This award was created by the New York State Reading Association and is named for the main character in E.B. White's Charlotte's Web. The purpose of the Charlotte Award is to encourage students to read outstanding literature and ultimately become life-long readers. Additionally, the award recognizes the authors and illustrators of such literature. Students in New York State will read nominated titles and vote for their favorites. Students may have the books read to them or read the books on their own to become qualified voters. Students are encouraged to read all titles in a level, but it is not a requirement. Students may read books at more than one level. Each reader is entitled to one vote per level.
Books for beginners
Pre-Kindergarden to 3rd grade
Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek: A Tall, Thin Tale by Deborah Hopkinson
Guess What Is Growing Inside This Egg by Mia Posada
Martina the Beautiful Cockroach by Carmen Agra Deedy
The Orange Shoes by Trinka Hakes Noble
Over in the Jungle: A Rainforest Rhyme by Marianne Berkes
Stargazer’s Alphabet: Night-Sky Wonders From A to Z by John Farrell
There Is a Bird on Your Head by Mo Willems
Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly by Alan Madison
When Dinosaurs Came With Everything by Elise Broach
Wolf’s Coming! by Joe Kulka
Intermediate Books
4th to 6th grade
42 Miles by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer
A Dog on His Own by Mary Jane Auch
The Invasion of Sandy Bay by Anita Sanchez
Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen
Leepike Ridge by N.D. Wilson
Middle School Is Worse Than Meatloaf by Jennifer L. Holm
Ookpik: the Travels of a Snowy Owl by Bruce Hiscock
Rickshaw Girl by Mitali Perkins
Steel Drumming at the Apollo by Trish Marx
Stolen Children by Peg Kehret
Young Adult Books
7th grade and up
Beauty Shop for Rent:… Fully Equipped, Inquire Within by Laura Bowers
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
Dear Jo: the Story of Losing Leah… and Finding Hope by Christina Kilbourne
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
In Search of Mockingbird by Loretta Ellsworth
I, Q (Book One: Independence Hall) by Roland Smith
Kimchi and Calamari by Rose Kent
Schooled by Gordon Korman
Skin Deep by E.M. Crane
Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt
