The 12th Annual Awards are the Only National Book Awards Voted on Only by Children and Teens

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York, NY – Thursday, June 13, 2019 – Every Child a Reader, a nonprofit literacy organization dedicated to inspiring a love of reading in children and teens across America, is pleased to announce the winners and honor books in the four categories of the 12th Annual Children’s and Teen Choice Book Awards.

These awards provide young readers with an opportunity to “Voice Your Choice” about new books that they read and loved, and are the only national book awards chosen only by kids and teens. Voting was conducted in classrooms, libraries and bookstores, as well as online, beginning March 1 and ending June 2 at BookCon in the Family HQ. Over 24,000 votes were tallied, up from 18,000 last year.

For the Children’s Choice Book Award K – 2^nd Grade Category:

Winner: I SAY OOH YOU SAY AAH, written and illustrated by John Kane (Kane Miller Books)

Honor: THERE’S A DRAGON IN YOUR BOOK, by Tom Fletcher; illus. by Greg Abbott (Random House Books for Young Readers)

For the Children’s Choice Book Award 3^rd – 4^th Grade Category:

Winner: BACK TO THE FUTURE: The Classic Illustrated Storybook, by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale; illus. by Kim Smith (Quirk Books)

Honor: SAFARI PUG, by Laura James; illus. by Églantine Ceulemans (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)

For the Children’s Choice Book Award 5^th– 6^th Grade Category:

Winner: GHOST BOYS, By Jewell Parker Rhodes (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

Honor: SEWING THE RAINBOW: A Story about Gilbert Baker, by Gayle E. Pitman; illus. by Holly Clifton-Brown (Magination Press)

In the Teen Choice category:

Winner: THE PRINCE AND THE DRESSMAKER, by Jen Wang (First Second Books)

Honor: THE POET X, by Elizabeth Acevedo (Harper Teen)

Shaina Birkhead, Associate Executive Director for Children’s Book Council and Every Child a Reader, stated: “We are proud to work with so many teachers, librarians, and booksellers who encourage kids to read the books and gather votes at their locations. It’s a fun reading and discussion activity, as well as a primer on social responsibility.”

About the Children’s & Teen Choice Book Awards
Launched in 2008 by Every Child a Reader and the Children’s Book Council, the awards are the only national book awards chosen only by kids and teens. The five finalists in each of the three Children’s Choice Book Awards categories were chosen in pre-reading and voting by children from different regions of the U.S., with supervision by the International Literacy Association. The Teen Choice category finalists were nominated at TeenReads.com. Starting in 2020, the Teen Choice will be called the Young Adults’ Choice and also be supervised by the ILA.

About Every Child a Reader & the Children’s Book Council
Every Child a Reader is a 501(c)(3) literacy charity dedicated to inspiring a lifelong love of reading in children and teens. Every Child a Reader’s national programs include Children’s Book Week (celebrating its 100^th anniversary this year), Get Caught Reading, the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature program (in conjunction with the Library of Congress), and the Children’s & Teen Choice Book Awards. Every Child a Reader is managed by the Children’s Book Council, the nonprofit trade association for children’s book publishers in North America, partnering with national organizations on reading lists, educational programming, and diversity initiatives.

Media Contact:

Shifa Kapadwala, Publicity Manager, CBC/Every Child a Reader, Shifa.Kapadwala@cbcbooks.org, 212-966-1990