Winners of the 2012 Children’s Choice Book Awards

The start of a new year inspires the publications of many "best of" lists. One of our favorites is the Children’s Choice Awards, a list of outstanding new books selected annually by 12,500 children around the country who choose what they like best from over 500 of the year’s best offerings. And (drum roll, please) the results for 2012 are in!

The Children’s Choice Awards are a nationwide search for the best books out there, chosen by the people who matter most: the kids themselves. Organized by the International Reading Association and cosponsored by the Children’s Book Council, Children’s Choices aims to help young readers find books they will enjoy. Between 20 and 30 books are presented for each of three levels of readers: Beginning Readers (kindergarten through second grade), Young Readers (third and fourth grades), and Advanced Readers (fifth and sixth grades).

The same principle is behind Teachers’ Choices, which identifies about 30 books selected by education professionals as excellent choices for curriculum use. And teens can peruse the Young Adults’ Choices list to learn which new novels their peers liked best. Each list presents the titles in alphabetical order, a brief description of the book, and a picture of the front cover.

Access all three children's lists, in age order. Maybe you’ll want to show them to a reluctant reader in your life, choose the perfect gift for a special child, or get some ideas for your own reading!