The Children's Choice Book Awards is the only national book awards program where the winning titles are selected by
children and teens of all ages.
Launched in 2008 by the Children's Book Council and Every Child A Reader (The CBC Foundation), The Children’s 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.
Finalist Selection Process
The finalists for Book of the Year in the Kindergarten to Second Grade, Third Grade to Fourth Grade, and Fifth Grade to Sixth Grade categories are the books that received the highest number of votes in the IRA-CBC Children's Choices program. Children's Choices , a joint project of the International Reading Association (IRA) and the CBC, began in 1974. Teams of IRA-affiliated educators in five geographic regions receive copies of each submitted title to provide to students to read and rate in classrooms across their region. The votes from the five regions (from approximately 12,500 children) are compiled and the five titles with the highest number of votes in each category (K-2, 3-4, 5-6) become the finalists for the Children's Choice Book Awards.
The Teen Choice Book Award was added in 2009. The Teen Choice finalists are determined with the help of Teenreads.com (part of The Book Report Network). The website compiles a list of all the books they have reviewed over the year and encourages readers to write in their own picks if they aren't listed. Teens vote for their favorite book and the top five vote-getters become the finalists for the Teen Choice Book of the Year. This year, over 7,000 teens determined the finalists.
The Author and Illustrator of the Year finalists are selected by the CBC from a review of bestseller lists with an emphasis on Bookscan. Only authors and illustrators associated with books published in the previous calendar year are considered.
2012 NOMINIEES (WINNERS NOTED IN RED) -- SEE BELOW FOR DESCRIPTION OF EACH BOOK
AUTHOR OF THE YEAR:
Jeff Kinney, Diary of a Wimpy Kid 6: Cabin Fever -WINNER
Christopher Paolini, Inheritance
James Patterson, Middle School, The Worst Years of My Life
Rick Rordan, The Son of Neptune (The Heroes of Olympus Book 2)
Rachel Renee Russell, Dork Diaries 3: Tales From a Not-So-Talented Pop Star
ILLUSTRATOR OF THE YEAR:
Felicia Bond, If You Give a Dog a Donut (by Laura Numeroff)
Eric Carle, The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse
Anna Dewdney, Llama Llama Home With Mama
Victoria Kann, Silverlicious
Brian Selznick, Wonderstruck -WINNER
KINDERGARTEN TO SECOND GRADE BOOK OF THE YEAR
Bailey by Harry Bliss
Dot by Patricia Intriago
Pirates Don't Take Baths by John Segal
Three Hens and a Peacock by Lester L. Laminack, illustrated by Henry Cole -WINNER
Zombie in Love by Kelly DiPucchio
THIRD TO FOURTH GRADE BOOK OF THE YEAR
Bad Kitty Meets the Baby by Nick Bruel -WINNER
A Funeral in the Bathroom and Other School Bathroom Poems by Kalli Dakos
The Monstrous Book of Monsters by Libby Hamilton
Sidekicks by Dan Santat
Squish #1: Super Amoeba by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
FIFTH TO SIXTH GRADE BOOK OF THE YEAR
Bad Island by Doug TenNapel
How to Survive Anything by Rachel Buchholz
Lost & Found by Shaun Tan
Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt -WINNER
Racing in the Rain: My Life as a Dog by Garth Stein
TEEN BOOK OF THE YEAR
Clockwork Prince: The Infernal Devices, Book Two by Cassandra Clare -WINNER
