Massachusetts Children's Book Award facts for kids
The Massachusetts Children's Book Award is an annual literary award recognizing one book selected by vote of Massachusetts schoolchildren from a list prepared by committee. It was established in 1975 by Dr. Helen Constant, associate professor of education at Salem State College, and it continues to be sponsored by the School of Education at Salem State University. The purpose is to help maintain interest in reading among children in the "intermediate grades".
Students in grades 4 to 6 (almost all 9 to 12 years old) are eligible to vote for one favorite book if they have read at least five on the list, which now comprises 25 books that are no more than five years old. Participation is coordinated through schools, often by the school library, but public librarians may facilitate the program for home-schooled children and those whose schools do not participate in the program.
Currently "teachers, librarians, and interested publishers" nominate books and all of those selected must be available in paperback editions. Other criteria include "literary quality, variety of genres, representation of diverse cultural groups, and reader appeal." For the 2014 award, the Master List comprised 25 books published from 2009 to 2013, almost half in 2011. A "Grade Level Guide" placed five of the books in each of five levels from "low fourth" (low fourth grade) to "advanced sixth".
Massachusetts Children's Book Award 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 |
Winners
Multiple awards
Louis Sachar has written three MCBA-winning books, published from 1987 to 1998: There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom, Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger, and Holes. Several people have written two winning books and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (Dutton, 1972) by Judy Blume won both the 1977 and 1983 awards.
