Middle-Grade Children's Book Awards and Two Great Book Lists

The Vermont Middle-Grade Children’s Book Award List, formerly the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award or Dorothy’s List, was created to honor excellence in children's literature. Each year since 1957, Vermont students in grades four through eight have selected their favorite book from a list of 30 nominees. Voting takes place in the spring, generally beginning in April—right about now! This year, voting will happen remotely, and the voting deadline has been extended.

The voting extension is the perfect opportunity to squeeze in a few more excellent reads from the 2019–2020 list of nominees. If you need a recommendation, check out Sweep, A Story of a Girl and her Monster by Jonathan Auxier (for grades 5 and up). Fantasy, history and Jewish folklore combine into a heroic tale of a girl righting wrongs in nineteenth century London. I cheered for Nan, her chimney sweep friends and her beloved Golem.

Another favorite was Just like Jackie by Lindsay Stoddard, a Vermont author (for grades 5 and up). Set in Vermont, this is a real story about hard challenges for the main character, Jackie, a ten-year-old girl who lives with her Grandpa. Based on this story, I predict Ms. Stoddard will become a popular author for middle grade readers. You'll find the link for the 2019-2020 award nominees here.

New Nominees

We will keep you up-to-date with any voting deadlines, but almost as exciting as the announcement of the winner is the announcement of the new list of nominees. You'll find the 2020-2021 list here!  

What looks good to you from this list? Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals about Death by Caitlin Doughty (for grades 7 and up) makes me very curious. What an intriguing title! These titles also grabbed my attention, and made it to my “read first” list: A Wolf Called Wander by Roseanne Parry (for grades 4 and up), and The Dark Lord Clementine by Sarah Jean Horowitz (for grades 5 and up). I’d love to hear what titles look good to you.

Nominees from both lists are available as e-books through the Green Mountain Library Consortium on the Overdrive or Libby apps. Check out the Libby tutorial on our website to learn how to use this great resource.

Remember to let us know your favorites, what you’re reading or what you’d like to read, or even what you didn’t like!  We look forward to reading your posts. -KK