Press Release Fun: Children’s Choice Book Awards Voting Now Open!

THE CHILDREN’S BOOK COUNCIL AND EVERY CHILD A READER OPEN VOTING FOR THE CHILDREN’S

AND TEEN CHOICE BOOK AWARDS AT BOOKWEEKONLINE.COM

THE ONLY NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS PROGRAM WHERE THE WINNERS ARE

SELECTED BY YOUNG READERS OF ALL AGES

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York, NY — March 19, 2013 – The Children’s Book Council and Every Child a Reader have opened voting for the 6^th annual Children’s and Teen Choice Book Awards, the only national book awards program where the winning titles are selected by young readers of all ages, at www.bookweekonline.com. 30 finalists have been announced in six categories, representing kids’ and teens’ favorite books, authors, and illustrators of the year. Last year, almost 1,000,000 votes were cast, more than doubling votes from the previous year. Young readers can vote at www.bookweekonline.com or their votes may be tallied and entered by booksellers, librarians, and teachers into the group ballot at www.bookweekonline.com until May 9, 2013.

For the first time this year, the CBC has partnered with DOGObooks (www.dogobooks.com) to create free, embeddable voting widgets, expanding online voting opportunities for young readers everywhere. The widgets are available for publishers, librarians, teachers, and kid lit lovers at www.bookweekonline.com/widgets. DOGObooks will also promote the voting to millions of students and teachers through its award winning news site www.dogonews.com and through its partnerships with leading education platforms including Google Education, Edmodo and Edublogs. 

The Children’s and Teen Choice Book Awards winners will be announced live at the 6th annual Children’s Choice Book Awards Gala on May 13 at the Liberty Theater in New York City. The gala is a charity event to benefit Every Child a Reader, and a hallmark event of Children’s Book Week (May 13-19, 2013), the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. The awards presentation will be videotaped and available for viewing by book lovers of all ages after the event at www.bookweekonline.com.

The Children’s and Teen Choice Book Awards finalists are:

KINDERGARTEN TO SECOND GRADE BOOK OF THE YEAR

Big Mean Mike by Michelle Knudsen, illustrated by Scott Magoon (Candlewick)

The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems (Hyperion Books/Disney)

I’ll Save You Bobo! by Eileen Rosenthal, illustrated by Marc Rosenthal (Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster)

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin, illustrated by James Dean (HarperCollins)

Nighttime Ninja by Barbara DaCosta, illustrated by Ed Young (Little, Brown)

THIRD GRADE TO FOURTH GRADE BOOK OF THE YEAR

Bad Kitty for President by Nick Bruel (Roaring Brook/Macmillan)

Get the Scoop on Animal Poop! by Dawn Cusick (Imagine/Charlesbridge)

Homer by Shelley Rotner, illustrated by Diane deGroat (Scholastic)

Just Joking by National Geographic Kids (National Geographic Children’s Books)

Pluto Visits Earth! by Steve Metzger, illustrated by Jared Lee (Scholastic)

FIFTH GRADE TO SIXTH GRADE BOOK OF THE YEAR

Dork Diaries 4: Tales from a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess by Rachel Renée Russell (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster)

Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead (Wendy Lamb Books/Random House)

Pickle: The (Formerly) Anonymous Prank Club of Fountain Point Middle School by Kim Baker, illustrated by Tim Probert (Roaring Brook/Macmillan)

Rebel McKenzie by Candice Ransom (Hyperion Books/Disney)

Stickman Odyssey, Book 2: The Wrath of Zozimos by Christopher Ford (Philomel/Penguin)

TEEN BOOK OF THE YEAR

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, Book 1) by Marissa Meyer (Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan)

City of Lost Souls (Mortal Instruments) by Cassandra Clare (Margaret K. McElderry Books/Simon & Schuster)

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (Dutton/Penguin)

Insurgent by Veronica Roth (Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins)

Rapture: A Fallen Novel by Lauren Kate (Delacorte/Random House)

AUTHOR OF THE YEAR

John Green for The Fault in Our Stars (Dutton/Penguin)

Jeff Kinney for Diary of a Wimpy Kid 7: The Third Wheel (Amulet Books/Abrams)

R. J. Palacio for Wonder (Knopf Books for Young Readers/Random House)

Rick Riordan for The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus, Book 3) (Hyperion Books/Disney)

Veronica Roth for Insurgent (Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins)

ILLUSTRATOR OF THE YEAR

James Dean for Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons (HarperCollins)

Anna Dewdney for Llama Llama Time to Share (Viking/Penguin)

Ian Falconer for Olivia and the Fairy Princesses (Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster)

Robin Preiss Glasser for Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet (HarperCollins)

Mo Willems for The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? (Hyperion Books/Disney)

About the Children’s and Teen Choice Book Awards Program (CCBAs)

Launched in 2008 by the Children’s Book Council and Every Child a Reader, The Children’s and Teen 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 more and cultivate a love of reading. More at www.bookweekonline.com/about-CCBAs.

About Children’s Book Week (CBW)

Established in 1919, CBW is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. Each year, official and local commemorative events are held nationwide at schools, libraries, bookstores, homes  — wherever young readers and books connect. In 2013, official events will be held in 50 cities nationwide. Learn more at www.bookweekonline.com.

About Every Child a Reader (ECAR)

Every Child a Reader is a 501(c)(3) literacy organization dedicated to instilling a lifelong love of reading in children. Every Child a Reader creates and supports programs that: strive to make the reading and enjoyment of children’s books an essential part of America’s educational and social aims; enhance public perception of the importance of reading. ECAR’s programs include Children’s Book Week, a nationwide celebration of books and reading, and  the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country; The Children’s Choice Book Awards, the only national book awards program where the winning titles are selected by kids and teens of all ages; and The National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Program, the country’s “Children’s Literature Laureate”. Please visit www.ecarfoundation.org for more information.

About the Children’s Book Council (CBC)

The Children’s Book Council is the national nonprofit trade association for children’s book publishers. The CBC offers children’s publishers the opportunity to work together on issues of importance to the industry at large, including educational programming, literacy advocacy, and collaborations with other national organizations. Our members span the spectrum from large international houses to smaller independent presses. Membership in the CBC is open to U.S. publishers of children’s trade books, as well as in some cases to industry-affiliated companies. The CBC is proud to partner with other national organizations on co-sponsored reading lists, educational programming, and literacy initiatives. Please visit www.cbcbooks.org for more information.

About DOGObooks

DOGObooks is a part of a next-generation online network empowering kids to engage with digital media in a fun, safe and social environment.  The network includes: www.dogonews.com – the leading online resource for current events/Common Core content for use in the classroom; www.dogobooks.com – the largest website for children to discover and review books; and www.dogomovies.com a fun place for kids to enjoy G to PG-13 movie trailers and rate and review the movies they love. Through partnerships with Google, Edmodo, Edublogs and more, DOGO websites are used by over 500,000 students and teachers each month.

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