Young Reader's Choice Award facts for kids
The Young Reader's Choice Award is a special award for books, chosen by young readers themselves! 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 more groups: Youth and Senior. Then, in 2002, they created a third group called Intermediate. So now, the PNLA gives out three awards each year for books picked by students in the Pacific Northwest. This area includes places like Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, and Washington. The PNLA is the oldest library group in this region and the only one that includes both U.S. states and Canadian provinces.
Contents
How Books Win the Award
Books that win the Young Reader's Choice Award are usually published a few years before the award is given. For example, the winners for 2018 were books that came out in 2015.
Who Can Vote?
Anyone in grades four through twelve in the Pacific Northwest can vote. You just need to read (or have someone read to you) at least one book from the special list of nominees. Voting happens in March and April each year, mostly in school and public libraries.
How Books Get Nominated
The way books are chosen for the award was last updated in 2012. Kids, teachers, parents, and librarians in the Pacific Northwest can suggest books. They send their ideas to their local representatives or to the person in charge of the YRCA. When books are nominated, at least one book in each award group must be by a Canadian author or have a story that mostly takes place in Canada.
Award Winners: 1940–1990
| 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
During these years, the YRCA had two categories: Youth and Senior.
| Year | Youth | Senior | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Ann M. Martin | Ten Kids, No Pets | Jenny Davis | ... 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
From 2002 onwards, the YRCA has given awards in three categories: Junior, Intermediate, and Senior.
| 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 |
Recent Nominations
Junior Division Nominations
These are some of the books nominated for the Junior Division award.
| Author | Title | |
|---|---|---|
| 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
Here are some of the books nominated for the Intermediate Division award.
| Year | Author | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 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
These are some of the books nominated for the Senior Division award.
| Author | Title |
|---|---|
| 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 |
