The Massachusetts Children’s Book Award
The Massachusetts Children’s Book Award is awarded annually to the children’s book with the most popular votes from students in grades 4 to 6. The purpose of the award is to create and maintain interest in reading among children in the intermediate grades. Teachers, librarians, and interested publishers nominate books that are available in paperback editions. In order to vote, students must read 5 books on the nominated list. Here are this year’s winner and a sampling of the nominees. For the entire list along with teacher resources, please click here.
Winner El Deafo Author Cece Bell chronicles her hearing loss at a young age and her subsequent experiences with the Phonic Ear, a very powerful—and very awkward—hearing aid. A graphic novel. Ages 8 and up |
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A Dash of Magic: A Bliss Novel By: Kathryn Littlewood Twelve-year-old Rose Bliss and her siblings track down magical ingredients in Paris so Rose can compete in a baking challenge against her evil aunt and win back the family’s magical cookbook. Ages 8 and up |
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The Buddy Files: The Case of the School Ghost By: Dori Hillestad Butler When therapy dog Buddy attends the fourth grade sleepover in the school’s library, he solves the mystery of the school ghost. Ages 6 and up |
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The Adventures of a South Pole Pig By: Christopher Kurtz Flora the pig ditches the sedentary life on the farm for an adventure in Antarctica, where she escapes the knife and lives her dream of pulling a sled with a team of dogs. Ages 8 and up |
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Absolutely Almost By: Lisa Graff Ten-year-old Albie has never been the smartest, tallest, best at gym, greatest artist, or most musical in his class, as his parents keep reminding him, but new nanny Calista helps him uncover his strengths and take pride in himself. Ages 8 and up |
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Book Scavenger By: Jennifer Chambliss Bertman Just after twelve-year-old Emily and her family move to San Francisco, she teams up with new friend James to follow clues in an odd book they find, hoping to figure out its secrets before the men who attacked Emily’s hero, publisher Garrison Griswold, solve the mystery or come after the friends. Ages 8 and up |
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No Ordinary Day By: Deborah Ellis Valli has always been afraid of the lepers living on the other side of the train tracks in the coal town of Jharia, India, so when a chance encounter with a doctor reveals she also has leprosy, Valli rejects help and begins an uncertain life on the streets. Ages 10 and up |
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Seagulls Don’t Eat Pickles By: Erica Farber Fish Finelli and his friends set out to find Captain Kidd’s treasure, rumored to be buried on nearby Lyons Island, but it seems like the local library director is looking for it as well–and finding the treasure may be the key to saving the island from developers. Ages 8 and up |
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The Fourteenth Goldfish By: Jennifer Holm Ellie’s scientist grandfather has discovered a way to reverse aging, and consequently has turned into a teenager–which makes for complicated relationships when he moves in with Ellie and her mother, his daughter. Ages 9 and up |
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Anton and Cecil: Cats at Sea By: Lisa Martin The swashbuckling adventures of two very different cat brothers. Cecil and Anton are as different in personality as they are in looks. One day when Anton does venture to port, he’s stolen off the dock, and the next thing he knows, he’s at sea. Cecil boards another ship in hopes of finding Anton. But what begins as a rescue mission turns into a pair of high seas adventures, with thrills and danger bubbling under every wave. Ages 8 and up |
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Cooper and Packrat: Mystery on Pine Lake By: Tamra Wight The only brightside to his family owning a campground is Cooper’s new friend Packrat, but when someone begins to destroy the habitat of the local loons, the boys must find the culprit before it is too late. Ages 8 and up |
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Loot: How to Steal a Fortune By: Jude Watson When Alfie McQuinn, the notorious jewel thief, is killed on a job, his last words to his son, March, are to “find jewels,” and this instruction leads the boy to Jules, the twin sister he never knew he had–and the perfect partner to carry on the family business. Ages 9 and up |
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Out of Bounds By: Fred Bowen Eighth-grade soccer forward Nick Osborne and his teammates are highly competitive but, with help from his soccer-playing aunt, Nick begins to see that good sportsmanship is more important than winning. Includes a recipe for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and the real story behind the novel. Ages 10 and up |