The Children's Book Council and Every Child a Reader have announced the finalists for this year’s Children’s Choice Book Awards, in seven categories, which young readers across the country will vote for online from Tuesday, March 17 through Sunday, May 3.
The finalists were selected by kids through the Children’s Choices Program, a joint project of the International Literacy Association and the Children’s Book Council in which over 36,000 children from across the U.S. read newly published children’s and YA books and vote for ones they like best. The Teen Book of the Year finalists were chosen by more than 4,000 teens via online voting at Teenreads.com.
The finalists for the Kindergarten to Second Grade category are Duck, Duck, Moose! by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen, illus. by Noah Z. Jones (Disney-Hyperion); Eva and Sadie and the Worst Haircut EVER! by Jeff Cohen, illus. by Ellana Allen (HarperCollins); Frances Dean Who Loved to Dance and Dance by Birgitta Sif (Candlewick); How to Babysit a Grandma by Jean Reagan, illus. by Lee Wildish (Knopf); and A Pet for Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold (Scholastic/Orchard).
For the Third to Fourth Grade category, the finalists are Claude at the Beach by Alex T. Smith (Peachtree); The Glorkian Warrior Delivers a Pizza by James Kochalka (First Second); Happy Birthday, Babymouse by Jennifer L. Holm, illus. by Matt Holm (Random House); Kali’s Story: An Orphaned Polar Bear Rescue by Jennifer Keats Curtis, illus. by John Gomes (Arbordale); and Sisters by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic/Graphix).
The Fifth to Sixth Grade category finalists are Ice Dogs by Terry Lynn Johnson (HMH); Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods by Rick Riordan, illus. by John Rocco (Disney-Hyperion); Temple Run: Race Through Time to Unlock Secrets of Ancient Worlds by Tracey West (National Geographic); The Dumbest Idea Ever! by Jimmy Gownley (Scholastic/Graphix); and The Return of Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke (First Second).
The finalists for Teen Book of the Year are City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare (S&S/McElderry); Cress by Marissa Meyer (Feiwel and Friends); I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World by Malala Yousafzai, co-written by Patricia McCormick (Little, Brown); The One by Kiera Cass (HarperTeen); and We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (Delacorte).
The finalists for the Children’s Choice Debut Author are Cece Bell for El Deafo (Abrams/Amulet); Natalie Lloyd for A Snicker of Magic (Scholastic Press); Katherine Roy for Neighborhood Sharks: Hunting with the Great Whites of California’s Farallon Islands (Roaring Brook/Macaulay Studio); Piers Torday for The Last Wild (Viking); and J.A. White for The Thickety: A Path Begins (HarperCollins/Tegen).
The finalists for the Teen Choice Debut Author are Sally Green for Half Bad (Viking); Jennifer Mathieu for The Truth About Alice (Roaring Brook); Don Mitchell for The Freedom Summer Murders (Scholastic Press); Jason Reynolds for When I Was the Greatest (S&S/Atheneum); and Leslye Walton for The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender (Candlewick).
The finalists for the Children's Choice Illustrator are Chris Appelhans for Sparky by Jenny Offill (Random House/Schwartz & Wade); Steve Light for Have You Seen My Dragon? (Candlewick); Yuyi Morales, with photography by Tim O'Meara for Viva Frida (Roaring Brook/Porter); Christian Robinson for Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio (S&S/Atheneum); and Brian Won for Hooray for Hat! (HMH).
After voting closes, winners will be announced during the 96th annual Children’s Book Week, which takes place May 4–10, 2015.
