Calling All Children and Teens! Looking for a Good Book to Read This Summer?

Summer is a time children and teens can choose to read whatever they like. A bonus is the reading they do in the summer helps them retain what they have learned over the past school year. The Children and Teen Choice Awards sponsored by the Children's Book Council are chosen by children and teens themselves. They were announced March 14 in New York.

There was a controversy this year when Rush Limbaugh’s Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims: Time-Travel Adventures with Exceptional Americans made the list for Author of the Year and won. The award is for popularity. Limbaugh was able to promote the purchase of and voting for his book on his show. Your child will have to read it for himself or herself to decide if it is truly a winner.

Book of the Year, kindergarten through second grade

Winner: The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers
Finalists:

Alphabet Trucks by Samantha R. Vamos, illustrated by Ryan O'Rourke

Chamelia and the New Kid in Class by Ethan Long

Mustache Baby by Bridget Heos, illustrated by Joy Ang

Bear and Bee by Sergio Ruzzier

Book of the Year, third through fourth grade

Winner: Bugs in My Hair! by David Shannon
Finalists:

Bean Dog and Nugget: The Ball by Charise Mericle Harper

Cougar: A Cat With Many Names by Stephen Person

The Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleischman, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline

Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant's Tale by Duncan Tonatiuh