Libraries and schools partner to celebrate and promote reading
The Children’s Choice Awards (CCA) hosted annually by the Allegheny County Library Association (ACLA) and the Allegheny Intermediate Unit (AIU) celebrates reading and encourages school and public library collaboration. This year’s culminating event was hosted again at Commonwealth Charter Academy in Homestead and was the first year we offered three days.
The keynote author was Ally Russell, a middle grade horror novelist who grew up in Pittsburgh. Some of her titles include Mystery James Digs Her Grave and It Came from the Trees. She did Q & A sessions with the students, receiving questions about all things spooky! Each student received a copy of Down Came the Spiders.
In addition, musicians Josh & Gab returned to offer a crowd-pleasing musical performance. The event also included the ever-popular Battle of the Books. Spark Books was also on hand to provide additional books for students to purchase and Russell to sign.
The committee, which is made up of a representative from ACLA, AIU, Spark Books, Bethel Park Public Library and Northland Public Library, with the input of school and public librarians chose the following eight titles:
- A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall, Jasmine Warga
- Almost Sunset, Wahab Algarmi
- Cincinnati Lee, Code Breaker, Heidi Heilig
- Gracie Under the Waves, Linda Sue Park
- Library Girl, Polly Horvath
- Mixed-Up, Kami Garcia
- The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra’s Needle, Dan Gutman
- When Wishes Were Horses, Cynthia Voigt
Students in grades 3-6 are encouraged to read three of the titles to attend the culminating event. Some read on their own, others participate in a library program, and many attend a school that includes the program as part of the curriculum. Throughout the months of March and April, students voted online for their favorite book. This year’s CCA winning title is Library Girl by Polly Horvath.
More than 500 students from across the county and region attended this year’s Children’s Choice Awards. There were participants from one charter school and five school districts from outside of Allegheny County, as well as 15 school districts in Allegheny County, including those listed here with their public library:
- Baldwin-Whitehall School District (Baldwin Borough Public Library and Whitehall Public Library)
- Brentwood School District (Brentwood Library)
- Carlynton School District (Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Crafton Public Library)
- Fox Chapel School District (Cooper-Siegel Community Library)
- Hampton School District (Hampton Community Library)
- Highlands School District (Community Library of Allegheny Valley)
- Montour School District (Robinson Township Library)
- Moon Area School District (Moon Township Public Library)
- Mt. Lebanon School District (Mt. Lebanon Public Library)
- North Allegheny School District (Northland Public Library)
- Northgate School District (Andrew Bayne Memorial Library and Avalon Public Library)
- Penn Hills School District (Penn Hills Library)
- Riverview School District (Oakmont Carnegie Library)
- Upper St. Clair School District (Upper St. Clair Township Library)
- West Jefferson Hills School District (Jefferson Hills Public Library and Pleasant Hills Public Library)
In addition to the CCA, ACLA also hosts the Picture Book Children’s Choice Awards (PBCCA) for students in grades K-2. This program provides libraries with an opportunity for outreach to elementary schools. As with the CCA, the students vote on their favorite title and this year’s title was Mr. Fox’s Game of No by David LaRochelle.
ACLA also provides two additional outreach programs: Preschool Picks and PBCCA Nonfiction Extension Program. Preschool Picks is geared towards children in preschool or ages 3-5 and the goal is to provide libraries with books and supporting materials to start or continue a preschool outreach program. PBCCA Nonfiction Extension Program is geared towards students in second and third grades but is scalable for younger and older children in a library setting. The basic concept is to introduce and engage students with recently published nonfiction or STEM-related titles through elementary school partnerships and special library programming, as well as collaborate with community partners.
The Office of Commonwealth Libraries also provides materials for the Pennsylvania One Book Initiative, which is geared towards preschool students. This year’s book is The Great Cookie Kerfluffle by Jessica Shaw. The Pennsylvania One Book initiative highlights the importance of early literacy development in young children and the significance of reading early and often to children, as well as engaging them in conversation and other activities around books.
You can check out the nominated books for these programs at your local library. Visit librarycatalog.einetwork.net to place a hold today!