The Krout and Elmore Children’s Book Award for Best Portrayal of Aging from the Gerontological Society of America is awarded each year to recognize realistic portrayals of older adults in picture books for children.*
Each year, one “Awardee” and possible “Honorable Mentions” will be recognized. Books must portray meaningful aging through the text and illustrations.
*We use the Caldecott Medal definition: “A ‘picture book for children, ’ as distinguished from other books with illustrations, is one that essentially provides the child with a visual experience. A picture book has a collective unity of storyline, theme, or concept developed through the series of pictures of which the book is comprised. A ‘picture book for children’ is one for which children are an intended potential audience. The book displays respect for children’s understanding, abilities, and appreciation. Children are defined as persons of ages up to and including fourteen, and picture books for this entire age range are to be considered.”
John A. Krout received his Ph.D. in sociology from Pennsylvania State University in 1977 and joined the faculty at SUNY-Fredonia. He left Fredonia in 1993 to serve as the founding Director of the Ithaca College Gerontology Institute and retired as a Professor Emeritus of Gerontology in 2012. During his career, he authored/edited seven books, wrote over 70 book chapters and articles, and made some 125 presentations at national and state conferences. His research focused on rural aging, community-based services, and the impact of residential environments on elder well-being. His many interactions with undergraduates, practitioners, and community members led to a recognition of the need to better educate younger people about aging, especially through K-12 curriculums, to help ensure a better understanding of older adults and a greater interest in careers in aging among the general population. He worked with colleagues at AGHE and now GSA for over a decade to formalize an interest group to further K-12 aging curriculum initiatives, including the recognition of teachers and books that focus on aging. Along with Elizabeth Elmore and others, he championed the effort to create the award for outstanding children’s books that portray aging accurately and realistically from which this award evolved.
Dr. Krout is a past president of the State Society on Aging of New York (SSA), a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, and a charter fellow of the Association of Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE). Among his honors are the Walter M. Beattie Award from SSA, the Mildred M. Seltzer Distinguished Service Recognition, and the Clark Tibbitts Award, both from AGHE.
Elizabeth (Betty) Elmore, Ph.D., FAGHE, was co-founder and longtime leader of AGHE’s Children’s Book Award as a member of the AGHE Task Force on K-12 Education. Betty, who passed away late in 2022, spent five decades teaching economics, gerontology, and general education courses at Stockton University. Throughout her life, she was a trailblazer: the first female instructor in economics at the University of Notre Dame (MA, 1972, PhD, 1976); a founding faculty member at Stockton State College (now University), where she helped establish Stockton’s gerontology and women’s studies programs and served as the first female moderator of Stockton’s Faculty Assembly.
She served on AGHE’s Executive Committee (2014-2016). At other times, she served on AGHE’s Business and Aging Committee, Advancement Committee, and Public Policy Committee and was a regular presenter at AGHE’s Annual Meetings. In 2019, she was pivotal in obtaining Stockton’s membership in the Age-Friendly University Global Network (AFU) via AGHE’s Academic Program Development Committee.
Elizabeth and her husband Richard established the Frances Leonilda Acerra Christopher Endowment Fund in honor of her mother to support the Stockton Center on Successful Aging and Gerontology Minor. Stockton renamed the Stockton Center for Financial and Economic Literacy (SCEFL) to the Dr. Elizabeth Elmore Center for Economic Development and Financial Literacy. Housed in Stockton’s School of Education, a significant focus of the center is financial literacy for K-12 teachers and students.
Eligibility Criteria:
To be eligible, a book must have been published in the two calendar years prior to the award year (i.e., books published in 2023 and 2024 are eligible for the 2025 award).
Nomination Process
Nominations are welcome from all society members, as well as from children’s book publishers, librarians, and others. Nominations must be submitted through the GSA award nomination website to be considered.
Review Process
Each member of the review panel will read each book and rate the text and illustrations on a scale of 3 (3 = Outstanding, 2 = Acceptable, and 1 = Poor) on these five criteria:
1. How well does the book portray meaningful aging?
2. How well does the book portray positive intergenerational relations?
3. How well does the book show the diversity of the aging experience?
4. How well does the book engage** its intended audience?
5. How realistically does the book portray aging?
The Honoree and Honorable Mention awards will be given respectively to the books with the highest and second-highest total ratings.
**Engage refers to a quality of fostering interaction or further conversation about the text and illustrations. Examples may include interactive activities, ancillary items that aid in the use of the book, read-alouds on YouTube, study guides/workbooks for classrooms, and more.
Notification
Following the selection of the recipients, GSA will send announcement letters to the author(s) and illustrator(s), the nominator, and the publisher of awardees and honorees. GSA will also notify the American Library Association.