Past Winners Notable Social Studies Book Awards

An annual reading list of exceptional books for use in social studies classrooms, selected by social studies educators.

The Notable Social Studies Trade Book Awards are an annual project of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and the Children’s Book Council (CBC), running since 1972. This award list features K-12 annotated titles published in the previous calendar year that are exceptional books for use in social studies classrooms, selected by social studies educators. The book review committee is appointed by the NCSS.

The selection committee looks for books that emphasize human relations, represent a diversity of groups, and are sensitive to a broad range of cultural experiences, present an original theme or a fresh slant on a traditional topic, are easily readable and of high literary quality, and have a pleasing format and, when appropriate, illustrations that enrich the text.