Massachusetts Children's Book Award facts for kids
The Massachusetts Children's Book Award is a special prize given every year to a book chosen by kids in Massachusetts! It celebrates one amazing book that students vote for from a list picked by a special group. This award started in 1975 thanks to Dr. Helen Constant from Salem State College. Today, the School of Education at Salem State University still helps run the program. Its main goal is to keep kids excited about reading, especially those in grades 4 to 6.
Kids in grades 4 to 6 (usually ages 9 to 12) can vote for their favorite book. To vote, they need to read at least five books from the official list. This list usually has 25 books that are no older than five years. Schools, often through their libraries, help students take part. If a school doesn't participate, public librarians can help home-schooled kids or others join in. The book with the most votes wins the award, and the author receives a special plaque. A few other books, usually four, are also recognized as "honor books."
Contents
How Books Are Chosen
Teachers, librarians, and even book publishers suggest books for the award list. All the chosen books must be available in paperback. The books are picked based on several things. They need to have great writing, offer different types of stories (like fantasy, mystery, or realistic fiction), show different cultures, and be fun for kids to read. For example, the 2014 list had 25 books published between 2009 and 2013. A guide also helped suggest which books might be best for different reading levels, from early fourth grade to advanced sixth grade.
History of the Award
The Massachusetts Children's Book Award program began during the 1975–76 school year. The very first winner was How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell. This book was three years old when it won. The first award conference happened at Salem State College Library in July 1976.
A year later, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume won the second award. About 5,000 students from 400 classes voted on 25 books. For six years, until 1983, there were actually two awards given out each year. One was for kids in grades 4–6, and another was for kids in grades 7–9 (ages 12–15). For example, The Cat Ate My Gymsuit by Paula Danziger won the grades 7–9 award in 1979. Interestingly, it had been a runner-up for the grades 4–6 award in 1977.
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing won the grades 4–6 award again in 1983. This makes it the only book to win the award twice! Some older books from the 1950s and 1960s also won the award, with the last one being in 1987. After 1995, the list of nominated books was limited to those published within the last five years. This means winning books since then have been between one and five years old.
Nominees
2017 MCBA Nominees
| Author | Title | Publication Year |
|---|---|---|
| Avi | Sophia’s War - A Tale of the Revolution | 2012 |
| Bell, C. | El Deafo | 2014 |
| Barnhill, K. | The Witch’s Boy | 2014 |
| Blakemore, M. F. | The Water Castle | 2013 |
| Bowen, F. | Out of Bounds | 2015 |
| Butler, D. H. | The Buddy Files: The Case of the School Ghost | 2012 |
| Chambliss Bertman, J. | Book Scavenger | 2015 |
| Ellis, D. | No Ordinary Day | 2011 |
| Farber, E.S. | Fish Finelli Book 1: Seagulls Don’t Eat Pickles | 2013 |
| Gibbs, S. | Poached | 2014 |
| Graff, L. | Absolutely Almost | 2014 |
| Herrick, A. | The Time Fetch | 2013 |
| Holm, J. L. | The Fourteenth Goldfish | 2014 |
| Holub, J. | Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom (Heroes in Training) | 2012 |
| Jones, K. | Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer | 2015 |
| Kurtz, C. | The Adventures of a South Pole Pig: A Novel of Snow and Courage | 2013 |
| Lendle, I. | The Stratford Zoo Midnight Revue Presents Romeo and Juliet | 2015 |
| Lerangis, P. | Seven Wonders Book 1: The Colossus Rises | 2013 |
| Littlewood, K. | Bliss | 2012 |
| Lloyd, N. | A Snicker of Magic | 2014 |
| Martin, L. & Martin, V. | Anton and Cecil, Book 1: Cats at Sea | 2013 |
| Schanen, A. B. | Quinny and Hopper | 2014 |
| Tarshis, L. | I Survived: The Great Chicago Fire, 1871 | 2015 |
| Watson, J. | Loot: How to Steal a Fortune | 2014 |
| Wright, T. | Mystery on Pine Lake: Cooper and Packrat | 2013 |
Award Winners
Authors with Multiple Awards
Louis Sachar has written three books that won the Massachusetts Children's Book Award. These are There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom, Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger, and Holes. All three were published between 1987 and 1998. Several other authors have won the award twice. Also, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume is special because it won the award in both 1977 and 1983!
