Sponsored by Penguin Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House
Monetary Amount: $2,000 to the librarian, up to $1,000 travel and housing reimbursement to attend the AASL Awards Ceremony, and a $5,000 book donation by Penguin Random House
Deadline: The application for this award is currently closed. The next award cycle will open on September 1, 2024, and will close on February 1, 2025.
Overview
Roald Dahl’s Miss Honey Social Justice Award recognizes and encourages collaboration and partnerships between school librarians and teachers in teaching social justice through joint planning of a program, unit or event in support of social justice using school library resources. The award is to acknowledge teaching by school librarians and the use of school library resources to convey a child’s sense of justice as exemplified by many of the characters in the works of Roald Dahl. The Roald Dahl’s Miss Honey Social Justice Award recognizes AASL members who have collaboratively designed a lesson, event, or course of study on social justice. The award is named for Miss Honey, a character in Dahl’s “Matilda,” honoring the way many of Roald Dahl’s books convey a child’s sense of social justice. In “Matilda,” Miss Honey is a nurturing educator who supports the title character, a gifted young girl in an unkind home.
Eligibility
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The school librarian must be a personal member of AASL.
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The applicants will be a school librarian who has worked with a teacher(s) to execute a project, event, or program to further social justice using resources of the school library.
Criteria
The following criteria will be used in the selection process:
- The librarian has made a significant effort to teach the concept of social justice in creative, inspiring ways. This might include, but not be limited to, teaching about civil liberties, human rights, international justice, genocide studies, and local issues of justice. For example, applicants may design a special lesson, course of study, create a school or district project, or lead their students in some way to address social justice.
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Close attention will be focused on applicants who follow the “spirit” of social justice in their classroom; namely, those who possess the ability to expose injustice while at the same time inspiring their students to repair the world through justice, service, or advocacy.
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The project will be judged on:
- The degree of joint effort, over a significant period of time, between the school librarian and classroom teacher(s);
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The use of appropriate school library resources to convey a child’s sense of justice as exemplified by many of the characters in the works of Roald Dahl.
Download Criteria & Rating Sheets 
* Please note: This downloadable version is for informational purposes only. All applications must be submitted online, via the Apply Now button that will appear at the top of the page when the next award season opens in early September.
Questions
Allison Cline 
Deputy Executive Director
Recipients
| Year | Recipient | School |
| 2024 | "The First Amendment and the Freedom to Read” Arlene Laverde, School Librarian, and Charlene Levi, Joshua Krinsky, and Chris Morrison, History Teachers |
Townsend Harris High School Flushing, New York |
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| 2023 | Julia Bourland and Mia Gittlen, School Librarians, and Lauren Konopka and Matthew Williams, 7th-grade Humanities teachers | Prospect Sierra School El Cerrito, California |
| 2022 | Sarah Sansbury, School Librarian, and Emma O'Connor, 4th Grade Teacher | Dunwoody Elementary School Dunwoody, Georgia |
| 2021 | Jennifer Northrup, Hali House, Kelley Feagin, and Katie Jane Morris | Gwin Elementary School Hoover, Alabama |
| 2020 | Cassy Lee, Alice Woodman-Russell, and Jack Crow | Chinese American International School San Francisco, California |
| 2019 | Joquetta Johnson | Randallstown High School Randallstown, Maryland |
| 2018 | Keungsuk Sexton, Louis DeCarlo, Omar Alvarez, & Janice Alvarez | Dr. Michael Conti School - PS 5 Jersey City, New Jersey |
| 2017 | Anne Mlod & Cinda Gilmore | Genesee Elementary School Auburn, New York |
| 2016 | Ann Yawornitsky, Jennifer Sarnes & Melissa Zawaski | Wilson Southern Middle School Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania |
| 2015 | Angela Hartman | Hutto High School Hutto, Texas |
| 2014 | Betsy Lobmeyer | Plymell Elementary Garden City, Kansas |
"Winning the AASL Roald Dahl's Miss Honey's Social Justice Award for our project "The First Amendment and the Freedom to Read" is a testament to our dedication in empowering students. Collaborating with the school library, we educate students on their First Amendment rights, emphasizing the importance of protecting their freedom to read by participating in government. This recognition validates our commitment to social justice and equipping students with the skills to defend their intellectual freedom."