Award Timeline

The Buckeye Children’s and Teen Book Award program is designed to encourage students in Ohio to read literature critically, to promote teacher and librarian involvement in young adult literature programs, and to commend authors of such literature.

March 15 – March 10 of the following year: Students nominate their favorite books, published within the last two years, and not part of a series that has already won the award. Past winners are listed on the website. Nominated books should be readily available in Ohio public libraries. Nominations are open year-round, except for a 5-day transition period in March to close one year’s nomination period and open the next. THE ONLY ADULTS WHO MAY SUBMIT NOMINATIONS ARE TEACHERS AND LIBRARIANS WHO ARE REPRESENTING A GROUP OF STUDENTS FROM THEIR SCHOOL OR LIBRARY.

April: The top five nominated books for each grade range are posted to the website.

May-August: Students read the nominated books, if they haven’t already, and encourage their friends to read them too. Students also nominate NEW books as they read over the summer.

September 1 to November 10: Students vote for their favorites of the five nominees, and can also still nominate new books for the next year’s award.

After December 1: The winners are announced!

Award History

The Buckeye Children’s Book Award program was established in 1981 through a collaborative effort of the Ohio Council of the International Reading Association, The Ohio Educational Library Media Association, The Ohio Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts, The Ohio Library Council and the State Library of Ohio. The Teen category was added to the existing Buckeye Children’s Book Award in 2003.

Teachers and librarians serve on the Buckeye Children’s and Teen Book Award Council. Current sponsoring agencies are:

State Library of Ohio

Ohio Literacy Association (OLA)

The Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts (OCTELA)

The Ohio Educational Library Media Association (OELMA)

The Ohio Library Council (OLC)

Kent State University School of Information

The Council’s primary job is to prepare the master voting list and post it on the website after nominations are in, and then tabulate and announce the results. The Council also promotes the award, and maintains the BCBA and TBBA websites. The BCBA archives are kept in the Reinberger Children’s Library Center at Kent State University School of Library and Information Science.