Every Child a Reader, the charitable arm of the Children’s Book Council, has revealed the winners and honorees of its 13th annual Children’s and Teen Choice Book Awards—the only national book awards selected exclusively by young readers.
The seven finalists in each of the categories were chosen by children from different regions of the U.S., with supervision by the International Literacy Association. Voting for the winners was held in classrooms, libraries, bookstores, and online at home from September 14–November 15, the last day of fall Children’s Book Week. In response to the coronavirus outbreak, this year’s Book Week celebration was reconfigured into a virtual event.
The winners and honor books in all four categories are:
Children’s Choice Book Award K–Second Grade
Winner: The Good Egg by Jory John, illus. by Pete Oswald (HarperCollins)
Honor: The Babysitter from Another Planet by Stephen Savage (Holiday House/Porter)
Third–Fourth Grade
Winner: Undefeated by Kwame Alexander, illus. by Kadir Nelson (HMH/Versify)
Honor: Mr. Posey’s New Glasses by Ted Kooser, illus. by Daniel Duncan (Candlewick)
Fifth–Sixth Grade
Winner: Guts by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic/Graphix)
Honor: Pandora’s Legacy by Bones Leopard, illus. by Kelly Matthews and Nichole Matthews (BOOM! Studios/KaBOOM!)
Teen Choice Book Award
Winner: Mirror, Mirror: A Twisted Tale by Jen Calonita (Disney-Hyperion)
Honor: Watch Us Rise by Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan (Bloomsbury)
This marks the first time that the awards were announced during the fall Children’s Book Week, as opposed to in the spring, as a way of reaching more students. Also new in 2020: short videos by the finalists were produced in collaboration with KidLitTV.
Shaina Birkhead, associate executive director for the Children’s Book Council and Every Child a Reader, said in a statement, “Each year we love providing the opportunity for kids to make their voices heard. It is an honor to work with the teachers, librarians, and booksellers who connect with kids every day. We also like to introduce new aspects to the award each year, from voting ballots to creator videos, as we did [in 2020].”
