The Massachusetts Children's Book Award is an annual literary award recognizing one book selected by vote of Massachusetts schoolchildren from a list prepared by committee. It was established in 1975 by Dr. Helen Constant, associate professor of education at Salem State College,
[ and it continues to be sponsored by the School of Education at ]Salem State University
Salem State University (Salem State or SSU) is a public university in Salem, Massachusetts. Established in 1854, it is the oldest and largest institute of higher education on the North Shore and is part of the state university system in Massa ...
. The purpose is to help maintain interest in reading among children in the "intermediate grades".[
Students in grades 4 to 6 (almost all 9 to 12 years old) are eligible to vote for one favorite book if they have read at least five on the list, which now comprises 25 books that are no more than five years old.][ Participation is coordinated through schools, often by the school library, but public librarians may facilitate the program for home-schooled children and those whose schools do not participate in the program. The book with the greatest number of votes wins the Award—the writer gets a commemorative plaque—and a number of runners-up, commonly four, are named honor books.
Currently "teachers, librarians, and interested publishers" nominate books and all of those selected must be available in paperback editions. Other criteria include "literary quality, variety of genres, representation of diverse cultural groups, and reader appeal."][ For the 2014 award, the Master List comprised 25 books published from 2009 to 2013, almost half in 2011. A "Grade Level Guide" placed five of the books in each of five levels from "low fourth" (low ]fourth grade
Fourth grade (also called grade four, equivalent to Year 5 in England and Wales, and Year 4 in Australia) is a year of Elementary education in some countries. In North America, the fourth grade is the fifth school year of elementary school. Stud ...
) to "advanced sixth".[
]
History
The Mass. Children's Book Award program was inaugurated during the 1975–76 school year and the first winner was ''How to Eat Fried Worms
''How to Eat Fried Worms'' is a children's book written by Thomas Rockwell, first published in 1973. The novel's plot involves a boy eating worms as part of a bet. It has been the frequent target of censors and appears on the American Library ...
'' by Thomas Rockwell,[ which was then three years old. The "First Annual Massachusetts Book Award Conference" was scheduled to run for seven hours from 8:30 at Salem State College Library on July 1. It was one of the "Specials", distinct from "Bicentennial" events, listed by '']The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' that morning. One year later ''Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
''Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing'' is a children's novel written by American author Judy Blume and published in 1972. It is the first in the Fudge series and was followed by ''Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great'', '' Superfudge'', '' Fudge-a-M ...
'' by Judy Blume won the second poll, in which 5000 students in 400 classes voted on 25 books "nominated by teachers, librarians, and youngsters". Second to fifth-place finishers were also identified at the mid-year conference.["Favorite book of children's poll". Stephanie Loer. ''The Boston Globe''. June 30, 1977. Page A10.] Late that year the ''Globe'' reported that "children in grades 4 through 9 will vote for their favorite books in the third annual contest". For six years then, to 1983, there were a pair of MCBA determined by votes of children in grades 4–6 and in grades 7–9 (generally, ages 9–12 and 12–15).[ The grades 7–9 winner in 1979, '' The Cat Ate My Gymsuit'' by Paula Danziger, had been the runner-up in 1977, voted by grades 4–6 only.][
''Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing'' won the grades 4–6 award again in 1983, the only book to win two MCBA. Four books published during the 1950s and 1960s were winners, as late as 1987 (see table). After 1995, however, the Master List was limited to books published during the five-year span ending that year (that is, 1992 to 1996 for the 1997 award).][ The winning books since then have ranged from one to five years old.
]
Massachusetts Children's Book Award Nominees
2017 MCBA Nominees[Salem State University – In the Community (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2016, from http://www.salemstate.edu/academics/schools/28393.php ]
Winners
Multiple awards
Louis Sachar
Louis Sachar ( ; born March 20, 1954) is an American young-adult mystery-comedy author. He is best known for the ''Wayside School'' series and the novel '' Holes''.
''Holes'' won the 1998 U.S. National Book Award for Young People's Literature< ...
has written three MCBA-winning books, published from 1987 to 1998: '' There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom'', '' Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger'', and '' Holes''. Several people have written two winning books and ''Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
''Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing'' is a children's novel written by American author Judy Blume and published in 1972. It is the first in the Fudge series and was followed by ''Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great'', '' Superfudge'', '' Fudge-a-M ...
'' ( Dutton, 1972) by Judy Blume
Judith Blume (née Sussman; born February 12, 1938) is an American writer of children's, young adult and adult fiction. Blume began writing in 1959 and has published more than 25 novels. Among her best-known works are ''Are You There God? It's Me ...
won both the 1977 and 1983 awards.[
]
References
External links
{{Portal , Children's literature
MCBA winners
at Goodreads
Goodreads is an American social cataloging website and a subsidiary of Amazon that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and read ...
American children's literary awards
Awards established in 1975
Massachusetts culture
Massachusetts education-related lists