Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Award facts for kids
The Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Award is a special prize for great books. It celebrates high-quality books for young readers. These books are for kids in kindergarten through fourth grade. The Maryland Library Association's Children's Services Division gives out this award every year. They started the award in 2004. Their goal was to find and share the best fiction and nonfiction books for kids learning to read. The award also helps teachers, librarians, and parents find excellent books. It encourages authors and artists to create amazing stories that young readers will love.
Contents
How Books Are Chosen
The Award Committee
A special group of people decides which books win the award. This group includes librarians from public libraries. It also has media specialists from schools. They look at books that were published during the past year.
What Makes a Book a Winner?
The committee looks for several things in a book. They check if the words are easy to read. They also look at the vocabulary used. The pictures and story must be appealing. They also check for helpful parts like glossaries. These are like mini-dictionaries. They make sure the book is just right for young readers.
Award Categories
The committee chooses one winning book for each of these categories:
- Beginning Fiction (made-up stories for new readers)
- Beginning Nonfiction (true stories for new readers)
- Transitional Fiction (made-up stories for readers moving up)
- Transitional Nonfiction (true stories for readers moving up)
Honor Books
Besides the winners, the committee also makes an "honor list." This list includes up to three other great books for each reading level. Some books on this list are marked as extra good for older kids who might not enjoy reading as much.
Nominating a Book
Anyone who works in a Maryland public library can suggest books. Members of certain library groups can also nominate books. These groups include the Maryland Library Association (MLA). They also include the Maryland Association of School Librarians (MASL). The Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) members can also nominate. You can find the rules and forms on the Maryland Library Association website.
When Winners Are Announced
Since 2012, the winners have been announced in the spring. This happens at the Children's Services Division conferences. These events take place in March and April. Before 2012, winners were announced in October. This happened at a conference called "Kids Are Customers, Too." Often, an author who won the Blue Crab Award is invited to speak. They might speak at the Maryland Library Association Conference. Or they might speak at the "Kids Are Customers, Too" conference.
Blue Crab Book Award Winners
| Year | Beginning Fiction | Beginning Nonfiction | Transitional Fiction | Transitional Nonfiction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | See Pip Point by David Milgrim |
Hunting Sharks by Kristin Nelson |
Stuart Goes to School |
Gretchen the Bicycle Dog by Anita Heyman |
| 2005 | Baa-Choo! by Sarah Weeks |
Platypus! by Ginjer Clarke |
Down Girl and Sit: Smarter than Squirrels by Lucy Nolan |
Choppers! by Susan E.Goodman and Michael Doolittle |
| 2006 | Hi! Fly Guy! by Tedd Arnold |
Chameleon, Chameleon by Joy Cowley |
The Next-Door Dogs by Colby Rodowsky |
Turtle Tide: The Way of Sea Turtles by Stephen Swinburne |
| 2007 | Dirk Bones And The Mystery of The Haunted House by Doug Cushman |
Emperor Penguins by Patricia Trattles |
Pirate Mom by Deborah Underwood |
Time for Kids: Butterflies! by David Bjerklie |
| 2008 | My Friend is Sad by Mo Willems |
Best Friends: The True Story of Owen and Mzee by Roberta Edwards |
Abracadabra! Magic with Mouse and Mole by Wong Herbert Yee |
Who Likes the Rain? by Etta Kaner |
| 2009 | Annie and Simon by Catharine O'Neill |
Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator by Sarah C. Campbell |
Keena Ford and the Second-Grade Mix-Up by Melissa Thomson |
Our Three Bears by Ron Hirschi |
| 2010 |
Good Dog, Aggie |
My People by Langston Hughes and Charles R. Smith, Jr. |
How Oliver Olson Changed the World by Claudia Mills |
Never Smile at a Monkey: and 17 Other Important Things to Remember written and illustrated by Steve Jenkins |
| 2011 |
We Are In a Book! |
Just One Bite Written by Lola Schaefer,illustrated by Geoff Waring. |
Lulu and the Brontosaurus by Judith Viorst |
Pika: Life on the Rocks Written by Tannis Bill |
| 2012 |
Max Spaniel: Best in Show |
Capybara Written by Anita Ganeri |
Labracadabra by Jessie Nelson and Karen Leigh Hopkins |
Dolphins Written by Kate Riggs |
| 2013 |
The Fly Flew In |
Welcome to the World, ZooBorns! by Andrew Bleiman and Chris Eastland |
The Three Ninja Pigs by Corey Rosen Schwartz |
Dreaming Up Written and illustrated by Christy Hale |
