THE GIVING SQUARE SELECTS
The Giving Square Selects is a national award program for books that encourage readers to do good in their world.
The Problem
There is an explosion of children’s titles focused on civics, kindness, social issues, and community action. With an increase in published titles comes a wide range in the quality of storytelling, intended messaging, and appeal to children. While adults may have the best of intentions to introduce messages of empathy and civic responsibility to children, it is difficult to quickly evaluate the quality of given titles.
The Solution
Our goal is to discern the best available picture books that help kids:
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Develop empathic connections to pressing social issues
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Explore their own unique philanthropic* capacity
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Understand the broader responsibility we all have to help each other
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Connect with a range of universal challenges** that kids and adults might face.
*Philanthropy defined: Giving of oneself for the good of others.
**Universal Challenges: loss, fear, hunger/thirst, feeling overwhelmed, pain/sickness, loneliness, hopelessness, being misunderstood or judged.
The Process
The annual Giving Square Selects process includes the following steps:
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Members of The Giving Square Network nominate high-quality books that build empathy, connect readers to social issues, and unlock ideas for how to give back.
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The 30+ nominated titles are then vetted by kids at various community pop-ups over the summer with partners such as Turning the Page.
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The top 10 titles are then reviewed in September by kids across our school partner sites. In 2025 we gathered over 1,000 book reviews from kids across 12+ sites.
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From there, the TGS Selects Committee reviews the kid reviews for popularity and depth of takeaways.
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When the winners are announced, we then distribute display materials to school libraries and book stores. Reach out to request the materials for your store or library!
2025 WINNERS
Otter Carries On
Written and illustrated by Maya Tatsukawa
Published by Henry Holt and Company
At The Window
Written by Hope Lim
Illustrated by Qin Leng
Published by Candlewick Press
I Am Stuck
Written and illustrated by Julia Mills
Published by Clarion Books
LOVE
Written by Matt de la Peña
Illustrated by Loren Long
Published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons
What's The Rush?
Written and illustrated by Yiting Lee
Published by Princeton Architectural Press
We would like to extend our thanks to those that helped identify our 2025 award-winners, including over 1,000 kids who gave us their honest feedback on several books. We also thank the many advisors and experts who participated in the selection process including Politics and Prose, Melanie Goldstein, Donna Wells, Maria Salvadore, Heidi Yoon, Nehal Gandhi, Karen Leggett, Rebecca Silverman, and Jean Dugan.
2024 WINNERS
Dessert Island
Written and Illustrated by Ben Zhu
Published by Roaring Brook Press
Lubna and Pebble
Written by Wendy Meddour
Illustrated by Daniel Egnéus
Published by Dial Books for Young Readers
Strictly No Elephants
Written by Lisa Mantchev
Illustrated by Taeeun Yoo
Published by Simon & Schuster
Thank You, Omu!
Author and Illustrator Oge Mora
Published by Little Brown and Company
Walter Finds His Voice
Author and Illustrator Ann Kim Ha
Published by Red Comet Press
2023 WINNERS
The Proudest Blue
Written by Ibtihaj Muhammad with S.K. Ali
Illustrated by Hatem Aly
Published by Little, Brown and Company
Lubna and Pebble
Written by Wendy Meddour
Illustrated by Daniel Egnéus
Published by Dial Books for Young Readers
Benji, the Bad Day, and Me
Written by Sally J. Pla
Illustrated by Ken Min
Published by Lee & Low Books Inc.
The One Day House
Written by Julia Durango
Illustrated by Bianca Diaz
Published by Charlesbridge
The Wave
Written and illustrated by Tyler Charlton
Published by Roaring Brook Press
Strictly No Elephants
Written by Lisa Mantchev
Illustrated by Taeeun Yoo
Published by Simon & Schuster