NEW YORK, NY–The Children’s Book Council (CBC) in association with the CBC Foundation, launches the Children’s Choice Book Awards program with the announcement of 25 finalists in five categories. The Children’s Choice Book Awards program was created 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. Children will be able to cast their vote for their favorite books, author, and illustrator at bookstores, school libraries, and at www.BookWeekOnline.com until May 4.
The Children’s Choice Book Award winners will be announced live at the Children’s Choice Book Award gala on May 13 in New York City as part of Children’s Book Week (May 12-18, 2008), the oldest national literacy event in the United States. This initiative is a new component of Children’s Book Week and follows on the heels of the appointment of the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, a national program initiated by the Library of Congress and Children’s Book Council.
“The program will allow children from across the country to discover what other children like to read,” said Robin Adelson, Executive Director at Children’s Book Council. “We believe that by empowering children to express their opinions, it will positively impact their perspective and interest in books and bring a renewed excitement to reading.”
The Children’s Choice Book Award finalists are as follows:
Favorite Book for Grades K-2
Dino Dinners, by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom (Holiday House)
Five Little Monkeys Go Shopping by Eileen Christelow (Clarion)
Frankie Stein written by Lola M. Schaefer, illustrated by Kevan Atteberry (Marshall Cavendish)
Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark written by Ken Geist, illustrated by Julia Gorton (Cartwheel Books/Scholastic)
Tucker’s Spooky Halloween by Leslie McGuirk (Candlewick Press)
Favorite Book for Grades 3-4
Babymouse: Camp Babymouse by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm (Random House)(illustrator interview)
Big Cats by Elaine Landau (Enslow Publishers)
Monday With a Mad Genius written by Mary Pope Osborne, illustrated by Sal Murdocca (Random House)
The Richest Poor Kid written by Carl Sommer, illustrated by Jorge Martinez (Advance Publishing)
Wolves by Duncan Searl (Bearport)
Favorite Book for Grades 5-6
Beowulf: Monster Slayer written by Paul D. Storrie, illustrated by Ron Randall (Lerner)
Encyclopedia Horrifica: The Terrifying Truth about Vampires, Ghosts, Monsters, and More by Joshua Gee (Scholastic Paperbacks)
Ghosts by Stephen Krensky (Lerner)
The Short and Incredibly Happy Life of Riley by Amy Lissiat and Colin Thompson (Kane/Miller)
When the Shadbush Blooms written by Carla Messinger with Susan Katz, illustrated by David Kanietakeron Fadden (Tricycle Press)
2007 Author of the Year
Anthony Horowitz, Snakehead (Alex Rider Adventure) (Philomel/Penguin)
Erin Hunter, Warriors, Powers of Three: The Sight (HarperCollins)
Jeff Kinney, Diary of Wimpy Kid (Abrams)
Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Titan’s Curse (Disney Book Group)(author interview)
J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Scholastic)
2007 Illustrator of the Year
Jan Brett, Three Snow Bears (Putnam/Penguin)
Ian Falconer, Olivia Helps with Christmas (Simon & Schuster)
Robin Preiss Glasser, Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy (HarperCollins)
Brian Selznick, The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Scholastic)
Mo Willems, Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity (Disney Book Group)
The finalists were determined from the IRA-CBC Children’s Choices program, a joint project of the International Reading Association (IRA) and the CBC since 1975. Publishers submit hundreds of titles to be evaluated and voted on by 10,000 children. The Author and Illustrator of the Year finalists were selected from a review of bestseller lists by the CBC and CBC Foundation.
About the Children’s Book Council
The Children’s Book Council, established in 1945, is the nonprofit trade association of publishers of trade books for children and young adults in the United States. The CBC promotes the use and enjoyment of trade books for young people, most prominently as the official sponsor of Children’s Book Week, the longest running literacy event in the country. The goal of the Children’s Book Council is to make the reading and enjoyment of books for young people an essential part of America’s educational and social goals, as well as to enhance the public perception of the importance of reading by disseminating information about books for young people and about children’s book publishing. The CBC Foundation’s “Every Child a Reader” program seeks to harness the collective power of the children’s book publishing industry to create a positive social impact in the nation’s communities.