By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: April 11, 2010
The children have spoken! On May 11, 2010, The Children’s Book Council (CBC) in association with Every Child a Reader, Inc. (the CBC Foundation), announced the winners of the third annual Children’s Choice Book Awards.
The CBC created the awards program to allow young readers 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. The favorite book finalists for this year were determined by close to 15,000 children and teens from across the country. They voted for their favorite books, author, and illustrator at bookstores, school libraries, and at The Children’s Book Council.
The Children’s Choice Book Award winners are as follows:
Author of the Year
James Patterson for MAX: A Maximum Ride Novel (Little, Brown)
Illustrator of the Year
Peter Brown for The Curious Garden
Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year
by Paulette Bogan
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Synopsis: Lulu the chicken is little…but wants to be big. Paulette Bogan’s humor and timeless kid-friendly style are irresistible.
Lulu the little chicken is sick of being told she’s too little to do things…so she decides to run away where no one will tell her what to do. And when the horse, and sheep and cow and everyone seem to get in her way, it only makes her more determined. But when she finally gets far far away, what happens when a loud crow scares her? Next time, she’ll take her momma with her!
Third Grade to Fourth Grade Book of the Year
Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute
by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Publisher: Knopf/Random House
Synopsis: Serving justice . . . and lunch!
Hector, Terrence, and Dee have always wondered about their school lunch lady. What does she do when she isn’t dishing out the daily special? Where does she live? Does she have a lot of cats at home? Little do they know, Lunch Lady doesn’t just serve sloppy joes—she serves justice! Whatever danger lies ahead, it’s no match for LUNCH LADY!
Fifth Grade to Sixth Grade Book of the Year
Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life
by Rachel Renee Russell
Publisher: Aladdin/Simon & Schuster
Synopsis: New school. New mean girl. New crush.
New diary so Nikki can spill about all of it…
Teen Choice Book of the Year
Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games)
by Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Synopsis: Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge!
Congratulations to all of the winners and finalists!
2 Comments
Wow, I’m actually really surprised with the choices. While these are good books, I really don’t agree that they are the best books of the year. Catching Fire was not as good as even Hunger Games in my opinion. And, Dork Diaries reminds me of Junie B. for tweens — I’m not the biggest fan.
Were you surprised?
Surprised … I would say I am more intrigued by the list. I think it’s really interesting to see the choices that children make for themselves. It’s fabulous that they are given the opportunity to voice their opinion. I believe that being in control of selecting one’s own reading material is a very powerful tool in creating lifelong readers.
I loved Peter Brown’s The Curious Garden—very happy about that. I would say that this is a great list for reluctant readers.