Mark Twain Readers Award

{{Short description|Annual award for children's books}} {{redirect|Mark Twain Award|the comedy award|Mark Twain Prize for American Humor|adult literature award|Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award}}

{{Notability|date=September 2020}} The '''Mark Twain Readers Award''', or simply '''Mark Twain Award''', is a [[Children's literature|children's]] book award that annually recognizes one book selected by the vote of [[Missouri]] schoolchildren from a list prepared by librarians and volunteer readers. It is now one of four [[Missouri Association of School Librarians]] (MASL) Readers Awards and is associated with school [[primary education in the United States|grades 4 to 6]]; the other MASL Readers Awards were inaugurated from 1995 to 2009 and are associated with grades K–3, 6–8, 9–12 and nonfiction.<ref name=home/> The 1970 [[Newbery Medal]] winning book ''[[Sounder (novel)|Sounder]]'', by [[William H. Armstrong (author)|William H. Armstrong]], was the inaugural winner of the Mark Twain Award in 1972.<ref name=winners/>

[[Peg Kehret]] has won the Mark Twain Award four times, once in 1999 for ''[[Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio]]'', a memoir of her childhood, and three times in six years from 2007 to 2012 for novels.<ref name=MRiverRL/>

== Nomination guidelines == * Books should interest children in grades four through six. * Books should be an original work written by an author living in the United States. * Books should be of literary value which may enrich children's personal lives. * Books should be published two years prior to nomination on a master list of twelve nominees.

== Voting process == Though the list of nominated books is designated for grades four through six, any student can vote for the winner so long as they satisfy the following criteria:

* Book must have been read by voter. * Voter must have read at least four books from the list of nominees. * Voter can only vote once.

Schools design their own ballots. Individual votes for each school (or qualified group) are tallied on a single sheet and submitted to the MASL./red

== Winners ==

The award has recognized a single book by a single writer without exception from 1972.<ref name=winners/><ref name=MRiverRL/><ref name=results2014/>

* 2025 ''The Girl in the Lake'' by India Hill Brown<ref>https://maslonline.org/award/readers-award-winners/</ref> * 2024 ''Six Feet Below Zero'' by Ena Jones * 2023 ''Millionaires for the Month'' by [[Stacy McAnulty]] * 2022 ''White Bird: A Wonder Story'' by [[R.J. Palacio]] * 2021 ''Blended'' by [[Sharon Draper]] * 2020 ''One for Sorrow: a Ghost Story'' by [[Mary Downing Hahn]] * 2019 ''Framed!'' by James Ponti * 2018 ''[[The War That Saved My Life]]'' by [[Kimberly Brubaker Bradley]] * 2017 ''A Million Ways Home'' by Dianna Dorisi-Winget * 2016 ''[[Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library]]'' by [[Chris Grabenstein]] * 2015 ''[[Wonder (Palacio novel)|Wonder]]'' by R.J. Palacio * 2014 ''[[The Unwanteds]]'' by [[Lisa McMann]]<ref name=results2014/> * 2013 ''[[Out of My Mind (Draper novel)|Out of My Mind]]'' by [[Sharon Draper]]<ref name=MRiverRL/>  * 2012 ''Runaway Twin'' by [[Peg Kehret]] * 2011 ''[[Stolen Children (book)|Stolen Children]]'' by [[Peg Kehret]] * 2010 ''[[Deep and Dark and Dangerous]]'' by [[Mary Downing Hahn]]<ref name=winners/>  * 2009 ''[[The Sea of Monsters]]'' by [[Rick Riordan]] * 2008 ''[[The Lightning Thief]]'' by [[Rick Riordan]] * 2007 ''[[Abduction! (2004 novel)|Abduction!]]'' by [[Peg Kehret]] * 2006 ''[[The City of Ember]]'' by [[Jeanne DuPrau]] * 2005 ''Wenny Has Wings'' by [[Janet Lee Carey]] (made into a Japanese movie ''Ano sora wo Oboetaru'') * 2004 ''Zach's Lie'' by [[Roland Smith]] * 2003 ''[[Because of Winn-Dixie]]'' by [[Kate DiCamillo]] * 2002 ''Dork In Disguise'' by [[Carol Gorman]] * 2001 ''[[Holes (novel)|Holes]]'' by [[Louis Sachar]] * 2000 ''[[Saving Shiloh]]'' by [[Phyllis Naylor]] * 1999 ''[[Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio]]'' by [[Peg Kehret]] * 1998 ''Titanic Crossing'' by [[Barbara Williams (writer)|Barbara Williams]] * 1997 ''Time for Andrew'' by [[Mary Downing Hahn]] * 1996 ''Ghosts of Mercy Manor'' by [[Betty Ren Wright]] * 1995 ''[[The Man Who Loved Clowns]]'' by [[June Rae Wood]] * 1994 ''[[Shiloh (Naylor novel)|Shiloh]]'' by [[Phyllis Naylor]] * 1993 ''[[Maniac Magee]]'' by [[Jerry Spinelli]] * 1992 ''[[The Doll in the Garden: A Ghost Story]]'' by [[Mary Downing Hahn]] * 1991 ''[[All About Sam]]'' by [[Lois Lowry]] * 1990 ''[[There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom]]'' by [[Louis Sachar]] * 1989 ''Sixth-Grade Sleepover'' by [[Eve Bunting]] * 1988 ''[[Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job]]'' by [[Willo Davis Roberts]] * 1987 ''The War with Grandpa'' by [[Robert Kimmel Smith]] * 1986 ''[[The Dollhouse Murders]]'' by [[Betty Ren Wright]] * 1985 ''A Bundle of Sticks'' by Pat Rhoads Mauser * 1984 ''The Secret Life of the Underwear Champ'' by Betty Miles  * 1983 ''The Girl with the Silver Eyes'' by [[Willo Davis Roberts]] * 1982 ''The Boy Who Saw Bigfoot'' by [[Marian Place]] * 1981 ''Soup for President'' by [[Robert Newton Peck]] * 1980 ''[[The Pinballs]]'' by [[Betsy Byars]] * 1979 ''The Champion of Merrimack County'' by Roger Wolcott Drury  * 1978 ''[[Ramona the Brave]]'' by [[Beverly Cleary]] * 1977 ''The Ghost of Saturday Night'' by [[Sid Fleischman]] * 1976 ''The Home Run Trick'' by [[Scott Corbett]] * 1975 ''[[How to Eat Fried Worms]]'' by [[Thomas Rockwell]] * 1974 ''It's a Mile from Here to Glory'' by Robert C. Lee  * 1973 ''[[Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH]]'' by [[Robert C. O'Brien (author)|Robert C. O'Brien]] * 1972 ''[[Sounder (novel)|Sounder]]'' by [[William H. Armstrong (author)|William H. Armstrong]]

==See also== {{Portal|Children's literature |United States}} * [[1971–1972 Mark Twain Awards]] nominees * [[1972–1973 Mark Twain Awards]] nominees

== References== <references>

<ref name=home> [http://masl.site-ym.com/?page=ReadersAwards "The MASL Readers Awards"] (homepage). Missouri Association of School Librarians ('''MASL'''). Retrieved 2014-05-05.</ref>

<ref name=winners> [http://masl.site-ym.com/?page=MT_previouswinnners "Mark Twain Award Previous Winners"] [1972 to 2010]. Retrieved 2014-08-06.</ref>

<ref name=results2014> [https://masl.site-ym.com/general/custom.asp?page=1314RAWinners "2013–2014 MASL Readers Awards Winners"]. MASL. Retrieved 2014-05-05. With tabulated results of four elections.</ref>

<ref name=MRiverRL> [http://www.mrrl.org/content/mark-twain-award "Mark Twain Award"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811173740/http://www.mrrl.org/content/mark-twain-award |date=2014-08-11 }}. Missouri River Regional Library (mrrl.org). Retrieved 2014-08-06. With list of winners 1990 to 2013; lists of nominees with blurbs 2010/11 to 2014/15.</ref>

</references>

== External links == * [http://www.worldcat.org/profiles/fugitivepope/lists/83784 Mark Twain Award winners 1972– ] booklist at [[WorldCat]] * [http://masl.site-ym.com/?page=ReadersAwards The MASL Readers Awards] – point of entry to all four Missouri School Librarians reader choice book awards

[[Category:Mark Twain Awards]] [[Category:American children's literary awards]] [[Category:Awards established in 1972]] [[Category:Culture of Missouri]] [[Category:Missouri education-related lists]]