Schneider Family Book Award

The Schneider Family Book Award honors books for young people that show the experience of living with a disability with artistry and accuracy. Dr. Katherine Schneider and her family endowed the award in 2003, and the American Library Association presented it for the first time in 2004. Awards are given in three age bands: younger children, middle grade and teens.

The committee reads the year's English-language books for young readers, looking for stories in which a main or secondary character has a disability that is treated as one aspect of a complete life rather than something to pity or fix. Each band can have one or more winners and honor books. Winners receive a plaque and a cash prize, and the results are announced each winter at the ALA Youth Media Awards.

Books for readers from early childhood through age 18, published in English in the year before the award, that feature a character with a disability portrayed accurately and with dignity.