It’s that time of year again! Be sure to encourage your kiddos to vote for their favorite books in 2017 Children’s Choice Book Awards.
Launched in 2008 by the Children’s Book Council and Every Child a Reader, the awards provide young readers with an opportunity to voice their opinions about new books being written for them.
How were these finalists chosen? Each year, over 36,000 children from different regions of the U.S. read, discuss, and choose their favorite new books, with supervision from the International Literacy Association. The most popular books in each age group become the Children’s Choice Book Award finalists.
Peep and Egg: I’m Not Hatching by Laura Gehl and Joyce Wan
Egg is not hatching.
No way. No how.
It is too scary out there.
Peep wants Egg to hatch so they can do fun things together, like watch the sunrise, splash in puddles, and play hide-and-seek.
But Egg is not cracking…
Joyce Wan’s bright and bold illustrations will have young chickies giggling at Laura Gehl’s reassuring tale that takes the not out of I’m not.
Grade 3-4 category:
This debut by Andrea Zuill entertains readers with fantastic illustrations and snappy text. A hilarious representation about what dogs think!
Wolf Camp by Andrea Zuill
Meet Homer, a dog who heads to camp to live like a wolf! Here’s the perfect book for the legions of kids out there who love dogs and funny books.
Homer is a dog . . . but he also secretly fancies himself part wolf. So when an invitation to attend WOLF CAMP (“Where every dog can live as a wolf for a week”) falls out of his kibble bag one morning, he’s determined to go. After his people finally agree, Homer boards the bus bound for Wolf Camp, along with fellow campers Trixie and Rex. They’re greeted on the other end by wolf counselors Fang and Grrr (“they seem nice”), and what follows is an array of wolf activities, including learning to howl, mark, and hunt. Of course, Homer’s a little homesick at times, and the food isn’t very good, but that just makes heading home all the sweeter.
Perfect for all those kids anticipating camp themselves, Zuill’s debut introduces a charmer of a dog and puts him in some laugh-out-loud scenarios.
Grade 5-6 category:
My son was bummed that The Wild Robot was not an option. He read this book four times in three weeks! He often read it to his little sister before bed. One night I overheard her say, “Pause the story! I have to pee!”
My children didn’t read any of the books in the grade 5-6 category, but I did! If I could vote, I’d vote for Booked by Kwame Alexander. I am always blown away by exceptional books written in verse because it is extremely difficult to pull off. Booked is a perfect example of how to do it right.
From Goodreads:
Like lightning/you strike/fast and free/legs zoom/down field/eyes fixed/on the checkered ball/on the goal/ten yards to go/can’t nobody stop you/
can’t nobody cop you…
In this follow-up to the Newbery-winning novel THE CROSSOVER, soccer, family, love, and friendship, take center stage as twelve-year-old Nick learns the power of words as he wrestles with problems at home, stands up to a bully, and tries to impress the girl of his dreams. Helping him along are his best friend and sometimes teammate Coby, and The Mac, a rapping librarian who gives Nick inspiring books to read.
This electric and heartfelt novel-in-verse by poet Kwame Alexander bends and breaks as it captures all the thrills and setbacks, action and emotion of a World Cup match!
Paint with Words 
Yes!