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Mark Twain Readers Award facts for kids

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"Mark Twain Award" redirects here. For the comedy award, see Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

The Mark Twain Readers Award is a special prize for children's books. Kids in Missouri get to choose the winning book every year! Librarians and volunteers create a list of great books. Then, students vote for their favorite.

This award is one of several "Readers Awards" given by the Missouri Association of School Librarians (MASL). The Mark Twain Award is for students in grades 4 to 6. Other awards are for younger kids (K-3), middle schoolers (6-8), high schoolers (9-12), and nonfiction books.

The very first Mark Twain Award was given in 1972. The winner was Sounder by William H. Armstrong. This book also won the Newbery Medal in 1970.

A writer named Peg Kehret has won the Mark Twain Award four times! She won in 1999 for Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio, which tells about her childhood. She also won three more times between 2007 and 2012 for her novels.

How Books Are Chosen

Books are carefully chosen to be nominated for the Mark Twain Award. Here are the main rules for a book to be on the list:

  • The book should be interesting for kids in grades four through six.
  • An author living in the United States must have written the book.
  • The book should be well-written and help children learn or grow.
  • Books must have been published two years before they are nominated.

How Students Vote

Even though the nominated books are for grades four through six, any student can vote. But they need to follow a few simple rules:

  • You must have read the book you want to vote for.
  • You need to read at least four books from the list of nominees.
  • You can only vote one time.

Schools create their own voting slips. All the votes from each school are counted together. Then, the total votes are sent to the MASL to find the big winner!

Award Winners

Since 1972, the Mark Twain Award has honored one book by one writer each year. Here is a list of the winning books:

See also

  • 1971–1972 Mark Twain Awards nominees
  • 1972–1973 Mark Twain Awards nominees
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