An award created by OEMA named after Beverly Cleary. Children of all ages may vote for their favorite from a list of nominated books.

Nominations include books targeted to the interest of 2nd and 3rd graders.

History:

The Beverly Cleary Children's Choice Award, sponsored by Oregon Educational Media Association, (OEMA), was established in the spring of 2002.

Rationale:

The purpose of this award is to encourage reading by highlighting good quality literature (fiction and nonfiction) written on the second - third grade reading level, taking into account text, format and the illustrations of the books. This contest will encourage books that students may not otherwise find on their own and are not necessarily the popular best sellers.

Timeline:

The Book Selection Committee meets in the spring after reading all of the nominated books. Titles may be nominated by students, teachers, librarians or other interested people. The committee is composed of school and public librarians, teachers, and others interested in Children's literature. 5-10 books are selected for the yearly nominations list. The list will be made available in the spring of each year.

Book Selection:

The Beverly Cleary Committee is taking suggestions for the 2007 Beverly Cleary Award nominated books.  They should, of course, be quality literature--fiction or nonfiction--published in 2005, and third grade reading level (taking into account vocabulary, graphic support, physical layout of the books).  Please send any ideas to Jann Tankersley