Young Reader’s Choice Awards Are Here

The winners for this year’s Young Reader’s Choice Awards have been announced. This year the votes went to Kate DiCamillo’s The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and Stephenie Meyer’s New Moon.

The Young Reader’s Choice Awards are interesting for several reasons. The nominated books all have to have been in publication for three years, the nominees are submitted by students, librarians and parents who live in the Pacific Northwest, and only 4th–12th grade students living in the Pacific Northwest can vote.

I have not read any of the winners this year, and I’m a bit confused that New Moon won since the rules state that sequels in a series can’t be nominated. It may be that the rule has been updated but not changed on the Web site.

I look forward to putting the winners as well as other nominees on my reading list this summer. Find the complete list of nominees for this year and winners and nominees in past years at the Young Reader’s Choice Awards Web site.

Young Reader’s Choice Nominees

Voting for The Young Reader’s Choice awards finished up last week, and results will soon be announced. Each year, the Pacific Northwest Library Association presents this award. Nominations are accepted from children, teachers, parents and librarians in the Pacific Northwest, which includes the U.S. states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington as well as two Canadian provinces—Alberta and British Columbia. Only books that have been in publication for three years can be nominated, and only Pacific Northwest students in 4th through 12th grade can vote. Voting takes place between March 15 and April 15.

Here’s a look at all the nominees for 2009:

Junior Division

• Room One: A Mystery or Two – Andrew Clements
• The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane – Kate DiCamillo
• Homework Machine – Dan Gutman
• The Year of the Dog – Grace Lin
• Rules – Cynthia Lord
• Gossamer – Lois Lowry
• The Higher Power of Lucky – Susan Patron
• To Dance –  Siena Cherson Siegel

Intermediate Division

• The Boy in the Striped Pajamas: A Fable – John Boyne
• Half-Moon Investigations – Eoin Colfer
• Ark Angel – Anthony Horowitz
• The Pinhoe Egg – Diana Wynne Jones
• Fablehaven – Brandon Mull
• Dairy Queen – Catherine Gilbert Murdock
• Small Steps – Louis Sachar
• Endymion Spring – Matthew Skelton

Senior Division

• The Road of the Dead – Kevin Brooks
• Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist – Rachel Cohn
• An Abundance of Katherines – John Green
• The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl – Barry Lyga
• New Moon – Stephenie Meyer
• Life As We Knew It – Susan Beth Pfeffer
• American Born Chinese – Gene Luen Yang
• The Book Thief – Markus Zusak

For more information about past nominees and award winners, visit the Web site:

http://www.pnla.org/yrca/