LibGuides: Book Awards: Schneider Family Award

About the Walter Award

WHEN DID IT START? 2003.

WHAT BOOKS ARE ELIGIBLE?

Must feature a main or secondary character with a physical, mental, or emotional disability.
Must have been published in the year previous to the award date.
Teen award: for an audience of ages 14-18.
Middle Grade award: for an audience of ages 9-13.
Younger Children award: for an audience of ages 0-8.

WHAT ARE THE JUDGES LOOKING FOR?

Must portray the emotional, mental, or physical disability as part of a full life, not as something to be pitied.
Representation of characters with disabilities should be realistic, avoiding exaggeration or stereotypes.
Information on a disability must be accurate.

THIS AWARD INFORMATION IS SUMMARIZED FROM THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION WEBSITE.

Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte
ISBN: 9781338255812
Publication Date: 2020-03-03
Deaf author and librarian Ann Clare LeZotte weaves a riveting Own Voices story inspired by the true history of a thriving deaf community on Martha's Vineyard in the early 19th century. Mary Lambert has always felt safe and protected on her beloved island of Martha's Vineyard. Her great-great-grandfather was an early English settler and the first deaf islander. Now, over a hundred years later, many people there -- including Mary -- are deaf, and nearly everyone can communicate in sign language. Mary has never felt isolated. She is proud of her lineage. But recent events have delivered winds of change. Mary's brother died, leaving her family shattered. Tensions over land disputes are mounting between English settlers and the Wampanoag people. And a cunning young scientist has arrived, hoping to discover the origin of the island's prevalent deafness. His maniacal drive to find answers soon renders Mary a "live specimen" in a cruel experiment. Her struggle to save herself is at the core of this penetrating and poignant novel that probes our perceptions of ability and disability. It will make you forever question your own ideas about what is normal.

For book descriptions, hover over the information icon.

When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson (Illustrator); Omar Mohamed; Iman Geddy (Illustrator) Omar and his younger brother, Hassan, have spent most of their lives in Dadaab, a refugee camp in Kenya. Life is hard there: never enough food, achingly dull, and without access to the medical care Omar knows his nonverbal brother needs. So when Omar has the opportunity to go to school, he knows it might be a chance to change their future . . . but it would also mean leaving his brother, the only family member he has left, every day. Heartbreak, hope, and gentle humor exist together in this graphic novel. It's an intimate, important, unforgettable look at the day-to-day life of a refugee, as told to New York Times Bestselling author/artist Victoria Jamieson by Omar Mohamed, the Somali man who lived the story.
ISBN: 9780525553908
Publication Date: 2020-04-14
Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen! by Sarah Kapit
ISBN: 9780525554189
Publication Date: 2020-02-25

2021 Schneider Family Awards
All 2021 Schneider Family Award winners, including the Teen and Younger Children categories.
Complete List of Schneider Family Award Winners and Honors, 2016-2020
List of all previous Schneider Award-Winning and Honor books. Many are available at your Cumberland Valley School Library and/or through MackinVia.

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Eagle View Middle School