Tattered Essence

The Children’s Book Council and CBC Foundation have announced 25 finalists in five categories of the first Children’s Choice Book Awards. Until Sunday, May 4, children may cast votes for their favorite authors, illustrators and books at bookstores, school libraries and BookWeekOnline.com. The winners will be announced at the Children’s Choice Book Award gala on May 13 in New York City during Children’s Book Week, which runs May 12-18, 2008.

The finalists:

Favorite Book for Grades K-2

• Dino Dinners by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom (Holiday House)
• Five Little Monkeys Go Shopping by Eileen Christelow (Clarion)
• Frankie Stein written by Lola M. Schaefer, illustrated by Kevan Atteberry (Marshall Cavendish Corporation)
• Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark written by Ken Geist, illustrated by Julia Gorton (Cartwheel Books/Scholastic)
• Tucker’s Spooky Halloween by Leslie McGuirk (Candlewick Press)

Favorite Book for Grades 3-4

• Babymouse: Camp Babymouse by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm (Random House for Young Readers)
• Big Cats by Elaine Landau (Enslow Publishers)
• Monday With a Mad Genius written by Mary Pope Osborne, illustrated by Sal Murdocca (Random House for Young Readers)
• The Richest Poor Kid written by Carl Sommer, illustrated by Jorge Martinez (Advance Publishing)
• Wolves by Duncan Searl (Bearport Publishing)

Favorite Book for Grades 5-6

• Beowulf: Monster Slayer written by Paul D. Storrie, illustrated by Ron Randall (Lerner Publishing Group)
• Encyclopedia Horrifica by Joshua Gee (Scholastic Paperbacks)
• Ghosts by Stephen Krensky (Lerner Publishing Group)
• The Short and Incredibly Happy Life of Riley by Amy Lissiat and Colin Thompson (Kane/Miller Book Publishers)
• When the Shadbush Blooms written by Carla Messinger with Susan Katz, illustrated by David Kanietakeron Fadden (Tricycle Press)

2007 Author of the Year

• Anthony Horowitz for Snakehead (Alex Rider Adventure) (Philomel/Penguin)
• Erin Hunter for Warriors, Powers of Three: The Sight (HarperCollins)
• Jeff Kinney for Diary of Wimpy Kid (Abrams)
• Rick Riordan for Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Titan’s Curse (Disney Book Group)
• J.K. Rowling for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Scholastic)

2007 Illustrator of the Year

• Jan Brett for Three Snow Bears (Putnam/Penguin)
• Ian Falconer for Olivia Helps with Christmas (Simon & Schuster)
• Robin Preiss Glasser for Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy (HarperCollins)
• Brian Selznick for The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Scholastic)
• Mo Willems for Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity (Disney Book Group)