[10] She is also the author of Sea Change: 145 Years of New Zealand Junior Fiction[11] and Introducing Margaret Mahy.

[1] In 1994, Gilderdale received the Margaret Mahy Medal and Lecture Award for her contribution to children's literature.

[15] The Little Yellow Digger won the 2003 Storylines Gaelyn Gordon Award for a Much-loved Book.

[16] A Sea Change: 145 Years of New Zealand Junior Fiction received the PEN Award for best first book of prose.

[17] In the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours, Gilderdale was appointed a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in recognition of services to children's literature.