The Lewis Carroll Shelf Award was an American literary award conferred on children's books by the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Education annually from 1958 to 1979. Award-winning books were deemed to "belong on the same shelf" as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll, having enough of the qualities of his work.
Seventeen books were awarded in 1958, including only two from the 1950s. Seven were named in 1979, all except two from the 1970s. Although short, the last class was also diverse, with one wordless picture book, The Snowman (1978) by Raymond Briggs, and one fictionalized biography, The Road from Home (1979) by David Kherdian, about his mother's childhood during the Armenian genocide and its aftermath.
The selection process included nominations by trade paperback editors, who were permitted to name one book annually from their trade catalogs. The Component Analysis Selector Tool rated trade books on authenticity, universality, insight, symbol systems–craftsmanship, impact, genre comparison, field setting of reader and test of time. The purpose was to identify and promote outstanding thoughts among the mediocre communications available in an open society.
The list was established by Dr. David C. Davis with the assistance of Professor Lola Pierstorff, Director Instructional Materials Center, University of Wisconsin, and Madeline Allen Davis, WHA Wisconsin Public Radio. Awards were announced and presented at the annual Wisconsin Book Conference, which featured speakers such as Dr. Seuss, William Steig, Helga Sandburg, Arna Bontemps, Nat Hentoff, Paul Engle, Jean George, Ed Emberley, Charlemae Rollins, Watts poet Jimmy Sherman, Maurice Sendak, Holling C. Holling, Pamela Travers, Ann Nolan Clark, Louise Lemp, Frank Luther, and Ramon Coffman (Uncle Ray).Award List. "Lewis Carroll Shelf Award Winners", Lewis Carroll Shelf Award Collection, Living Arts Corporation, Loveland, Colorado. Carlson, Laura, and Sean Creighton and Sheila Cunningham, eds. (1996). Literary laurels: a reader's guide to award-winning children's books. Hillyard. . pp. 25–34.
Winners
1958 Beatrix Potter, The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902) ‡ Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows (1908), originally unillustrated Hugh Lofting, The Story of Doctor Dolittle (1920) ‡ A. A. Milne, The World of Pooh – comprising Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928), illus. E. H. Shepard Wanda Gág, Millions of Cats (1928) ‡ Watty Piper, The Little Engine That Could (1930), illus. Lois Lenski Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House in the Big Woods (1932), illus. Helen Sewell Carol Ryrie Brink, Caddie Woodlawn (1935), illus. Kate Seredy Glen Rounds, Ol' Paul, the Mighty Logger (1936) ‡ James Cloyd Bowman, Pecos Bill: The Greatest Cowboy of All Time (1937), illus. Laura Bannon Richard and Florence Atwater, Mr. Popper's Penguins (1938), illus. Robert Lawson Esphyr Slobodkina, Caps for Sale (1938) ‡ Dr. Seuss, Horton Hatches the Egg (1940) ‡ Rachel Field, Prayer for a Child (1944), illustrated by Elizabeth Orton Jones who won the annual Caldecott Medal for that work Catherine Cate Coblentz, The Blue Cat of Castle Town (1949), illus. Janice Holland Eleanor Farjeon, The Little Bookroom (1955), illus. Edward Ardizzone René Guillot, The 397th White Elephant (1957), illus. Christian Heinrich
‡ illustrated by the author
1959 Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden (1911) Maj Lindman, Snipp, Snapp, Snurr and the Red Shoes; originally a Swedish series (1920s) Laura E. Richards, Tirra Lirra: New Rhymes and Old (1932) Jean de Brunhoff, Story of Babar (1933); originally French, Histoire de Babar (1931) ‡ Kate Seredy, The White Stag (1937) ‡ Claire Huchet Bishop, The Five Chinese Brothers (1938), illus. Kurt Wiese Armstrong Sperry, Call It Courage (1940) ‡ Virginia Lee Burton, The Little House (1942) ‡ Carolyn Treffinger, Li Lun, Lad of Courage (1947), illus. Kurt Wiese Leon Wilson, This Boy Cody (1950), illus. Ursula Koering E. B. White, Charlotte's Web (1952), illus. Garth Williams Alice Dalgliesh, The Courage of Sarah Noble (1954), illus. Leonard Weisgard Philippa Pearce, The Minnow Leads to Treasure (US); originally Minnow on the Say (1955)
‡ illustrated by the author
1960 Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book (1894), illus. John Lockwood Kipling L. Leslie Brooke, Johnny Crow's Garden: A Picture Book (1903) ‡ Elizabeth Foreman Lewis, Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze (1932), illus. Kurt Wiese Walter D. Edmonds, The Matchlock Gun (1941), illus. Paul Lantz H. A. Rey and Margret Rey, Curious George Takes a Job (1947) ‡ Mary Norton, The Borrowers (1952), illus. Diana Stanley (UK), Beth and Joe Krush (US, 1953), first of the series of five novels and one short story The Borrowers Kathleen Lines, compiler, Lavender's Blue: A Book of Nursery Rhymes (1954), illustrated by Harold Jones † Joseph Krumgold, Onion John (1959) Glen Rounds, The Blind Colt (1960) ‡
‡ illustrated by the author † The British Library Association in 1955 gave illustrator Jones special commendation for its annual Carnegie Medal and established the companion Kate Greenaway Medal for children's book illustration.
1961 Rachel Field, Hitty, Her First Hundred Years (1929), illus. Dorothy P. Lathrop Robert H. Charles, A Roundabout Turn (1930), illus. L. Leslie Brooke Dr. Seuss, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street (1937) ‡ Robert Lawson, Ben and Me (1939) ‡ Doris Gates, Blue Willow (1940), illus. Paul Lantz Eleanor Estes, The Moffats (1941), illus. Louis Slobodkin Marguerite Henry, Misty of Chincoteague (1947) Marguerite de Angeli, The Door in the Wall (1949) ‡ Erich Kästner, When I Was A Little Boy (1959); originally German, Als ich ein kleiner Junge war (1957) – autobiography René Guillot, Grishka and the Bear (1959), illus. Joan Kiddell-Monroe; originally French, Grichka et son ours (1958) Scott O'Dell, Island of the Blue Dolphins (1960), originally unillustrated
‡ illustrated by the author
1962 Hans Christian Andersen, Thumbelina; originally Danish, Tommelise (1835), illus. Vilhelm Pedersen Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), illus. E. W. Kemble Beatrix Potter, The Tailor of Gloucester (1903) ‡ Charles Boardman Hawes, The Dark Frigate (1923) A. A. Milne, The World of Christopher Robin – comprising When We Were Very Young (1924) and Now We Are Six (1927), illus. E. H. Shepard Robert Davis, Padre Porko: The Gentlemanly Pig (1939), illus. Fritz Eichenberg Holling C. Holling, Paddle-to-the-Sea (1941) ‡ Louise Rankin, Daughter of the Mountains (1948), illus. Kurt Wiese C. S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (1950), illus. Pauline Baynes William O. Steele, Winter Danger (1954) Walter de la Mare, A Penny a Day (1960 collection), illus. Paul E. Kennedy Leo Lionni, Inch by Inch (1960) ‡ Sorche Nic Leodhas, Thistle and Thyme: Tales and Legends from Scotland (1962)
‡ illustrated by the author
1963 Charles Kingsley, The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby (1863) Joel Chandler Harris, Uncle Remus, His Songs and Sayings: The Folk-Lore of the Old Plantation (1881), illus. Frederick S. Church and James H. MoserUncle Remus, his songs and his sayings: the folk-lore of the old .... LC Online Catalog. Library of Congress (lccn.loc.gov). Retrieved 2012-10-06. Frank R. Stockton, The Griffin and the Minor Canon (1885) Kenneth Grahame, The Reluctant Dragon (1898), illus. Maxfield Parrish Cornelia Meigs, Invincible Louisa: The Story of the Author of Little Women (1933), biography Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, The Yearling (1938) Robert Lawson, Rabbit Hill (1944) ‡ Eloise Jarvis McGraw, Moccasin Trail (1952) Meindert DeJong, The Wheel on the School (1954), illus. Maurice Sendak Philippa Pearce, Tom's Midnight Garden (1958), illus. Susan Einzig , The Man Who Was Don Quixote: The Story of Miguel Cervantes (1958), biographyThe Man Who Was Don Quixote by Rafaello Busoni. Kirkus Reviews. No date (contemporary to the reviewed book, published October 8, 1958). Retrieved 2012-10-06. Wilhelm Hauff, Dwarf Long Nose (1960), illus. Maurice Sendak; originally German, Der Zwerg Nase (1826) George Selden, The Cricket in Times Square (1960), illus. Garth Williams Jean Merrill, The Superlative Horse: A Tale of Ancient China (1961) Pauline Clarke, The Return of the Twelve (US); originally The Twelve and the Genii (1962), illus. Cecil Leslie Shirley Glubok, The Art of Ancient Egypt (1962)Formats and Editions of The art of ancient Egypt. WorldCat (worldcat.org). Retrieved 2012-10-06. Hertha Seuberlich, Annuzza: A Girl of Romania (1962); originally German 1961(?)Annuza, A Girl of Romania by Hertha Seuberlich. Kirkus Reviews. No date (contemporary to the reviewed book, published October 10, 1962). Retrieved 2012-10-06.
‡ illustrated by the author
1964 Hans Christian Andersen, The Nightingale; originally Danish, Nattergalen (1843), illus. Vilhelm Pedersen Frances Hodgson Burnett, A Little Princess (1905), illus. 1905 by Ethel Franklin Betts Félicité Lefèvre, The Cock, the Mouse, and the Little Red Hen: An Old Tale Retold (1925) Will James, Smoky the Cowhorse (1927), originally unillustrated Marjorie Flack, The Story About Ping (1933), illus. Kurt Wiese Ruth Sawyer, Roller Skates (1936), illus. Valenti Angelo Harold Keith, Rifles for Watie (1957) Aline Glasgow, Old Wind and Liu Li-San (1962), illus. Bernard Glasgow Madeleine L'Engle, A Wrinkle in Time (1962), illus. Ellen Raskin Joan Aiken, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (1963) Helga Sandburg, Joel and the Wild Goose (1963), illus. Thomas Aquinas Daly Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are (1963) ‡ Louisa R. Shotwell, Roosevelt Grady (1963), illus. Peter Burchard Jean Merrill, The Pushcart War (1964), illus. Ronni Solbert Anthony Fon Eisen, Bond of the Fire (1965), illus. W. T. MarsBond of the fire: production material. WorldCat. Retrieved 2015-11-06. Catalog record from one participating library.Bond of the fire (first edition). LC Online Catalog. Library of Congress (lccn.loc.gov). Retrieved 2012-10-13.
‡ illustrated by the author
1965 Jean Craighead George, My Side of the Mountain (1959) Sterling North, Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Era (1963) Irene Hunt, Across Five Aprils (1964), illus. Leroy Jenkins
1966 Robert Louis Stevenson, A Child's Garden of Verses; originally Penny Whistles (1885) James Ramsey Ullman, Banner in the Sky (1954) Agnes Clifford Smith, An Edge of the Forest (1959) Peter Burchard, Jed, The Story of a Yankee Soldier and a Southern Boy (1960) Marcia Brown, Once a Mouse: A Fable Cut in Wood from Ancient India (1961) ‡
‡ illustrated by the author
1967 1967 – Rudyard Kipling, More Just So Stories 1967 – Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer (1876)
1968 L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900); illus. W. W. Denslow Rose Dobbs, No Room: An old story (1944), illus. Fritz Eichenberg Ruth Stiles Gannett, My Father's Dragon (1948) ‡ Margot Benary-Isbert, The Ark (1953); originally German, Die Arche Noah (1948) Stephen Dunning, Edward Lueders, and Hugh Smith, eds., Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle... and other Modern Verse (1966) – anthology of modern poetry William Mayne, Earthfasts (1966) Barbara Emberley, Drummer Hoff (1967), illustrated by Ed Emberley who won the Caldecott Medal for that work E. L. Konigsburg, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (1967) ‡ George Mendoza, The Hunter I Might Have Been (1968), photographs by DeWayne Dalrymple Brinton Turkle, The Fiddler of High Lonesome (1968) ‡ Jane Yolen, The Emperor and the Kite (1968), illustrated by Ed Young who won the Caldecott Medal for that work
‡ illustrated by the author
1969 Hardie Gramatky, Little Toot (1939) ‡ Maureen Daly, Seventeenth Summer (1942) Lucy M. Boston, The Children of Green Knowe (1954) Sid Fleischman, McBroom Tells the Truth (1966), illus. Kurt Werth