Children’s Book Week Kicks Off With Announcement of Award Winners

The 96th annual celebration of Children’s Book Week, from May 4 to May 10, features the presentation of the Children’s Choice Book Awards, as voted by children and teens around the country. The 2015 winners were announced on Monday evening at a gala hosted by Jon Scieszka  at Tribeca Three Sixtyº in New York City. All proceeds from the event benefit Every Child a Reader.

More than 1.3 million votes were cast online and in schools, bookstores, and libraries to choose this year’s winners. In addition to four Book of the Year awards based on age group, this year’s voting featured three new categories: Children’s Choice Debut Author, Teen Choice Debut Author, and Children’s Choice Illustrator.

 This year’s Children’s Choice Book Award winners are:

• Book of the Year, Kindergarten through 2nd Grade: Eva and Sadie and the Worst Haircut EVER!, written by Jeff Cohen and illustrated by Elanna Allen (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
• Book of the Year, 3rd through 4th Grade: Kali’s Story: An Orphaned Polar Bear Rescue, written by Jennifer Keats Curtis and illustrated by John Gomes (Arbordale Publishing)
• Book of the Year, 5th through 6th Grade: The Dumbest Idea Ever!, written  by Jimmy Gownley (Graphix/Scholastic)
• Teen Choice Book of the Year: The One, written by Kiera Cass (HarperTeen)
• Children’s Choice Debut Author:  J.A. White for The Thickety: A Path Begins (Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins Children’s Books)
• Teen Choice Debut Author:  Jennifer Mathieu for The Truth About Alice (Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan Children’s Publishing)
• Children’s Choice Illustrator: Chris Appelhans for Sparky, written by Jenny Offill (Schwartz & Wade/Random House Children’s Books)

The deadline for bookstores participating in this year’s Children’s Book Week Display Contest to submit pictures of displays, along with a photo credit, to Matthew Zoni, manager of the ABC Children’s Group at ABA, has been extended to May 8. The winner will be announced May 18. The winning bookstore will receive a visit from an author or illustrator of one of the 2015 Children’s Choice Book Awards winners or finalists. The display contest winner will also be featured in the Children’s Book Council’s Update newsletter and in ABA’s Bookselling This Week and will be highlighted in social media posts and on bookweekonline.com.