Administration

Communications

Area students pick "Tween Choice" Book Awards
Wednesday, April 25, 2007

NOTE: List of award-winning books follows.

CANTON, MO—Culver Stockton's classes in reading instruction and the Culver Stockton Teachers Organization have announced the winners of the 2007 Tween Choice Awards, a list of books selected by tweens--young people from the ages of 11 to 14.

Culver-Stockton students interviewed about 75 tween students across the region as well as discussing favorite choices for young readers with booksellers, teachers and parents. Culver-Stockton students collected and tallied the votes to determine the most popular books among tweens. From nearly 100 books recommended and/or evaluated, 38 titles made the list as selected by students in Missouri, Illinois, and Iowa. Eight titles were selected for the premiere “read right now” list, 29 titles were selected for “read soon,” and one book was added as a “teacher’s choice.”

Terry Sherer, Culver-Stockton associate professor of education and chair of the college’s Division of Education, said the project targeted books that might appeal to tweens because research shows that there are gaps at the 11-14 age level in reading skills, time spent reading, and other measures. The goal of the Tween Choice Awards is to encourage young people to read for pleasure, he added.

“This project represents an investment in the lives of children and their communities and represents one of the Division of Education’s approaches to implementing reading instruction that is supported by a strong body of research,” Sherer said.

The top books chosen for the Tween Choice Awards vary in reading level, in content, and in the cultural background of the main characters. The books also represent significant issues faced by tweens today, according to Sherer.

For more information about education programs at Culver-Stockton College, contact Sherer at 573-288-6377 or at tsherer@culver.edu.

Culver-Stockton 2007 Tween Choice Awards Selection List
(alphabetical by title within each category)

“Read Right Now” Selections

The Book Thief, Markus Zusak
Flush, Carl Hiassen
Honky, Dalton Conley
The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick
On the Wings of Heroes, Richard Peck
Saint Iggy, K.L. Going
Slam, Walter Dean Myers
Travel Team, Mike Lupica

“Read Soon” Selections

A Fine White Dust, Cynthia Rylant
A Rip in Heaven, Jeanine Cummins
Al Capone Does My Shirts, Gennifer Choldenko
Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
Birdy, William Wharton
City of Ember (The), Jeanne DuPrau
Crispin: The Cross of Lead, Avi
Dairy Queen, Katharine Murdock
Dinosaur Tales, Ray Bradbury
DO NOT PASS GO, Kirkpatrick Hill
Freaky Green Eyes, Joyce Carol Oates
Green Glass Sea (The), Ellen Klazes
Harris and Me, Gary Paulsen
Hattie Big Sky, Kirby Larson
How Angel Peterson Got His Name, Gary Paulsen
Ida B, Katharine Hannigan
Keeper, Mal Peet
Kira Kira, Cynthia Kadohata
Last Shot, John Finestein
Mysterious Benedict Society (The), Trenton Lee Stewart
Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida, Victor Martinez
Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place (The), E.L. Konigsburg
Ragged Dick, Horatio Alger, Jr.
Riding Freedom, Cynthia Rylant
Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls (The), Elise Primavera
Sword of the Rightful King, Jane Yolen
The Wave, Todd Strasser
Tiger Rising (The), Kate DiCamillo
West With Hopeless, Carolyn Lieberg

“Teacher’s Choice” Selection

Incantation, Alice Hoffman