Young Reader's Choice Award facts for kids
The Young Reader's Choice Award is a special award for books chosen by young readers! It's given out by the Pacific Northwest Library Association (PNLA). This award started way back in 1940, thanks to a bookseller named Harry Hartman from Seattle.
It's the oldest award in the U.S. and Canada where kids get to pick the winners. It's also the only award chosen by children in two different countries! At first, there was just one award. But in 1991, they added two categories: Youth and Senior. Then, in 2002, they added a third category called Intermediate.
Now, the PNLA gives out three awards each year for books picked by students in the Pacific Northwest. This area includes Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, and Washington. The PNLA is the oldest and only group of its kind that works across both the U.S. and Canada.
Books that win the award were published a few years before. For example, the 2018 winners were books from 2015. Anyone in grades four through twelve in the Pacific Northwest can vote if they've read (or heard) at least one book from the list. Voting happens in March and April, mostly in school and public libraries.
Kids, teachers, parents, and librarians in the Pacific Northwest can suggest books for the award. They send their ideas to their local representatives or the award's main chairperson. When suggesting books, at least one book in each category must be by a Canadian author or have a story that mostly takes place in Canada.
Contents
Award Winners: 1940–1990
This table shows the books that won the Young Reader's Choice Award from 1940 to 1990.
| Year | Author | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1940 | Dell J. McCormick | Paul Bunyan Swings His Axe |
| 1941 | Richard and Florence Atwater | Mr. Popper's Penguins |
| 1942 | Laura Ingalls Wilder | By the Shores of Silver Lake |
| 1943 | Eric Knight | Lassie Come-Home |
| 1944 | Walter Farley | The Black Stallion |
| 1945 | Marie McSwigan | Snow Treasure |
| 1946 | Jack O'Brien | The Return of Silver Chief |
| 1947 | Robert McCloskey | Homer Price |
| 1948 | Walter Farley | The Black Stallion Returns |
| 1949 | Shannon Garst | Cowboy Boots |
| 1950 | Dr. Seuss | McElligot's Pool |
| 1951 | Marguerite Henry | King of the Wind |
| 1952 | Marguerite Henry | Sea Star, Orphan of Chincoteague |
| No awards, 1953–1955 | ||
| 1956 | Ellen MacGregor | Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars |
| 1957 | Beverly Cleary | Henry and Ribsy |
| 1958 | William Corbin | Golden Mare |
| 1959 | Fred Gipson | Old Yeller |
| 1960 | Beverly Cleary | Henry and the Paper Route |
| 1961 | Jay Williams | Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine |
| 1962 | Stewart Holbrook | The Swamp Fox of the Revolution |
| 1963 | Jay Williams | Danny Dunn on the Ocean Floor |
| 1964 | Sheila Burnford | The Incredible Journey |
| 1965 | Richard Tregaskis | John F. Kennedy and PT-109 |
| 1966 | Sterling North | Rascal |
| 1967 | Ian Fleming | Chitty Chitty Bang Bang |
| 1968 | Beverly Cleary | The Mouse and the Motorcycle |
| 1969 | Keith Robertson | Henry Reed's Baby-Sitting Service |
| 1970 | William Corbin | Smoke |
| 1971 | Beverly Cleary | Ramona the Pest |
| 1972 | Donald J. Sobol | Encyclopedia Brown Keeps the Peace |
| 1973 | No award | |
| 1974 | Robert C. O'Brien | Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH |
| 1975 | Judy Blume | Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing |
| 1976 | John D. Fitzgerald | The Great Brain Reforms |
| 1977 | Judy Blume | Blubber |
| 1978 | John D. Fitzgerald | The Great Brain Does It Again |
| 1979 | Mildred Taylor | Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry |
| 1980 | Beverly Cleary | Ramona and Her Father |
| 1981 | Ellen Conford | Hail, Hail Camp Timberwood |
| 1982 | Deborah Howe and James Howe | Bunnicula: A Rabbit Tale of Mystery |
| 1983 | Judy Blume | Superfudge |
| 1984 | Lynne Reid Banks | The Indian in the Cupboard |
| 1985 | Jamie Gilson | Thirteen Ways to Sink a Sub |
| 1986 | Betty Ren Wright | The Dollhouse Murders |
| 1987 | Robert Kimmel Smith | The War with Grandpa |
| 1988 | Barthe DeClements | Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You |
| 1989 | Mary Downing Hahn | Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story |
| 1990 | Louis Sachar | There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom |
Award Winners: 1991–2001
From 1991 to 2001, the YRCA had two categories: Youth and Senior. Here are the winners from those years.
| Year | Youth | Senior | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Ann M. Martin | Ten Kids, No Pets | Jenny Davis | Sex Education |
| 1992 | Bill Wallace | Danger in Quicksand Swamp | Peter Dickinson | Eva |
| 1993 | Jerry Spinelli | Maniac Magee | Caroline B. Cooney | The Face on the Milk Carton |
| 1994 | Phyllis Reynolds Naylor | Shiloh | Ann Rinaldi | Wolf by the Ears |
| 1995 | Peg Kehret | Terror at the Zoo | Lois Duncan | Who Killed My Daughter? |
| 1996 | Lois Lowry | The Giver | Phyllis Reynolds Naylor | The Boys Start the War |
| 1997 | Caroline B. Cooney | Driver's Ed | Eve Bunting | Nasty Stinky Sneakers |
| 1998 | Louis Sachar | Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger | Karen Cushman | The Midwife's Apprentice |
| 1999 | Andrew Clements | Frindle | Eve Bunting | SOS Titanic |
| 2000 | Dick King-Smith | A Mouse Called Wolf | Mel Glenn | The Taking of Room 114 |
| 2001 | Louis Sachar | Holes | William Sleator | The Boxes |
Award Winners: 2002–Present
Since 2002, the YRCA has given awards in three categories: Junior, Intermediate, and Senior. This table shows the winners from these years.
| Year | Junior | Intermediate | Senior | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Christopher Paul Curtis | Bud, Not Buddy | Carolyn Meyer | Mary, Bloody Mary | William Sleator | Rewind |
| 2003 | Kate DiCamillo | Because of Winn-Dixie | Gordon Korman | No More Dead Dogs | Joan Bauer | Hope Was Here |
| 2004 | Joseph Bruchac | Skeleton Man | Eoin Colfer | Artemis Fowl | Ann Brashares | The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants |
| 2005 | Cornelia Funke | The Thief Lord | Gordon Korman | Son of the Mob | Nancy Farmer | The House of the Scorpion |
| 2006 | Kate DiCamillo | The Tale of Despereaux | Christopher Paolini | Eragon | KL Going | Fat Kid Rules the World |
| 2007 | Cornelia Funke | Dragon Rider | Eoin Colfer | The Supernaturalist | Terry Pratchett | A Hat Full of Sky |
| 2008 | Ann M. Martin | A Dog's Life: The Autobiography of a Stray | Rick Riordan | The Lightning Thief | Jodi Lynn Anderson | Peaches |
| 2009 | Kate DiCamillo | The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane | John Boyne | The Boy in the Striped Pajamas | Stephenie Meyer | New Moon |
| 2010 | Jeff Kinney | Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Diary #1) |
Gordon Korman | Schooled | Cassandra Clare | City of Bones |
| 2011 | Kazu Kibuishi | Amulet: The Stonekeeper | Shannon Hale | Rapunzel's Revenge | Suzanne Collins | The Hunger Games |
| 2012 | Wendy Mass | 11 Birthdays | James Dashner | The Maze Runner | Maggie Stiefvater | Shiver |
| 2013 | Rick Riordan | The Lost Hero (The Heroes of Olympus #1) |
Raina Telgemeier | Smile | Han Nolan | Crazy |
| 2014 | Jeff Kinney | Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever (Diary #6) |
Rick Riordan | The Son of Neptune (Heroes #2) |
Veronica Roth | Divergent |
| 2015 | R. J. Palacio | Wonder | Raina Telgemeier | Drama | John Green | The Fault in Our Stars |
| 2016. | Chris Grabenstein | Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library | Rick Yancey | The 5th Wave | Jennifer E. Smith | This is What Happy Looks Like |
| 2017. | Cece Bell | El Deafo | Holly Black and Cassandra Clare | The Iron Trial | Veronica Roth | Four |
| 2018. | Victoria Jamieson | Roller Girl | Rick Riordan | Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer | Victoria Aveyard | Red Queen |
| 2019 | Dav Pilkey | Dog Man | Rick Riordan | The Hidden Oracle | Kendare Blake | Three Dark Crowns |
| 2020 | Alan Gratz | Refugee | Dusti Bowling | Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus | Angie Thomas | The Hate U Give |
| 2021 | Tui. T Sutherland | Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy | Victoria Schwab | City of Ghosts | Rachael Lippincott | Five Feet Apart |
| 2022 | Jerry Craft | New Kid | Padma Venkatraman | The Bridge Home | Tehlor Kay Mejia | We Set the Dark on Fire |
| 2023 | Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed | When Stars are Scattered | Jordyn Taylor | The Paper Girl of Paris | Jennifer Lynn Barnes | The Inheritance Games |
Nominated Books: 2019 - Present
These tables show some of the books that have been nominated for the Young Reader's Choice Award in recent years.
Junior Division Nominations
| Author | Title | |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Dav Pilkey | Dog Man |
| Kelly Barnhill | The Girl Who Drank the Moon | |
| Firoozeh Dumas | It Ain't so Awful Falafel | |
| Natalie Lloyd | The Key to Extraordinary | |
| John David Anderson | Ms. Bixby's Last Day | |
| Sara Pennypacker | Pax | |
| Peter Brown | The Wild Robot | |
| Marina Cohen | The Inn Between | |
| 2020 | Katherine Applegate | Wishtree |
| Linda Bailey | The Tiny Hero of Ferny Creek Library | |
| Pablo Cartaya | The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora | |
| Cat Clarke | The Pants Project | |
| Cressida Cowell | The Wizards of Once | |
| Alan Gratz | Refugee | |
| Gordon Korman | Restart | |
| Jessica Townsend | The Trials of Morrigan Crow | |
| 2021 | Katherine Arden | Small Spaces |
| John David Anderson | Granted | |
| John August | Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire | |
| Jonathan Auxier | Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster | |
| Sayantani DasGupta | The Serpent's Secret | |
| Tui T. Sutherland | Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy | |
| Terri Libenson | Positively Izzy | |
| Kenneth Oppel | Inkling | |
| 2022 | Charlene Willing McManis | Indian No More |
| Jerry Craft | New Kid | |
| Lynda Mullaly Hunt | Shouting at the Rain | |
| Kelley Armstrong | A Royal Guide to Monster Slaying | |
| Rosanne Parry | A Wolf Called Wander | |
| Jasmine Warga | Other Words for Home | |
| Yoon Ha Lee | Dragon Pearl | |
| Lynne Kelly | Song for a Whale | |
| 2023 | David Robertson | The Barren Grounds |
| Janae Marks | From the Desk of Zoe Washington | |
| James Ponti | City Spies | |
| Rena Barron | Maya and the Rising Dark | |
| Tae Keller | When You Trap a Tiger | |
| Daniel Nayeri | Everything Sad Is Untrue (A True Story) | |
| Rob Harrell | Wink | |
| Victoria Jamieson | When Stars Are Scattered |
Intermediate Division Nominations
| Year | Author | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Kwame Alexander | Booked |
| Marissa Meyer | Heartless | |
| Rick Riordan | The Hidden Oracle | |
| Iian Lawrence | The Skeleton Tree | |
| Nicole Castroman | Blackhearts | |
| Lauren Oliver | Replica | |
| Alwyn Hamilton | Rebel of the Sands | |
| Wesley King | OCDaniel | |
| 2020 | S. K. Ali | Saints and Misfits |
| Dusti Bowling | Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus | |
| Chris Colfer | Stranger Than Fanfiction | |
| Rosalyn Eves | Blood Rose Rebellion | |
| Stephanie Garber | Caraval | |
| Ryan Graudin | Invictus | |
| Antonio Iturbe | The Librarian of Auschwitz | |
| Fonda Lee | Exo | |
| 2021 | Elizabeth Acevedo | The Poet X |
| Leslie Connor | The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle | |
| Lisa Greenwald | TBH, This Is So Awkward | |
| Adib Khorram | Darius the Great is Not Okay | |
| Susin Nielsen-Fernlund | No Fixed Address | |
| Victoria Schwab | City of Ghosts | |
| Laura Sebastian | Ash Princess | |
| Scott Westerfeld | Imposters | |
| 2022 | Padma Venkatraman | The Bridge Home |
| Margaret Rogerson | Sorcery of Thorns | |
| Kwame Mbalia | Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky | |
| Elizabeth Lim | Spin the Dawn | |
| Sarah Henstra | We Contain Multitudes | |
| Kip Wilson | White Rose | |
| Christine Day | I Can Make This Promise | |
| Sarah Kuhn | I Love You So Mochi | |
| 2023 | Aiden Thomas | Cemetery Boys |
| Elizabeth Acevedo | Clap When You Land | |
| Darcie Little Badger | Elatsoe | |
| Tracy Deonn | Legendborn | |
| Ibi Aanu Zoboi | Punching the Air | |
| Adiba Jaigirdar | The Henna Wars | |
| Jordyn Taylor | The Paper Girls of Paris | |
| Traci Chee | We Are Not Free |
Senior Division Nominations
| Author | Title |
|---|---|
| 2019 | |
| Mindy McGinnis | The Female of the Species |
| E.K. Johnston | Exit, Pursued by a Bear |
| Shaun David Hutchinson | We Are the Ants |
| Ruta Sepetys | Salt to the Sea |
| Kendare Blake | Three Dark Crowns |
| Ransom Riggs | Tales of the Peculiar |
| Ryan North | The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe |
| Alexandra Bracken | Passenger |
| 2020 | |
| Cherie Dimaline | The Marrow Thieves |
| John Green | Turtles All the Way Down |
| S. Jae-Jones | Wintersong |
| E. K. Johnston | That Inevitable Victorian Thing |
| Karen M. McManus | One of Us is Lying |
| Adam Silvera | They Both Die at the End |
| Angie Thomas | The Hate U Give |
| Ibi Aanu Zoboi | American Street |
| 2021 | |
| Tomi Adeyemi | Children of Blood and Bone |
| Holly Black | The Cruel Prince |
| Steven Levenson | Dear Evan Hansen |
| Rachel Lippincott | Five Feet Apart |
| Tahereh Mafi | A Very Large Expanse of Sea |
| Kate Alice Marshall | I Am Still Alive |
| Neal Shusterman | Dry |
| Courtney Summers | Sadie |
| 2022 | |
| Ruta Sepetys | The Fountains of Silence |
| Elizabeth Acevedo | With the Fire on High |
| David Yoon | Frankly in Love |
| Akwaeke Emezi | Pet |
| Mindee Arnett | Onyx & Ivory |
| Randy Ribay | Patron Saint of Nothing |
| Mariko Tamaki | Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me |
| Tehlor Kay Mejia | We Set the Dark on Fire |
| 2023 | |
| Nic Stone | Dear Justyce |
| Julie Murphy | Faith: Taking Flight |
| Kacen Callender | Felix Ever After |
| Kelly Yang | Parachutes |
| June Hur | The Silence of Bones |
| Jennifer Lynn Barnes | The Inheritance Games |
| Owen Laukkanen | The Wild |
| Leah Johnson | You Should See Me in a Crown |
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Young Reader's Choice Award Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.