NEW YORK, NY — 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 at a gala in New York City this evening. Children across the country voted for their favorite books, author, and illustrator at bookstores, school libraries, and at www.BookWeekOnline.com, casting over 115,000 votes.

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 (Little, Brown)

Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year: Lulu the Big Little Chick by Paulette Bogan (Bloomsbury USA)

Third Grade to Fourth Grade Book of the Year: Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Knopf/Random House)

Fifth Grade to Sixth Grade Book of the Year: Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renée Russell (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster)

Teen Choice Book of the Year: Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press)

The Children’s Choice Book Awards program, launched in 2008 by the Children’s Book Council (CBC) in association with Every Child a Reader, Inc. (the CBC Foundation), 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 more and cultivate a love of reading.

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 goals of the Children’s Book Council are 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. For more information, visit www.cbcbooks.org.

Every Child a Reader, the CBC Foundation, is dedicated to supporting positive programs and opportunities that help promote the enjoyment and importance of reading among America’s youth. Every Child a Reader is the administrator of such impactful programs as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and Children’s Book Week. For more information, visit www.ECARfoundation.org.

Cynsational Notes

In the video below, Rachel talks about Dork Diaries #2: