CRITERIA

Criteria include:

1.  Content
• May be fiction, biography, or other form of nonfiction.
• Must portray the emotional, mental, or physical disability as part of a full life, not as something to be pitied or overcome.
• Representation of characters with disabilities should be realistic avoiding exaggeration or stereotypes.
• Person with disability should be integral to the presentation, not merely a passive bystander.   
• The theme must be appropriate for and respectful of the intended audience age.
• Information on a disability must be accurate.        

2.  Style  
• Should be engaging with distinctive use of language for plot and character development and setting delineation.
• Book should be judged on its own merit as a self-contained  entity, not as part of a series, and irrespective of supportive materials such as a CD or other supplemental material.

3.  Illustration in picture books
• Text and images should complement each other, with differentiated contrast between text, pictures, and background.
• Format and typeface must be of age appropriate size, clearly readable, and free of typographical errors.
• Layout should be easy to follow enhancing the flow of the story or information.

Please send eight (8) copies of this application and 8 books to:

ALA Awards Program
Governance Office
50 East Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611

DEADLINE: POSTMARKED BY DECEMBER 1