Sequoyah Book Award facts for kids
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| Formation | 1959 |
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| Website | Sequoyah Book Awards |
The Sequoyah Book Award is a special honor given to books chosen by students in Oklahoma. Every year, kids from elementary, middle, and high schools vote for their favorite books. This award is named after a very important person, Sequoyah. He was a Cherokee man who lived a long time ago (around 1770–1843). Sequoyah created the Cherokee syllabary, which is a writing system for the Cherokee language. The Cherokee Nation started using his writing system in 1825.
The Oklahoma Library Association helps run these awards. A special committee of librarians and educators from the association works hard each year. They read many books and create lists of nominees for students to choose from. After students read the books, they vote for their favorites. The winners are announced in the early spring. The winning authors are then invited to a big conference to receive their awards and meet the students who voted for their books.
Contents
Three Main Awards
The Sequoyah Book Award program has three main awards, each for different age groups:
- Sequoyah Children's Book Award: This award started in 1959. It is for children in grades 3 to 5. It is one of the oldest awards in the United States where children get to pick the winner. Only two other state awards for children's books are older: the Kansas award and the Vermont award.
- Sequoyah Intermediate Book Award: This award is for students in grades 6 to 8. It began in 1988 and was first called the Young Adult award.
- Sequoyah High School Book Award: This award was added in 2010. It is for older students in grades 9 to 12.
Donna Norvell Award
The Sequoyah Committee also chooses the winner for the Donna Norvell Award. This award was created in 2005 by the Oklahoma Library Association. The first award was given in 2006. It celebrates books that have made a big difference in literature for children up to second grade. These books are usually written and illustrated to help young children learn and understand new things.
The Donna Norvell Award is named after Donna Norvell. She was a Children's Consultant for the Oklahoma Department of Libraries from 1992 to 2004. She passed away in 2004. The award honors her important work in helping libraries and children's literature in Oklahoma. Until 2020, librarians on the Sequoyah Book Award Committee chose the winner. Now, it is a children's choice award for students in second grade and younger. The Children's Sequoyah Committee selects the books that are nominated for this award.
Children's Winners
Here are the books that have won the Sequoyah Children's Book Award:
| Year | Title | Author |
|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Old Yeller | Fred Gipson |
| 1960 | Black Gold | Marguerite Henry |
| 1961 | Have Space Suit—Will Travel | Robert A. Heinlein |
| 1962 | The Helen Keller Story | Catherine O. Peare |
| 1963 | Mystery of the Haunted Pool | Phyllis Whitney |
| 1964 | Where the Panther Screams | William Powell Robinson |
| 1965 | A Wrinkle in Time | Madeleine L'Engle |
| 1966 | Rascal | Sterling North |
| 1967 | Harriet the Spy | Louise Fitzhugh |
| 1968 | Gentle Ben | Walt Morey |
| 1969 | Blackbeard's Ghost | Ben Stahl |
| 1970 | Mustang | Marguerite Henry |
| 1971 | Ramona the Pest | Beverly Cleary |
| 1972 | Man in the Box | Mary Lois Dunn |
| 1973 | The Trumpet of the Swan | E. B. White |
| 1974 | Flight of the White Wolf | Mel Ellis |
| 1975 | Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing | Judy Blume |
| 1976 | How to Eat Fried Worms | Thomas Rockwell |
| 1977 | The Toothpaste Millionaire | Jean Merrill |
| 1978 | Shoeshine Girl | Clyde Robert Bulla |
| 1979 | Summer of the Monkeys | Wilson Rawls |
| 1980 | Kid Power | Susan B. Pfeffer |
| 1981 | Get-Away Car | Eleanor Clymer |
| 1982 | Bunnicula | James Howe |
| 1983 | A Dog Called Kitty | Bill Wallace |
| 1984 | The Cybil War | Betsy Byars |
| 1985 | Thirteen Ways to Sink a Sub | Jamie Gilson |
| 1986 | Dear Mr. Henshaw | Beverly Cleary |
| Just Tell Me When We're Dead | Eth Clifford | |
| 1987 | Night of the Twisters | Ivy Ruckman |
| 1988 | Christina's Ghost | Betty Ren Wright |
| 1989 | The Sixth Grade Sleepover | Eve Bunting |
| 1990 | Fudge | Charlotte Graeber |
| 1991 | Beauty | Bill Wallace |
| 1992 | The Doll in the Garden | Mary Downing Hahn |
| 1993 | Weasel | Cynthia DeFelice |
| 1994 | Shiloh | Phyllis Reynolds Naylor |
| 1995 | Horror at the Haunted House | Peg Kehret |
| 1996 | The Ghosts of Mercy Manor | Betty Ren Wright |
| 1997 | Nasty, Stinky Sneakers | Eve Bunting |
| 1998 | Titanic Crossing | Barbara Williams |
| 1999 | 101 Ways to Bug Your Parents | Lee Wardlaw |
| 2000 | The Million Dollar Shot | Dan Gutman |
| 2001 | Holes | Louis Sachar |
| 2002 | Dork in Disguise | Carol Gorman |
| 2003 | Because of Winn-Dixie | Kate DiCamillo |
| 2004 | Skeleton Man | Joseph Bruchac |
| 2005 | The Stranger Next Door | Peg Kehret |
| 2006 | The Tale of Despereaux | Kate DiCamillo |
| 2007 | The World According to Humphrey | Betty Birney |
| 2008 | Angus and Sadie | Cynthia Voigt |
| 2009 | Clementine | Sara Pennypacker |
| 2010 | Lawn Boy | Gary Paulsen |
| 2011 | All the Lovely Bad Ones | Mary Downing Hahn |
| 2012 | Dragonbreath | Ursula Vernon |
| 2013 | The Strange Case of Origami Yoda | Tom Angleberger |
| 2014 | Sidekicks | Dan Santat |
| 2015 | The One and Only Ivan | Katherine Applegate |
| 2016 | Chews Your Destiny: The Gumazing Gum Girl! | Rhode Montijo |
| 2017 | The Doll Graveyard | Lois Ruby |
| 2018 | Roller Girl | Victoria Jamieson |
| 2019 | A Dog Like Daisy | Kristin O’Donnell Tubb |
| 2020 | Lifeboat 12 | Susan Hood |
| 2021 | Stargazing | Jen Wang |
| 2022 | Zeus, Dog of Chaos | Kristin O’Donnell Tubb |
| 2023 | Stella | McCall Hoyle |
| 2024 | Cookies and Milk | Shawn Amos |
Intermediate Winners
These books have won the Sequoyah Intermediate Book Award:
| Year | Title | Author |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Abby My Love | Hadley Irwin |
| 1989 | The Other Side of Dark | Joan Lowery Nixon |
| 1990 | Hatchet | Gary Paulsen |
| 1991 | A Sudden Silence | Eve Bunting |
| 1992 | Appointment with a Stranger | Jean Thesman |
| 1993 | The Silver Kiss | Annette Curtis Klause |
| 1994 | What Daddy Did | Neal Shusterman |
| 1995 | Flight 116 Is Down | Caroline B. Cooney |
| 1996 | The Giver | Lois Lowry |
| 1997 | Walk Two Moons | Sharon Creech |
| 1998 | Running Out of Time | Margaret Peterson Haddix |
| 1999 | Danger Zone | David Klass |
| 2000 | I Have Lived a Thousand Years | Livia Bitton-Jackson |
| 2001 | Holes | Louis Sachar |
| 2002 | Speak | Laurie Halse Anderson |
| 2003 | Define Normal | Julie Ann Peters |
| 2004 | Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants | Ann Brashares |
| 2005 | The House of the Scorpion | Nancy Farmer |
| 2006 | Eragon | Christopher Paolini |
| 2007 | Red Kayak | Priscilla Cummings |
| 2008 | The Lightning Thief | Rick Riordan |
| 2009 | Runaway | Wendelin Van Draanen |
| 2010 | Unwind | Neal Shusterman |
| 2011 | The Hunger Games | Suzanne Collins |
| 2012 | Positively | Courtney Sheinmel |
| 2013 | After Ever After | Jordan Sonnenblick |
| 2014 | Michael Vey: Prisoner of Cell 25 | Richard Paul Evans |
| 2015 | The False Prince | Jennifer A. Nielsen |
| 2016 | Goodbye, Rebel Blue | Shelley Coriell |
| 2017 | The Crossover | Kwame Alexander |
| 2018 | The War that Saved My Life | Kimberly Brubaker Bradley |
| 2019 | Refugee | Alan Gratz |
| 2020 | Front Desk | Kelly Yang |
| 2021 | Allies | Alan Gratz |
| 2022 | When Stars Are Scattered | Victoria Jamieson & Omar Mohamed |
| 2023 | Ground Zero | Alan Gratz |
| 2024 | Hummingbird | Natalie Lloyd |
High School Winners
These books have won the Sequoyah High School Book Award:
| Year | Title | Author |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Thirteen Reasons Why | Jay Asher |
| 2011 | The Hunger Games | Suzanne Collins |
| 2012 | Hate List | Jennifer Brown |
| 2013 | Clockwork Angel | Cassandra Clare |
| 2014 | Divergent | Veronica Roth |
| 2015 | The Fault in Our Stars | John Green |
| 2016 | The 5th Wave | Rick Yancey |
| 2017 | Wolf by Wolf | Ryan Graudin |
| 2018 | The Female of the Species | Mindy McGinnis |
| 2019 | The Hate U Give | Angie Thomas |
| 2020 | Dry | Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman |
| 2021 | The Patron Saints of Nothing | Randy Ribay |
| 2022 | Legendborn | Tracy Deonn |
| 2023 | Six Crimson Cranes | Elizabeth Lim |
| 2024 | Message Note Found | Dante Medema |
Donna Norvell Award Winners
These books have won the Donna Norvell Award:
| Year | Title | Writer | Illustrator |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Wild About Books | Judy Sierra | Marc Brown |
| 2007 | Leaf Man | Lois Ehlert | Ehlert |
| 2008 | Not a Box | Antoinette Portis | Portis |
| 2009 | Fred Stays with Me! | Nancy Coffelt | Tricia Tusa ‡ |
| 2010 | Maybe a Bear Ate It! | Robie Harris | Michael Emberley ‡ |
| 2011 | Chicken Dance | Tammi Sauer | Dan Santat ‡ |
| 2012 | Interrupting Chicken | David Ezra Stein | Stein |
| 2013 | Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes (sequel to Pete the Cat) |
Eric Litwin | James Dean ‡ |
| 2017 | Red, a Crayon's Story | Michael Hall | |
| 2018 | The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors | Drew Daywalt | Adam Rex |
| 2019 | Can I Be Your Dog? | Troy Cummings | |
| 2020 | Nobody Hugs a Cactus | Carter Goodrich | |
| 2021 | Memoirs of a Tortoise | Devin Scillian | Tim Bowers |
| 2022 | The Worrysaurus | Rachel Bright | Chris Chatterton |
| 2023 | Summertime Sleepers | Melissa Stewart | |
| 2024 | Feathers Together | Caron Levis | Charles Santoso |
‡ The official award webpage identifies only the title and writer.
