- The Caldecott Medal (twice): For "The Keeping Quilt" (1998) and "Song of the Trees" (1994).
- The Newbery Honor: For "The Junkyard Wonders" (1996).
- The Boston Globe-Horn Book Award: For "Tikki Tikki Tembo" (1997).
- The Christopher Medal: For "My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother" (1994).
- The IRA Children's Book Award: For "The Keeping Quilt" (1998).
- The Aesop Award: For "The Keeping Quilt" (1998).
- The Jane Addams Peace Award: For her entire body of work.
In addition to these major awards, Polacco has also won numerous state and regional awards for her books.