Calling all kids! Did you know there is a book award voted on and determined by you? It’s true … while it’s all well and good to have a list of books that your parents, teachers, and librarians think are good, this one is even better, because it is created by the kids who are actually reading the books.
Voting is now open for the Children’s Choice Book Awards. The CCBAs are the kids-lit version of the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, minus the green slime and celebrity host.
Started in 2008 by the Children’s Book Council, the program’s goal is to provide young readers with an opportunity to voice their opinions about the books being written for them and to help develop a reading list that will motivate children to read more and cultivate a love of reading. It is the only national book awards program in which the winners are chosen by kids and teens.
Voting is open until May 3, so there is plenty of time to check out some of the titles you might not have read yet and still get your vote in. The nominees are:
Kindergarten – Grade 2
“Three Hens and a Peacock” by Lester L. Laminack
“Bailey” by Harry Bliss
“Zombie in Love” by Kelly DiPucchio
“Dot” by Patricia Intriago
“Pirates Don’t Take Baths” by John Segal
Grade 3 – Grade 4
“Bad Kitty Meets the Baby” by Nick Bruel (a favorite series of my 2nd grader)
“Squish #1: Super Amoeba” by Jennifer L. Holm
“Sidekicks” by Dan Santat
“The Monstrous Book of Monsters” by Libby Hamilton
“A Funeral in the Bathroom and Other School Bathroom Poems” by Kalli Dakos
Grade 5 – Grade 6
“Racing in the Rain: My Life as a Dog” by Garth Stein
“Okay for Now” by Gary D. Schmidt
“Bad Island” by Doug Tennapel
“Lost and Found” by Shaun Tan (a collection of three short stories)
National Geographic’s “How to Survive Anything: Shark Attack, Lightning, Embarrassing Parents, Pop Quizzes, and Other Perilous Situations” by Rachel Buchholz
Teen
“Divergent” by Veronica Roth (“Divergent” Series – recommended for those who loved “Hunger Games”)
“Clockwork Prince” by Cassandra Clare (“Infernal Devices” series)
“Daughter of Smoke and Bone” by Laini Taylor (“Daughter of Smoke and Bone” series)
“Passion” by Lauren Kate (“Fallen” series)
“Perfect” by Ellen Hopkins
Readers are also able to cast their vote for best author and illustrator of the year. To be eligible, an author/illustrator must be associated with a book published in the previous calendar year. The finalists include:
Author of the Year
Jeff Kinney for “Diary of a Wimpy Kid 6: Cabin Fever”
Christopher Paolini for “Inheritance”
James Patterson for “Middle School, the Worst Years of My Life”
Rick Riordan for “Son of Neptune” (“The Heroes of Olympus”, book 2)
Rachel Renee Russell for “Dork Diaries 3: Tales From a Not-So-Talented Pop Star”
Illustrator of the Year
Felicia Bond for “If You Give a Dog a Donut”
Eric Carle for “The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse”
Anna Dewdney for “Llama Llama Home With Mama”
Victoria Kann for “Silverlicious”
Brian Selznick for “Wonderstruck”
Kids love to be empowered. With so many choices made for them on a daily basis, any opportunity to voice their opinions and make their own choices is relished. The Children’s Book Council gets it. By allowing kids to have their say about what they like to read, they are not only fostering a love of reading, but letting the kids share that love with their peers, encouraging them to be readers as well.
I am a firm believer that any reading is good reading, and I applaud this program for giving the kids a reason to turn off the TV and pick up a book.
To vote, please visit www.bookweekonline.com/voting
