About

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What is the Gosling Award?

The Gosling Award is a Hawai'i children's choice book award for students in grades K–3. Each year, a committee of librarians selects 12 outstanding picture books to be nominated for the award. Children are encouraged to read or listen to the nominated books and vote for their favorite in the spring.

This award celebrates reading, honors great books for young children, and gives Hawai‘i’s youngest readers a voice in recognizing books that they enjoy.

Purpose of the Award

Introduce young children to some of today’s best picture book authors and illustrators.
Help children recognize what makes a picture book engaging, meaningful, and well-crafted.
Give children the chance to celebrate and honor the author and illustrator of the book they enjoyed the most.

How It Works

Each year, a committee of librarians selects 12 picture books for the nominee list, which is released in the spring. Students in kindergarten through third grade are encouraged to read or listen to as many of the nominated books as they can.

Voting takes place in schools and libraries in February and March. Voting materials and instructions are shared in December, along with that year’s official deadline. Students vote for their favorite book, and teachers or librarians submit the total votes to the award committee. The winning book is announced in the spring.

How Books Are Selected

Each year, the Gosling Award Committee selects 12 picture books to be nominated. The list is created using top vote-getters from the previous year, along with recommendations submitted by students, teachers, and librarians across Hawai‘i.

Eligibility Criteria for Nominees

To be considered for nomination, a book must meet the following requirements:

Be a picture book appropriate for students in grades K–3
Be written by a living author who has not won the Gosling Award in the past five years
Have been published within the past five years
Not have appeared on a previous Gosling nominee list (except for top vote-getters carried over from the prior year)

NOMINATE A BOOK!

To see this year’s nominated books, visit the Books page.

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