BATON ROUGE, La. – The State Library of Louisiana is excited to announce the winners of the 2021-2022 Louisiana Readers’ Choice Awards. Louisiana’s young people have read nearly 1.35 million books and cast over 424,000 votes in the twenty-three years since the program began.
Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice
Grades 3-5:
The Crayon Man: The True Story of the Invention of Crayola Crayons(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
written by Natascha Biebow, illustrated by Steven Salerno
Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice
Grades 6-8:
New Kid(Quill Tree Books, Harper Collins)
written and illustrated by Jerry Craft
Louisiana Teen Readers’ Choice
Grades 9-12:
Two Can Keep a Secret(Delacorte Press, Penguin Random House)
by Karen M. McManus
Honor titles include Titan and the Wild Boars: The True Cave Rescue of the Thai Soccer Team (HarperCollins Children’s Books, HarperCollins), written by Susan Hood and Pathana Sornhiran, illustrated by Dow Phumiruk for the Grades 3-5 list; Maybe He Just Likes You (Aladdin, Simon & Schuster) by Barbara Dee for the Grades 6-8 list; and With the Fire on High (Quill Tree Books, HarperCollins) by Elizabeth Acevedo for the Grades 9-12 list. Winners are selected from diverse booklists carefully chosen by committees of school and public librarians from across the state, and many students cast their ballots on voting machines supplied by the Secretary of State’s Voter Outreach Division.
“Now in its 23rd year, the Louisiana Readers’ Choice program is a great way to introduce students to some fantastic reads, especially during such a stressful time when we could all use an escape,” says Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “The use of actual voting machines and encouraging an interest in the democratic process through our partnership with the Secretary of State’s Office are added bonuses.”
“The State Library of Louisiana is proud to continue facilitating the selection of high-interest titles with the collective expertise of our public and school librarians statewide,” notes State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton. “We hope to foster a love of reading that contributes to the lifelong development of Louisiana youth as skilled readers.”
An award ceremony for honored book authors will be held at the Louisiana Book Festival on Saturday, October 29. For more information about the program, including previous winners, how to participate, and additional resources such as free bookmarks, posters, and study guides, please visit the Louisiana Readers' Choice Award page.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Rebecca Hamilton
State Library of Louisiana
225-342-4923
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Veronica Mosgrove
Office of the Lieutenant Governor
225-342-7009
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