Young Reader's Choice Award

The Youth Have Spoken

We asked, and you answered. The votes are in and the 2011 winners have now been declared. Kibuishi's Amulet absolutely dominated the Junior Division, and Hale's Rapunzel's Revenge handily beat out perennial favourite Gordon Korman's Juvie 3 in the Intermediate Division.   And to the surprise of absolutely no one, Collins' Hunger Games won the Senior Division.

Get ready students - now that you've declared these as awesome books, your parents and teachers are going to start avidly reading them. So, now's a good time to check out the list of nominated 2012 titles.

Junior Division Winners:

1^st  Amulet: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi (5148 votes)

2^nd Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix (2503 votes)

3^rd Savvy by Ingrid Law (2283 votes)

Intermediate Division Winners: 

1^st Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon Hale (1391 votes)

2^nd Airhead by Meg Cabot (971 votes)

3^rd The Juvie Three by Gordon Korman (899 votes)

Senior Division Winners:

1^st The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (1380 votes)

2^nd The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong (254 votes)

3^rd Graceling by Kristin Cashore (229 votes)

Vote Now!

Submit your completed ballot to your nearest library. Get the ballot at your local branch or click here to print it at home. Votes required before March 21, 2011.

It's your award, so let us know what you think!
Please take a couple of minutes to fill out this quick survey about the 2011 YRCA program. With your help, we can make it even better next year!

Junior Division Books (Grades 4 - 6) 

Find them in the catalogue now.

• The Seer of Shadows – Avi
• Ignatius MacFarland: Frequenaut! – Paul Feig
• Found – Margaret Peterson Haddix
• Amulet: The Stonekeeper – Kazu Kibuishi
• Swindle – Gordon Korman
• Savvy – Ingrid Law 
• Dog Lost – Ingrid Lee  
• The Maze of Bones – Rick Riordan

Intermediate Division Books (Grades 7 - 9)

Find them in the catalogue now.

• Airhead – Meg Cabot
• Airman – Eoin Colfer
• Chains: Seeds of America – Laurie Halse Anderson
• The Graveyard Book – Neil Gaiman
• Juvie Three – Gordon Korman
• Rapunzel’s Revenge – Shannon and Dean Hale
• Zorgamazoo – Robert Paul Weston

Senior Division Books (Grades 10 - 12)

Find them in the catalogue now.

• A Curse Dark as Gold - Ellizabeth C. Bunce
• Graceling - Kristin Cashore
• The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
• Identical - Ellen Hopkins
• Little Brother - Cory Doctorow
• Paper Towns - John Green
• The Summoning - Kelley Armstrong
• Sunrise Over Fallujah - Walter Dean Myers

What does YRCA stand for?

Young Reader's Choice Award

What is the Young Reader's Choice Award?

The YRCA is coordinated by the Pacific Northwest Library Association. Students from Alaska, British Columbia, Alberta, Washington, Montana, and Idaho will determine which author will win this literary award by reading the books and voting for their favourite. This is the oldest children’s choice award in North America and the only award shared by students in two countries. The award was established in 1940 by a Seattle bookseller, the late Harry Hartman, who believed every student should have an opportunity to select a book that gives him or her pleasure. When it started in 1940, there was only the Junior Division. The Senior Division was added in 1990 and the Intermediate Division in 2001. The Junior Division is aimed at students in grades 4-6, Intermediate is 7-9, and Senior is 10-12, but any student can vote in any division as long as they’ve read at least two titles from that division.

Who can vote?

Students in grades 4-12 from Alaska, British Columbia, Alberta, Washington, Montana, and Idaho are all eligible to vote. You need to read at least two titles in a division to vote in that division.

Where do I vote?

In Edmonton, voting happens at your school or at your public library branch. In the fall, staff from the Edmonton Public Library visits your school to present that year’s list of titles. You then have until March to read at least two titles in the divisions you want to vote in and decide on your favourite! If your school is not participating in YRCA, you can visit your nearest Edmonton Public Library location and vote there!

When do I vote?

Each school might have a different way or time that they do the voting, but everyone should be voting in March.

How many people vote each year?

Last March, over 51,900 students voted for their favourite title and 16,954 of those voters were from Edmonton!

Who picks the books?

You do! If you have a favourite book that you would like to see on the YRCA list, suggest it to the Edmonton Public Library. Students, teachers, parents, and librarians can nominate titles for YRCA. Publishers are not allowed to nominate titles. Nominations must be submitted before January 14, 2011 so we can send your suggestions on to Alberta’s Provincial Rep to be considered for next year. A group of librarians from the Pacific Northwest Library Association than looks at all the suggestions and picks the final list trying to balance everyone’s choices.

Which books qualify to be nominated?

It is very likely that your favourite book could be on the YRCA list! Nominated titles must have been published 3 years before the award year (for example, for the 2012 list nominees must have a copyright date of 2009). They must be printed in the U.S. or Canada. Books that are a sequel in a series do not qualify (only the first title in a series is eligible for YRCA). Nominations can include fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels, animae and manga, and poetry so remember to suggest your favourite book, no matter what kind of book it is! Where can I find the books? The Edmonton Public Library makes sure we have lots of copies of the YRCA titles. They should be in a special display at your nearest branch. Sometimes some of them are hard to find because they’re so popular, so visit our catalogue to place a hold if you can’t find the one you’re looking for! [include link to yrca lists] Your school library should also have copies of the YRCA books. Look for a YRCA display in your school!

When will I find out who won?

After the voting happens in March, the people at the Pacific Northwest Library Association count up all the votes and announce the winners sometime in April. The Edmonton Public Library will make sure your school knows as soon as we hear! When will I hear what next year’s books are? Usually, the list of nominees is announced in March or April. When we send the announcement of the winners to your school, we will also send the list of the next year’s nominees. You can visit the Edmonton Public Library through the summer to get a head start on the next year’s titles!

What books have won YRCA?

The YRCA has existed since 1940 and many classic kids’ books were part of the YRCA competition in the past. Many of them have also been made into movies…have you ever seen Old Yeller, Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang, or more recently The Lightening Thief and Diary of a Wimpy Kid? Check out the Past Winners Tab on this page for a complete list. 

The winners in 2010 were:

Junior Division: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley’s Journal by Jeff Kinney

Intermediate Division: Schooled by Gordon Korman

Senior Division: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

2010 Winners

• Junior Division: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley’s Journal by Jeff Kinney
• Intermediate Division: Schooled by Gordon Korman
• Senior Division: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

2009 Winners

• Junior Division: Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate Dicamillo
• Intermediate Division: Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
• Senior Divison: New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

2008 Winners

• Junior Division: A Dog's Life: Autobiography of a Stray by Ann Martin
• Intermediate Division: Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
• Senior Division: Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Winners from way back. Way way back. Like 1940.

Tell us what you think.

This award is all about you. So if you want any changes, let us know. You're in charge.

Click here to submit your feedback.

YRCA beyond our borders.

Did you know that YRCA is international? The Pacific Northwest Library Association, the organization who runs the YRCA program, works with students from Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana and Washington.

Visit the official site now to learn more.