Make your voice heard with the Children's Choice Book Awards! Below is a list of the books, authors, and illustrators nominated in each of five categories: Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year, Third to Fourth Grade Book of the Year, Fifth to Sixth Grade Book of the Year, Favorite Illustrator of the Year, and Favorite Author of the Year. Visit your local library or bookstore and read the nominated books. Then visit www.bookweekonline.com to vote on your favorites! A Children's Choice Book Award will be given to the winner in each category. Voting ends May 3, 2009, so start reading today!

Jon Scieszka earned a bachelor's degree from Albion College and a master of fine arts degree from Columbia University. He held a number of teaching positions in the first through eighth grades before taking a year off to develop ideas for children's books. Jon Scieszka is the author of numerous bestselling children's books, including The Stinky Cheese Man, which won a Caldecott Honor medal; The True Story of the Three Little Pigs; the Time Warp Trio, a chapter book series; and the Trucktown series for the pre-school set. Scieszka is the founder of Guys Read (www.guysread.com), a nonprofit literacy organization. In January 2008, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington appointed children's book author Jon Scieszka as the first National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. The position was created to raise national awareness of the importance of young people's literature as it relates to lifelong literacy, education, and the development and betterment of the lives of young people. The National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Program is administered by the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress, the Children's Book Council, and Every Child a Reader (the CBC Foundation).

Finalist for Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year

The Donut Chef

By Bob Staake
Golden Books/Random House Children’s Books

Finalist for Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year
ISBN 13: 978-0375844034

In this delicious tale, a baker hangs out his shingle on a small street, and soon, the line for his doughnuts goes out the door. But it's not long until the competition comes along and a battle of the bakers ensues.


Katie Loves the Kittens

By John Himmelman
(Henry Holt Books for Young Readers

Finalist for Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year
ISBN13: 978-0805086829

Katie is so excited when Sara Ann brings home three little kittens that she can’t stop herself from howling “AROOOOO!” and trying to run after them. But Katie’s enthusiasm frightens the kitties, and she’s sad when they run away from her. Don’t they know that she just wants to play?


The Pigeon Wants a Puppy

By Mo Willems
Hyperion Books for Children/Disney Book Group

Finalist for Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year
ISBN13: 978-1423109600

He really, really, REALLY wants one. He'll take really good care of it! What's the matter--don't you want him to be happy? The latest book in the best-selling Pigeon series is the funniest one yet.


Sort It Out!

By Barbara Mariconda
Illustrated by Sherry Rogers
Sylvan Dell Publishing

Finalist for Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year
ISBN13: 978-1934359112

Packy the Packrat’s mother has had enough! It’s time that he sorts through his ever-growing collection of trinkets and puts them away. Told in rhyme, the text leads the reader to participate in the sorting process by categorizing Packy’s piles of things according to like characteristics and attributes.


Those Darn Squirrels!

By Adam Rubin
Daniel Salmieri
Clarion

Finalist for Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year
ISBN13: 978-0547007038

In this whimsical picture book, a grumpy old man and some mischievous squirrels match wits -- with hilarious results.

Finalist for Third to Fourth Grade Book of the Year

Babymouse: Puppy Love

By Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
Random House Books for Young Readers

Finalist for Third to Fourth Grade Book of the Year
ISBN: 978-0375839900

Babymouse doesn’t exactly have a great history with pets–even her goldfish ran away from home. But all that’s about to change. Will Babymouse get the dog of her dreams? Will she ever find her missing fish?


One Million Things

By Peter Chrisp
DK Publishing

Finalist for Third to Fourth Grade Book of the Year
ISBN13: 978-0756638436

Featuring gorgeous photography that both illustrates and educates, this comprehensive visual encyclopedia is jam-packed with thousands and thousands of images that bring more than one million things to light.


Underwear: What We Wear Under There

By Ruth Freeman Swain
Illustrated by John O'Brien
Holiday House

Finalist for Third to Fourth Grade Book of the Year
ISBN13: 978-0823419203

Underwear. It can be practical, it can be lucky, it can be just plain bizarre. And just one mention of the word can make you giggle or blush. But if you really want to laugh out loud, take a step back in time and check out what people in past centuries used to cover up “under there.”


Willow

By Denise Brennan-Nelson and Rosemarie Brennan
Illustrated by Cyd Moore
Sleeping Bear Press

Finalist for Third to Fourth Grade Book of the Year
ISBN13: 978-1585363421

Into Miss Hawthorn’s neat and tidy classroom comes young Willow. She doesn’t color inside the lines, she breaks crayons, and she sees pink trees and blue apples. What will Miss Hawthorn think?


Spooky Cemeteries

By Dinah Williams
Bearport Publishing

Finalist for Third to Fourth Grade Book of the Year
ISBN13: 978-1597165624

Do the dead tell tales? Find out in this scary trip through 11 of the world's spookiest cemeteries. The histories and legends behind these ghostly graveyards are creepy enough to keep anyone up at night!

Finalist for Fifth to Sixth Grade Book of the Year

100 Most Dangerous Things On the Planet

By Anna Claybourne
Scholastic Reference

Finalist for Fifth to Sixth Grade Book of the Year
ISBN13: 978-0545069274

From natural disasters to dangerous weather, from the dangers of getting lost in the wild to fighting off dangerous animals, any child can imagine the special skills they'll need to combat 100 real-life dramas. Each danger is rated by how likely you are to encounter it, as well as how likely you are to survive.


Amulet, Book One: The Stonekeeper

By Kazu Kibuishi
Illustrated by Kazu Kibuishi
Graphix/Scholastic

Finalist for Fifth to Sixth Grade Book of the Year
ISBN13: 978-0439846813

After the tragic death of their father, Emily and Navin move with their mother to the home of her deceased great-grandfather, but the strange house proves to be dangerous. Before long, a sinister creature lures the kids' mom through a door in the basement. Em and Navin, desperate not to lose her, follow her into an underground world inhabited by demons, robots, and talking animals.


The Big Field

By Mike Lupica
Philomel/Penguin Young Readers Group

Finalist for Fifth to Sixth Grade Book of the Year
ISBN13: 978-0399246258

Hutch finds himself playing after Darryl “D-Will” Williams, the best shortstop prospect since A-Rod, joins the team. Team player to the end, though, Hutch is cool with playing in D-Will’s shadow—until, that is, the two shortstops in Hutch’s life betray him in a way he never could have imagined.


Swords: An Artist's Devotion

By Ben Boos
Candlewick Press

Finalist for Fifth to Sixth Grade Book of the Year
ISBN13: 978-0763631482

Brave men and women have taken up the sword since ages of old, and a fascination with this formidable tool grips dedicated followers to this day. Here is a celebration of swords and swordsmen that spans time and place.


Thirteen

By Lauren Myracle
Dutton/Penguin Young Readers Group

Finalist for Fifth to Sixth Grade Book of the Year
ISBN13: 978-0525478966

Winnie Perry is a teenager—at last! And it’s a really big deal. A ginormous deal, which, wouldn’t you know it, brings ginormous problems along with it. Winnie’s bff #1 is growing up too slowly, while her bff #2 is growing up too fast, leaving Winnie stuck in the middle.

Finalist for Illustrator of the Year

Big Words for Little People

By Laura Cornell
Joanna Cotler Books/HarperCollins Children’s Books

Finalist for Illustrator of the Year
ISBN13: 978-0061127595

Big Words for Little People marks another triumph in the tradition of Curtis and Cornell’s seven other bestselling titles. The book is an invaluable addition to the library of today’s youngster, making new things exciting rather than scary and taking the learning process to a superior level, or better yet, SUPERB!


Fancy Nancy: Bonjour Butterfly!

By Robin Preiss Glasser
HarperCollins Children’s Books

Finalist for Illustrator of the Year
ISBN13: 978-0061235887

Fancy Nancy Clancy loves butterflies. She thinks they are exquisite (that’s a fancy word for beautiful). So of course, she can’t wait for her best friend Bree’s Butterfly Birthday Bash. But when her mother tells her she can’t go because her grandparents’ un-glamorous 50th wedding anniversary is the same day, Nancy is worse than upset.


The Pigeon Wants a Puppy

By Mo Willems
Hyperion Books for Children/Disney Book Group

Finalist for Illustrator of the Year
ISBN13: 978-1423109600

He really, really, REALLY wants one. He'll take really good care of it! What's the matter--don't you want him to be happy? The latest book in the best-selling Pigeon series is the funniest one yet.


Smash! Crash!

By David Shannon, Loren Long and David Gordon
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing

Finalist for Illustrator of the Year
ISBN13: 978-1416941330

Best friends Jack and Dan are spending their day doing what they do best--smashing and crashing! All the while a strange shadow is following them around every corner...Who is this new addition to Trucktown? What does she want?


Zen Ties

By John J. Muth
Scholastic Press

Finalist for Illustrator of the Year
ISBN13: 978-0439634250

Summer has arrived -- and so has Koo, Stillwater's haiku-speaking young nephew. And when Stillwater encourages Koo, and his friends Addy, Michael, and Karl to help a grouchy old neighbor in need, their efforts are rewarded in unexpected ways.

Finalist for Author of the Year

Breaking Dawn

By Stephenie Meyer
Little, Brown and Company

Finalist for Author of the Year
ISBN13: 978-0316067928

The astonishing, breathlessly anticipated conclusion to the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn illuminates the secrets and mysteries of this spellbinding romantic epic that has entranced millions.


Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules

By Jeff Kinney
Amulet Books/Abrams

Finalist for Author of the Year
ISBN13: 978-0810994737

Being wimpy may have its rewards, but it has its perils too. As Greg’s father threatens to toughen him up with “manly” endeavors like sports, The Boy Scouts—and, if all else fails, military academy—will he shape up or get shipped out?


Brisingr

By Christopher Paolini
Knopf Books for Young Readers/Random House Children’s Books

Finalist for Author of the Year
ISBN13: 978-0375826726

Following the colossal battle against the Empire’s warriors on the Burning Plains, Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have narrowly escaped with their lives. Still, there is more adventure at hand for the Rider and his dragon, as Eragon finds himself bound by a tangle of promises he may not be able to keep.


Maximum Ride: The Final Warning

By James Patterson
Little, Brown and Company

Finalist for Author of the Year
ISBN13: 978-0316002868

Safe havens for the six highly-sought-after winged kids have become increasingly hard to find — so the flock takes refuge in Antarctica with a team of environmentalists studying the effects of global warming. In this remote wilderness — whether pursued by corrupt governments, bioengineered bad-guys, or the harsh forces of nature — survival of the fittest takes a new twist!


Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Battle of the Labyrinth

By Rick Riordan
Disney- Hyperion Books

Finalist for Author of the Year
ISBN13: 978-1423101468

As an incoming freshman, Percy isn’t expecting his high school orientation to be any fun. But when a mysterious mortal acquaintance appears, followed by demon cheerleaders, things quickly move from bad to worse.


The Children's Book Council, Inc. is the nonprofit trade association of United States publishers and packagers of trade books for children and young adults and is the official sponsor of Children's Book Week.