Golden Sower Award

Just as The Sower sows seeds, symbolizing the agriculture, life and prosperity of the state, the The Golden Sower Award seeks to sow seeds of literacy in children by encouraging them to read. The award became affiliated with the Nebraska Library Association as a committee under the School, Children and Young People’s Section of the NLA in 1985. In 2016, the committee revised the categories of books in order to better describe the generally intended reading levels of the program. The three categories are now: Picture Books: (formerly Primary) generally appropriate for K-2 children; Chapter Books: (formerly Intermediate) intended to be appropriate for grades 3-5; Novel: (formerly young adult) appropriate for grades 6-8. In 2023, the committee revised and renamed the categories, keeping similar grade level designations, but adding an additional category targeted at high school readers. Each year, thousands of Nebraska’s youth participate in the Golden Sower Award by reading titles, talking about the books with others, holding book battles, voting for their favorites, and throwing celebrations for the winners.