Starting September 1st, St. Lawrence County children and teens can nominate their favorite books for the 3 Apples Book Award, an annual award sponsored by the New York Library Association. Launched in 2007, the award was developed to encourage the joys of reading for pleasure. The nominated titles are selected, and eventually voted on, entirely by participating youth throughout the state.
A book by any author, in any genre, may be nominated as long as it hasn’t been a winner in previous years of the contest. Children are often encouraged to read based on book displays, school assignments, or their peers. In the case of the 3 Apples Book Award, children are encouraged to select their own favorites, many of which are popular or best-selling books, but also may include hidden gems found simply by browsing the shelves at the local library.
Nominations are accepted in three categories: Young Reader’s Choice (UPK-grade 2), Children’s Choice (grades 3-6), and Teen’s Choice (grades 7-12). Youth may submit nominations from September 1st through October 31st online or at their public or school library. A statewide ballot of the top fifteen titles in each category will be announced on November 13, 2017.
From November 2017 until April 2018, children should read or listen to at least three of the nominated titles prior to voting for their top choice. Eligible children will be able to cast one vote online or at their local public or school library in April 2018. Final results will be announced in May when winning titles and authors are honored with the presentation of the 3 Apples Book Award.
Last year’s nominees included books by Laura Numeroff, Stuart Gibbs, and Laurie Halse Anderson, a North Country native. After receiving over 6,000 votes from youth, the 2017 awards went to The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak (Young Reader’s Choice), The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (Children’s Choice), and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (Teen’s Choice).
Other previous award winning titles include Click Clack Moo: Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin, Don’t Let the Pigeon Ride the Bus by Mo Willems, Wonder by R.J. Palacio, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney, Divergent by Veronica Roth, and Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
Let’s encourage our St. Lawrence County youth to participate in the 2018 awards. As our area children head back to school this fall, please encourage them to visit the library and discover some new and interesting books – our libraries have thousands, and in some cases, tens of thousands juvenile books waiting for a new reader to check them out!The 3 Apples Book Award is a joint program of the Youth Service (YSS) and School Library (SSL) Sections of the New York Library Association (NYLA). More information may be found on the 3 Apples Book Award website, or at your local public or school library.