Just as in the United States, book awards are awarded in many other countries.
The Batchelder Award is awarded to American publishers for a children's book that is both published in a foreign country and written in a foreign language. It is later translated into English and published in the United States. The 2010 Batchelder award winner is A Faraway Island which was originally published in Sweden.
Hans Christian Andersen Medals are awarded every two years to one author and one illustrator in recognition of his or her entire work. Some past winners were from Norway, Austria, and Japan.
The Dromkeen Medal is awarded to an Australian citizen for recent work that makes a significant contribution to the appreciation and development of children's literature.
The Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People is awarded annually to reward a Canadian author for excellence in the writing of an outstanding work of historical fiction for young readers.
The Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz Prize is awarded to Spanish women writers. The chosen book is also translated into English for publication.
Some other awards that are distributed internationally are the Kate Greenaway Medal (UK), The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (not country specific), and the Environment Award for Children's Literature (AUS).
I have also read a few books that were first published in a country other than the United States and then reprinted and made available in the States. Read my critiques of internationally published children's books.
Source:
Department of Education. 2010. Retrieved July 11, 2010
http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/fiction/awards/aw3.htm
