The Newbery Medal is awarded each year to one book that the judges believe is the very finest in American literature for young people. The Newbery Honor may be awarded to as many American-authored children's books each year as the judges believe deserve special recognition.

The Association for Library Service to Children annually awards the Caldecott Medal to the illustrator of the most distinguished American picture book for children. The award was named in honor of the nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph J. Caldecott.