Honored and humbled. That’s how I feel about the awards my books have garnered. But more meaningful than any awards are the many thoughtful comments from readers who have enjoyed the books!
Personal Awards
- 2011 Recipient of the de Grummond Medallion for “lifetime contribution to the field of children’s and young adult literature.”
- Robert Marshall Award – “the highest award given by The Wilderness Society to a citizen who advances the cause of American conservation”
- Redwoods Muse Award – given by California’s Save the Redwoods League for “inspiring people of all ages and descriptions to protect the world’s tallest trees”
Book Awards
Atlantis Saga
- 2016 International Book Awards Winner – Fiction: Fantasy
- 2016 International Book Awards Winner – Fiction: Young Adult
- 2014 Nautilus Book Award (“Better books for a better world.”) — Gold Award Winner, Young Adult Fiction
- 2014 USA Best Book Awards – Fiction: Fantasy
- 2013 LM_Net Librarians – Best Books List
- 2013 Moonbeam Children’s Book Award (“Celebrating youthful curiosity & diversity through books & reading.”) – Silver Award Winner
- 2013 LongandShortReviews.com – October Book of the Month
- 2016 Best Book Awards Winner – Fiction: Fantasy
- 2016 Best Book Awards Winner – Fiction: Young Adult
- 2015 Nautilus Book Award (“Better books for a better world.”) – Silver Award Winner, Young Adult Fiction
- 2017 Moonbeam Children’s Book Award (“Celebrating youthful curiosity & diversity through books & reading.”) – Gold Award Winner, Pre-Teen Fiction – Fantasy
- 2016 Nautilus Book Award (“Better books for a better world.”) – Silver Award Winner, Young Adult Fiction
The Merlin Saga
The Lost Years of Merlin epic
- 2014 Hypable.com – Named one of “Five Books That Change Lives” by Hypable.com
- 2009 Pennsylvania Reading Olympics Book List
- 2006 Named in “500 Great Books for Teens” by Anita Silvey
- 2003 American Library Association — Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults
- 2000 Virginia Young Readers List
- 2000 Georgia Children’s Book Award — Nominee
- 2000 Massachusetts Children’s Book Award — Nominee
- 1999 Texas Lone Star Book
- 1999 South Carolina Book Award — Master List
- 1998 South Carolina Young Adult Book Award — Nominee
- 1998 ABA Children’s Books Mean Business List
- 1997 Colorado Book Award — Nominee
- 1997 Children’s Book Council — “Not Just For Children Anymore” List
- 1997 American Library Association — Best Books for Young Adults
- 1997 The New York Public Library — Best Books for the Teen Age
- 2011 Pennsylvania Reading Olympics Book List
- 2002 BookReview.com — Book of the Month
- 1999 International Reading Association — Young Adults’ Choice List
- 1998 Curriculum Administrator Magazine — Top 100
- 1998 Children’s Book Council — “Not Just For Children Anymore” Award
- 1998 ABA Children’s Books Mean Business List
- 1998 Colorado Book Award — Nominee
- 1998 ALA Booklist — Top Ten Science Fiction/Fantasy Novels
- 1998 American Library Association — Best Books for Young Adults Nominee
- 2000 Colorado Children’s Book Award — Nominee
- 1999 Voice of Youth Advocates — Best Books of the Year
- 1999 ALA Booklist — Top 10 Science Fiction/Fantasy Novels
- 1999 Administrator Magazine — Top 100 Curriculum
- 1999 Reading Circle of the Missouri State Teachers Association Award
- 1999 Westchester County Library System (New York) — Outstanding Books of the Year
- 1999 American Library Association — Best Books for Young Adults Nominee
- 2000 Colorado Book Award — Nominee
- 2002 Bank Street College of Education — Best Children’s Books of the Year
- 2001 Nautilus Book Award (“Better books for a better world.”) — Grand Prize Winner
- 2001 ALA Booklist — Top 10 Science Fiction/Fantasy Novels
- 2000 Colorado Book Award — Nominee
- 2000 BookSense Bestseller
Merlin’s Dragon trilogy
- 2010 M. Jerry Weiss Book Award given by the New Jersey Reading Association
- 2010 German Book of the Month Selection (Tipp des Monats)
- 2009 Nautilus Book Award (“Better books for a better world.”)
- 2009 Moonbeam Children’s Book Award (“Celebrating youthful curiosity & diversity through books & reading.”) – Silver Award Winner
- 2008 Best Children’s Books selected by LM-Net
- 2010 Nautilus Book Award (“Better books for a better world.”) — Gold Winner
- 2010 Moonbeam Children’s Book Award (“Celebrating youthful curiosity & diversity through books & reading.”) — Gold Award Winner
- 2011 Nautilus Book Award (“Better books for a better world.”) — Gold Winner
- 2011 Moonbeam Children’s Book Award (“Celebrating youthful curiosity & diversity through books & reading.”) — Gold Award Winner
The Great Tree of Avalon trilogy
Book 9: The Great Tree of Avalon
- 2006 New York Times Series bestseller
- 2005 Nautilus Book Award (“Better books for a better world.”) — Grand Prize Winner
- 2008 Bertelsmann Book Club Selection (Germany)
- 2005 Colorado Book Award — Nominee
- 2004 New York Times bestseller
- 2004 American Library Association — Best Book for Young Adults Nominee
- 2006 New York Times Series bestseller
- 2006 American Library Association — Best Book for Young Adults Nominee
- 2005 BookSense Pick
- 2007 Nautilus Book Award (“Better books for a better world.”) — Grand Prize Winner
- 2006 New York Times Series bestseller
- 2008 Blue Spruce Young Adult Award — Finalist
- 2007 Colorado Book Award — Finalist
The Merlin Saga Companion
Book 12: Merlin: The Book of Magic
- 2014 USA Best Book Awards – Finalist in Fiction: Fantasy
- 2014 USA Best Book Awards – Finalist in Fiction: Young Adult
Adventures of Kate Books
- 2016 Nautilus Book Award (“Better books for a better world.”) — Silver Award Winner, Middle Grades Fiction
- 2014 The Huffington Post — Named One of the Nine Best Trees in Literature
- 2007 Wenatchee, Washington — Community Discussion Book of the Year
- 2002 Steamboat Springs, Colorado — Community Discussion Book of the Year
- 1995 Pacific Northwest Library Association — Young Readers’ Choice Award Nominee
- 1994 International Reading Association — Young Adult Choice List
- 1994 Colorado Blue Spruce Award — Nominee
- 1994 Georgia Children’s Book Award — Nominee
- 1994 PEN Center USA West Literary Award — Nominee
- 1993 American Library Association — Best Books for Young Adults Nominee
- 1993 The New York Public Library — Best Books for the Teen Age
- 1992 Colorado Book Award — Nominee
- 1992 Parents Magazine — Best Books of 1992
- 1992 Voice of Youth Advocates — Best Books of the Year
Heartlight Saga Combined Edition
- 2014 USA Best Book Awards – Fiction: Young Adult
- 2014 National Parenting Publications Honors Award
- 1991 Buzzworm, The Environmental Journal Pick
- 2000 Best of the Texas Lone Star Reading Lists
- 1998 Utah Book Award
- 1997 Texas Lone Star Book
- 1996 Kansas State Reading Circle Award
- 1996 Colorado Blue Spruce Award — Nominee
- 1995 Colorado Book Award
Chapter Books
- 2004 Massachusetts Children’s Book Award — Nominee
- 2002 Junior Library Guild Selection
- 2002 BookReview.com — Book of the Month
- 2002 Bank Street College of Education — Best Children’s Books of the Year
Nonfiction Books
- 2016 International Book Awards Finalist – Young Adult Non-Fiction
- 2015 USA Best Book Award — Young Adult Non-Fiction
- 2015 Nonfiction Book Awards — Gold Award
- 2010 Burr Elementary, Fairfield, Connecticut All-school Book Choice
- 2008 Baltimore, Maryland — Calvert Hall College HS Community Discussion Book
- 2008 Burlington, Washington — High School Community Discussion Book
- 2008 Springfield, Pennsylvania — Community Discussion Book of the Year
- 2007 Utah Student Library Advisor Community Reading Selection
- 2007 Davis, Utah — Community Discussion Book of the Year
- 2005 International Reading Association — Teachers’ Choice
- 2004 Nautilus Book Award (“Better books for a better world.”) — Grand Prize Winner
- 2003 Book-of-the-Month Club Selection
- 2002 Colorado Book Award — Nominee
- 2016 Best Book Awards Finalist – Self-Help: Motivational
- 2016 Best Book Awards Finalist – Spirituality: Inspirational
- 2016 Moonbeam Children’s Book Award (“Celebrating youthful curiosity & diversity through books & reading.”) – Gold Medal Winner, Mind-Body-Spirit / Self-Esteem Category
- 2016 International Book Awards Winner – Self-Help Motivational
Picture Books
- 2008 Storytelling World Award — Best Books for Young Readers
- 2008 Nautilus Book Award (“Better books for a better world.”) — Gold Award Winner, Illustrated Children’s Books
- 2008 Colorado Book Award — Finalist
- 2007 Virginia Readers’ Choice Award — Nominee
- 2012 Nautilus Book Award (“Better books for a better world.”) — Silver Award Winner, Illustrated Children’s Books
- 2012 Character Building Counts — Gold Seal Award (“celebrating honor, integrity, honesty, and decency — in essays and books”)
- 2010 Burr Elementary, Fairfield, Connecticut All-school Book Choice
- 2005 Arkansas Diamond Award — Nominee
- 2005 Nautilus Book Award (“Better books for a better world.”) — Finalist
- 2005 Colorado Book Award — Nominee
- 2004 Junior Library Guild Selection
- 2003 Book-of-the-Month Selection for El Paso, Texas Language to Literacy Program (April)
- 2001 Maryland Children’s Book Award — Nominee
- 2000 Colorado Book Award — Nominee
- 2000 Texas Bluebonnet Award — Nominee
- 2000 New Jersey Educational Media Association — Best Books of the Year
- 2000 Book-of-the-Month for University of Wisconsin’s Center for Children’s Literature
Nature Books
- 1994 Colorado Book Award — Nominee
Rocky Mountain National Park: A 100 Year Perspective
- 1996 Colorado Book Award
Audio Books
The Merlin Saga – Great Tree of Avalon Trilogy
Book 9: The Great Tree of Avalon
- 2005 School Library Journal — Audio Book of the Week