Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Award

The Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Award is a literature award created to recognize high quality books for beginning and transitional readers in kindergarten through fourth grade. It is granted annually by the Maryland Library Association Children's Services Division (CSD). The Children's Services Division initiated the award in 2004 as a means of identifying and promoting the best fiction and nonfiction books for beginning readers.

The further intention in granting the Award is to provide teachers, librarians, and caregivers with a resource list of excellent books for beginning readers, and to encourage publishers, authors and illustrators to create high quality, interesting and beautiful books that will entice young readers.

The Award is decided by a committee made up of public librarians and school media specialists who examine qualifying literature published within the calendar year. The committee considers criteria such as legibility, vocabulary, visual and literary appeal, support matter (i.e. glossaries or pronunciation keys) and appropriateness to the needs of beginning readers. The committee selects one title each to receive the award in each of the following categories:

• Beginning Fiction
• Beginning Nonfiction
• Transitional Fiction
• Transitional Nonfiction

In addition, the committee generates an honor list of approximately 3-4 titles for each reading level the award covers. Books that the committee feels are especially appropriate for reluctant older readers are indicated.

Anyone working in a Maryland public library, and members of the Maryland Library Association (MLA), the Maryland Association of School Librarians (MASL) or the Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) may nominate titles for the award. Eligibility guidelines and nomination forms are listed on the Blue Crab page of the Maryland Library Association website.

Winners are announced annually in October at the fall CSD conference. A Blue Crab Award author is frequently invited to speak at the annual Maryland Library Association Conference in the spring of the following year.

Blue Crab Book Award Winners

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Year	Beginning Fiction	Beginning Nonfiction	Transitional Fiction	Transitional Nonfiction
2010	Good Dog, Aggie by Lori Ries illustrated by Frank W. Dormer	My People by Langston Hughes and Charles R. Smith, Jr.	How Oliver Olson Changed the World by Claudia Mills illustrated by Heather Maione	Never Smile at a Monkey: and 17 Other Important Things to Remember written and illustrated by Steve Jenkins
2009	Annie and Simon by Catharine O'Neill	Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator by Sarah C. Campbell photographed by Sarah C. Campbell and Richard P. Campbell	Keena Ford and the Second-Grade Mix-Up by Melissa Thomson illustrated by Frank Morrison	Our Three Bears by Ron Hirschi photographed by Thomas Mangelsen
2008	My Friend is Sad by Mo Willems	Best Friends: The True Story of Owen and Mzee by Roberta Edwards illustrated by Carol Schwartz	Abracadabra! Magic with Mouse and Mole by Wong Herbert Yee	Who Likes the Rain? by Etta Kaner illustrated by Marie Lafrance
2007	Dirk Bones And The Mystery of The Haunted House by Doug Cushman	Emperor Penguins by Patricia Trattles	Pirate Mom by Deborah Underwood illustrated by Stephen Gilpin	Time for Kids: Butterflies! by David Bjerklie
2006	Hi! Fly Guy! by Tedd Arnold	Chameleon, Chameleon by Joy Cowley photographs by Nic Bishop	The Next-Door Dogs by Colby Rodowsky illustrated by Amy June Bates	Turtle Tide: The Way of Sea Turtles by Stephen Swinburne illustrated by Bruce Hiscock
2005	Baa-Choo! by Sarah Weeks	Platypus! by Ginjer Clarke	Down Girl and Sit: Smarter than Squirrels by Lucy Nolan	Choppers! by Susan E.Goodman and Michael Doolittle
2004	See Pip Point by David Milgrim	Hunting Sharks by Kristin Nelson	Stuart Goes to School by Sara Pennypacker	Gretchen the Bicycle Dog by Anita Heyman

References

^{[1] [2]}

1. ^ http://www.mdlib.org/divisions/csd/blue.asp
2. ^ http://www.edupaperback.org/showlinks.cfm?type=107

External links

• Official Blue Crab Award Page
• Children's Services Division of the Maryland Library Association
• Maryland Library Association
• Blue Crab Award Facebook Page