BATON ROUGE—(November 17, 2017)— Entering its 18th year, the Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice (LYRC) Awards Program is excited to announce the 2018-2019 nominated title lists for grades 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Every year tens of thousands of students from elementary to high school age vote on their favorite book from a list of titles curated by librarians serving on LYRC committees from across the state. Many students cast their ballot on real voting machines supplied by the Secretary of State’s Voter Outreach Division.
“The Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice Program encourages children and teens to read for pleasure and engage in literature,” Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser said. “Children who read tend to achieve more in school, instilling in them the value of the culture of literacy.”
The 2019 nominated title list includes award winning authors such as Coretta Scott King Honor Award winner Jewell Parker Rhodes, Newbery Medal winner Kwame Alexander, and National Book Award Finalists for Young People's Literature Jason Reynolds and Nicola Yoon. Other outstanding authors on the lists include Joan Bauer, Marissa Meyer, James Patterson, Neal Shusterman, and Chris Grabenstein, as well as Louisiana award winning author, John Corey Whaley. From fiction to nonfiction, picture books to novels, science fiction to romance, historical to contemporary, these carefully chosen booklists cover a variety of interests and genres, so there is something for every reader. Please see below for a full list of nominated titles.
“I am so pleased that so many Louisiana schools and public libraries participate in the LYRC program every year. Exposing young people to diverse, quality, and engaging literature is at the forefront of our mission at the State Library. We hope these fantastic titles serve as a kind of gateway to a lifetime of reading for pleasure,” said State Librarian, Rebecca Hamilton.
The Louisiana Readers’ Choice is a reading enrichment program of the Louisiana Center for the Book, housed in the State Library of Louisiana. Its mission is to foster a love of reading in the children of Louisiana by motivating them to participate in the recognition of outstanding books. According to a 2015 Kids Count report, only 63% of Louisiana’s fourth graders are reading above the basic level, and even fewer reading at a proficient level. Louisiana is third highest in the number of teens not in school and not high school graduates. This is 50% higher than the national average. The Louisiana Center for the Book and the State Library of Louisiana believe that fostering a lifelong love of reading among Louisianans will contribute to the state’s overall economic growth and quality of life.
For information about the program including previous winners, how to participate and additional resources such as free bookmarks, posters, study guides, etc., please visit www.state.lib.la.us.
LYRC Grades 3-5 Nominated List
1. Ada’s Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay by Susan Hood, illustrated by Sally Wern Comport (Simon & Schuster)
2. Adrift at Sea: A Vietnamese Boy’s Story of Survival by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch with Tuan Ho (Pajama Press)
3. The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey (Scholastic)
4. FRAMED! A T.O.A.S.T. Mystery by James Ponti (Simon & Schuster)
5. The Marvelous Thing That Came From a Spring – The Accidental Invention of the Toy That Swept the Nation by Gilbert Ford (Simon and Schuster)
6. My Life in Pictures by Deborah Zemke (Dial)
7. Seven and a Half Tons of Steel by Janet Nolan, illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez (Peachtree Publishers)
8. Soar by Joan Bauer (Viking)
9. Step Right Up: How Doc and Jim Key Taught the World About Kindness by Donna Janell Bowman (Lee & Low Books)
10. Tiny Stitches – The Life of Medical Pioneer Vivien Thomas by Gwendolyn Hooks, illustrated by Colin Bootman (Lee & Low Books)
11. Towers Falling by Jewell Parker Rhodes (Little, Brown and Company)
12. The Voyage to Magical North by Claire Fayers (Henry Holt & Co.)
13. The William Hoy Story by Nancy Churnin, illustrated by Jez Tuya (Albert Whitman & Co.)
14. Wish by Barbara O’Connor (Farrar, Straus &Giroux)
15. Word of Mouse by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein (Little, Brown & Co.)
LYRC Grades 6-8 Nominated List
1. The Adventurer’s Guide to Successful Escapes by Wade Albert White (Little, Brown)
2. Booked by Kwame Alexander (Houghton)
3. Dara Palmer’s Major Drama by Emma Shevah (Sourcebooks, Jabberwocky)
4. Fuzzy by Tom Angleberger (Amulet)
5. Ghost by Jason Reynolds (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)
6. Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic)
7. The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (Algonquin Young Readers)
8. Once Was a Time by Leila Sales (Chronicle Books)
9. Projekt 1065 by Alan Gratz (Scholastic)
10. Terror at Bottle Creek by Watt Key (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
11. The Thing About Leftovers by C.C. Payne ( Nancy Paulsen Books)
12. Top Prospect by Paul Volponi (Lerner Publishing Group)
Louisiana Teen Readers’ Choice Nominated List
1. Aging Out by Alton Carter (Roadrunner Press)
2. The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis (Katherine Tegen Books HarperCollins)
3. Heartless by Marissa Meyer ( Feiwel & Friends)
4. Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley (Penguin)
5. Riders (Book 1) by Veronica Rossi (Starscape/Tor)
6. Scythe: Arc of a Scythe (Book 1) by Neal Shusterman (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
7. The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner (Random House)
8. The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon (Delacorte Press)
9. This Is Our Story by Ashley Elston (Disney-Hyperion. IL: UG - BL: 4.8 - AR Pts: 12.0 - AR Quiz No. 187852
10. Three Dark Crowns (Book 1) by Kendare Blake (HarperTeen)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Rebecca Hamilton
State Library of Louisiana
225.342.4923
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Buddy Boe/Jessica Ragusa
Office of the Lieutenant Governor
225.342.1013
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