Black-eyed Susan Book Awards

Each year students across the state of Maryland take on a very important task. Authors bite their nails nervously, hoping...praying...wishing....that these fine young readers will choose their book to recieve a Maryland Black-eyed Susan Award.  A talented group of school library media specialists and other dedicated folk do the grunt work for you by weeding through all of the best books and narrowing the list down to a top ten in each category. Now,  it is time for you to decide if you are up to the challenge.  Do you like to read? Are you willing to make tough choices? Can you finish at least three novels between now and April? Are you strong enough to pass judgement on the books you read and decide on the ONE that rocks the most? If you answered yes, then you are ready to participate in this task. Welcome to the garden- the weeds have been pulled and a beautiful book bouquet awaits you in the library. Take time to smell the roses, turn the pages, and savor the beauty of each of these quality literary selections. When you finally find the black-eyed susan you'll know, because you won't want to put it down.

Whether you've accepted the challenge or not, complete the following activities:
(Jot down your responses in your notebook. Your teacher may  wish to discuss this with during self-selected time.)

1. Find out more about the Black-Eyed Susan Book Award .

• What will the prize winning author recieve?

• What book won last year's award in the 6-9 category?

• Did you read any of last year's winners?

2. Read the list of nominees for this year.

• Click on the blue word annotations to find out more about the books.

• In your agenda, write down the titles and authors of books you think you might like to read (choose at least 3).

•  Put a check next to the one you want to read first.

• Why does this one seem so appealing?
  

3. Look at the genres of the books you've selected.

• What genre were most of your choices from?

• Is this the genre you usually read?

Are you ready to start reading?

Get a pass to the library and check out your first book. Remember, you have until April to read your selections. You need to read at least 3 books from the same category in order to vote. The more you read, the more wise a decision you can make.