Beverly Cleary Award Nominees 2004

Beverly Cleary Children's Choice Award

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

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.

All elementary school-age children in Oregon are invited to participate in this contest. Students must read (or listen to) at least two of the nominated books. Voting will take place between March 15 and April 1, 2004.

Nominees for the 2004 award are:

Amber Was Brave, Essie Was Smart
by Vera B. Williams

A series of poems tells how two sisters help each other deal with life while their mother is working and their father has been sent to jail.

The Girl with 500 Middle Names
by Margaret Haddix,
illustrated by Janet Hamlin

Janie's parents move to the suburbs so she can go to a better school, but when she discovers that all the other students are richer than she is, she feels out of place--until she realizes that there are more important things than money.

Harley
by Star Livingston,
illustrated by Molly Bang

Because Harley the llama does not get along with other llamas, he becomes a guard llama, protecting sheep from hungry coyotes and befriending a cantankerous ram.

Jake Drake Know-It-All
by Andrew Clements,
illustrated by Dolores Avendaño

Jake is determined to win the third grade science fair not only for the grand prize, but to beat the annoying class know-it-alls, as well.

Lady Lollipop
by Dick King-Smith,
illustrated by Jill Barton

A quick-witted swineherd and a pig named Lollipop are royally rewarded after they reform a spoiled princess.

Love That Dog
by Sharon Creech

A young student, who comes to love poetry through a personal understanding of what different famous poems mean to him, surprises himself by writing his own inspired poem.

Pieces: A Year in Poems and Quilts
by Anna Grosnickle Hines

Poems about the four seasons, as reflected in the natural world, are accompanied by photographs of quilts made by the author.

Runaway Radish
by Jessie Haas,
illustrated by Margot Apple

When Radish the pony grows too big for the girls who own him, he goes to live at a horse camp where there are always new children for him to train.

	Amber Was Brave, Essie Was Smart by Vera B. Williams	A series of poems tells how two sisters help each other deal with life while their mother is working and their father has been sent to jail.
	The Girl with 500 Middle Names by Margaret Haddix, illustrated by Janet Hamlin	Janie's parents move to the suburbs so she can go to a better school, but when she discovers that all the other students are richer than she is, she feels out of place--until she realizes that there are more important things than money.
	Harley by Star Livingston, illustrated by Molly Bang	Because Harley the llama does not get along with other llamas, he becomes a guard llama, protecting sheep from hungry coyotes and befriending a cantankerous ram.
	Jake Drake Know-It-All by Andrew Clements, illustrated by Dolores Avendaño	Jake is determined to win the third grade science fair not only for the grand prize, but to beat the annoying class know-it-alls, as well.
	Lady Lollipop by Dick King-Smith, illustrated by Jill Barton	A quick-witted swineherd and a pig named Lollipop are royally rewarded after they reform a spoiled princess.
	Love That Dog by Sharon Creech	A young student, who comes to love poetry through a personal understanding of what different famous poems mean to him, surprises himself by writing his own inspired poem.
	Pieces: A Year in Poems and Quilts by Anna Grosnickle Hines	Poems about the four seasons, as reflected in the natural world, are accompanied by photographs of quilts made by the author.
	Runaway Radish by Jessie Haas, illustrated by Margot Apple	When Radish the pony grows too big for the girls who own him, he goes to live at a horse camp where there are always new children for him to train.