Children’s & Teen Choice Book Awards Voting Underway

Voting for the ninth annual Children’s & Teen Choice Book Awards continues through April 25 on ccbookawards.com and in bookstores, schools, and libraries around the country.

Children and teens from coast to coast will cast their votes to select the award winners for seven categories: Grades K–2 Book of the Year; Grades 3–4 Book of the Year; Grades 5–6 Book of the Year; Teen Book of the Year; Children’s Choice Debut Author; Teen Choice Debut Author; and Children’s Choice Illustrator. The winners will be announced during Children’s Book Week, May 2–8.

To help booksellers promote the awards voting, the Children’s Book Council (CBC) offers a digital toolkit filled with resources, including website badges, logos, e-mail signatures, sample social media posts, “Cast your vote” banners, and “I voted” stickers. Printable voting ballots are also available this year.

The Children’s Book Week Booksellers Page features ideas for celebrating Children’s Book Week, as well as details about an in-store display contest sponsored by CBC and Every Child a Reader in partnership with the ABC Children’s Group at ABA.

Booksellers are invited to create in-store or window displays, which must be up from April 30 to May 8 to be considered, that highlight the Children’s Book Week theme of celebrating books and reading.

The winning bookstore will earn a visit from a winner or finalist of the 2016 Children’s Choice Book Awards, as well as coverage in the Children’s Book Council’s Update newsletter,  in ABA’s Bookselling This Week, and in social media posts and on bookweekonline.com.

Booksellers are encouraged to incorporate this year’s Children’s Book Week poster, designed by author and illustrator Brian Won, into their displays. Booksellers can request up to 25 copies of the poster at no cost other than shipping. The poster will also be included in ABA’s April Red Box mailing. Children’s Book Week posters from the past 96 years are all available for order from CafePress.

Displays will be judged on their uniqueness and creativity, their use of space, and their eye-catching appeal. Pictures of displays, along with a photo credit, must be submitted to ABC Children’s Group Manager Matthew Zoni by May 6.

To promote Children’s Book Week, booksellers can download and print the 2016 Children’s Book Week bookmark, which features characters from the graphic memoir El Deafo by author and illustrator Cece Bell (Harry N. Abrams), a 2015 Children’s Choice Debut Author finalist.

Watch for Children’s Book Week updates on Twitter, Facebook, and Bookweekonline.com, as well as in BTW.