She has won several awards in her field, most notably the 1997 Multicultural Educator of the Year award from the National Association for Multicultural Education, the 2005 Educator of the Year Award from the National Council of Teachers of English, and honorary doctorates from Lesley University (1999), Bridgewater State College (2004), and DePaul University (2007).
English | English language | National Football League | National Register of Historic Places | National Hockey League | English people | England national football team | National Basketball Association | National Science Foundation | National Geographic | National Trust | National Endowment for the Arts | English Civil War | National Geographic Society | Argentina national football team | National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty | National Park Service | National League | Australian National University | National Guard | National Geographic Channel | Second Vatican Council | National Institutes of Health | English Channel | National Guard of the United States | National Collegiate Athletic Association | World Boxing Council | United States National Research Council | National Portrait Gallery | National Academy of Sciences |
Midnight Hour Encores was chosen best book of 1986 by SLJ, a best book for young adults by the ALA, Horn Book Fanfare Honor List book in 1987, teacher's choice by the National Council of Teachers of English that same year, a young adult choice by the International Reading Association in 1988, and an ALA Booklist "best of the 1980s" book for young adults.
In 1995, Lies of Our Times won the Orwell Award, given out annually by the National Council of Teachers of English for outstanding contributions to the critical analysis of public discourse.