 31! Please visit the Blue Hen Book Award Guide.

Blue Hen Book Award Winners 2026! 

The purpose of the Blue Hen Book Award is to encourage literacy and library use by children and teens.

Specific Goals:

• to encourage children and teens to read.
• to teach, increase, and enhance book examination skills using an award procedure as a model.
• to increase awareness of outstanding books for children and teens published within a given period of time.
• to increase and enhance listening, discussion and communication skills.
• to promote a better understanding of the book award process.

History:

• 1996: The award was first given to Harvey Potter’s Balloon Farm by Jerdine Nolen. A state-wide contest was held prior to this asking juvenile library patrons to design a logo for the Blue Hen Book Award. The design was created by Aaron Powell, a 12 year old South Coastal patron.
• 1998: No award given, as procedures surrounding the award were changing.
• 2001: The award expanded to 2 categories: Picture Book and Chapter Book.
• 2002: Logo/sticker redesign. This new design started being used with the 2003 award.
• 2005: The award expanded to a third category: Teen Books
• 2013: No award given, as the procedures went through another adjustment.
• 2019: The award categories expanded once again to the current configuration and now includes graphic novels for middle readers and teens. The names of the categories also changed to reflect the age/grade of the reader as opposed to the format of the material.

Nominations & Review:
January 1-December 31

• Library staff submit nominations to Youth Services listserv for Selection Committees to review.
• Members of the public can submit nominees to a library staff member or the YSD Executive Board (DelawareYSD@gmail.com) for consideration and confirmation of eligibility.

In order to be considered, nominees must fit the following guidelines:

• • Nominees must be published in the current year; plus the two previous years (i.e., publication dates for this year’s nominees are 2024-2026).
  • Nominees must have at least two professional reviews from library sources (either print or electronic) such as Booklist, Library Journal, BookPage, School Library Journal, Publisher’s Weekly etc., except for Graphic Novels.
  • Nominees can be part of a series but must be the first book in the series or be able to stand alone.
  • Nominees must be owned by at least two public libraries in Delaware Library Consortium.
  • Acceptable nomination formats include fiction, non-fiction, picture book, biography, beginning reader, and graphic novel.
  • Ineligible formats include board books, single-issue comics, and magazines.

If publishers/authors wish to nominate their own titles for consideration:

• • Publishers and authors may nominate titles for consideration, provided those titles meet all eligibility criteria stated above. The book must be owned by at least two public libraries in the Delaware Library Consortium and the nomination must include 2 professional reviews.
  • Publishers and authors must also be willing to donate enough copies to the Youth Services Division to be read by the nominating committee. For Young Readers, Middle Readers, and Teen Readers nominations that would be 5 copies. For Graphic Novel nominations that would be 7 copies. This donation does not guarantee inclusion on the Blue Hen Ballot.
  • Donations are subject to appropriate library collection development policies for consideration of being added to the collection after the selection period concludes.
  • Nominations are to be sent to the current Youth Services Division President by November 15 of the nomination cycle. Please reach out via email to start the nomination process. Their email can be found on the YSD page maintained by DLA, https://dla.lib.de.us/divisions/ysd/.

• February 28: Selection Committee members’ ratings due for all books nominated for their category in the previous year
• April 1-October 31: Public voting period

Blue Hen Book Award Winners 2026!