The Children’s Book Council, in association with Every Child a Reader, announced the winners of the third annual Children’s Choice Book Awards at a gala in New York City last evening.

Children across the country voted for their favorite books, author, and illustrator at bookstores, school libraries, and at Book Week Online, casting over 115,000 votes.

Below are the finalists and winners. I think this is exciting for kids to know they have a voice in sharing their favorite books!

Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year

* The Birthday Pet by Ellen Javernick, illustrated by Kevin O’Malley (Marshall Cavendish)
* Lulu the Big Little Chick by Paulette Bogan (Bloomsbury USA)
* Mouse Was Mad by Linda Urban, illustrated by Henry Cole (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
* The Odd Egg by Emily Gravett (Simon & Schuster)
* Opposnakes by Salina Yoon (Little Simon/Simon & Schuster)

Winner: Lulu the Big Little Chick by Paulette Bogan (Bloomsbury USA)

Third Grade to Fourth Grade Book of the Year
* The Book That Eats People by John Perry, illustrated by Mark Fearing (Tricycle Press)
* Coretta Scott by Ntozake Shange, illustrated by Kadir Nelson (Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins)
* Gonzalo Grabs the Good Life by Janice Levy, illustrated by Bill Slavin (Eerdmans)
* Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Knopf/Random House)
* Oceanology by Ferdinand Zoticus deLessups (Candlewick)

Winner: Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Knopf/Random House)

Fifth Grade to Sixth Grade Book of the Year
* The Adventures of Benny by Steve Shreve (Marshall Cavendish)
* Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renee Russell (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster)
* Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 by Brian Floca (Atheneum/Richard Jackson/Simon & Schuster)
* Outlaw: The Legend of Robin Hood by Tony Lee, Sam Hart, and Artur Fujita (Candlewick)
* Zoobreak by Gordon Korman (Scholastic Press)

Winner: Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renée Russell (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster)

Teen Choice Book of the Year
* Blood Promise (Vampire Academy, Book 4) by Richelle Mead (Razorbill/Penguin)
* Blue Moon (The Immortals, Book 2) by Alyson Noel (St. Martin’s Griffin/Macmillan)
* Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press)
* City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments, Book 3) by Cassandra Clare (McElderry/Simon & Schuster)
* Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (Scholastic Press)

Winner: Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press)

Author of the Year

* Suzanne Collins for Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games) (Scholastic Press)
* Carl Hiaasen for Scat (Knopf/Random House)
* Jeff Kinney for Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw and Dog Days (Amulet Books/Abrams)
* James Patterson for Max (A Maximum Ride Novel) (Little, Brown)
* Rick Riordan for The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson & the Olympians Book 5) (Disney Hyperion)

Winner: James Patterson for Max (A Maximum Ride Novel) (Little, Brown)

Illustrator of the Year

* Peter Brown for The Curious Garden (Little, Brown)
* Robin Preiss Glasser for Fancy Nancy: Explorer Extraordinaire! (HarperCollins)
* Victoria Kann for Goldilicious (HarperCollins)
* Susan Roth for Listen to the Wind (Dial/Penguin)
* David Soman for Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy (Dial/Penguin)

Winner: Peter Brown for The Curious Garden (Little, Brown)

Congratulations to all of the finalists and winners!

From The Children’s Book Council website:

The CCBA program, launched in 2008, was created to provide young readers with an opportunity to voice their opinions about the books being written for them and to help develop a reading list that will motivate children to read more and cultivate a love of reading.

About the CBC:

The Children’s Book Council, established in 1945, is the nonprofit trade association of publishers of trade books for children and young adults in the United States. The CBC promotes the use and enjoyment of trade books for young people.

I know this is supposed to be a blog mainly for women, but I can’t help sharing with you this awesome story about a father whose home-grown bedtime stories for his son became New York Times best-selling books and now movies.

I somehow ended up on author Rick Riordan’s Myth & Mystery blog the other day, and as I searched through his early archives, I came across this story. His words sent delicious chills up my spine, and I knew I wanted to share it with you!

In his post from September 2005, The Learning-Disabled Hero, Rick shares how he came up with the hero, Percy Jackson, for his son:

As Haley struggled through second grade, his saving grace was Greek mythology. He loved those old stories. He would actually read them willingly in class. He knew I’d taught Greek myths for years in the middle school, and so every night he would ask me to tell him a bedtime story about the Olympians.

One night, as we were lying in bed for story time, I realized I’d run out of myths. We’d done all the gods, the heroes, the monsters. I was fresh out of Minotaurs.

‘Well, make something up!’ Haley said, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.

I thought about that.

I thought about Haley’s struggle with ADHD and dyslexia. I imagined the faces of all the students I’d taught who had these same conditions. I felt the need to honor them, to let them know that being different wasn’t a bad thing. Intelligence wasn’t always measurable with a piece of paper and a number two pencil. Talent didn’t come in only one flavor.

Then I thought about the heroes in the old myths – sons and daughters of gods and humans – and all the troubles they’d had to overcome because of their mixed heritage. Off the top of head, I began a story about a 12-year-old boy named Percy Jackson, the modern-day son of the Greek god Poseidon, who among his many other problems has ADHD and dyslexia. He struggles in school. He’s constantly being labeled a lazy troublemaker. Yet Percy finds that his learning disabilities are actually indicators of Olympian blood. He is a hero – a child of the gods.

It took me three nights to tell of Percy’s epic quest across the United States to retrieve a lightning bolt stolen from Zeus. When I was done, Haley told me I should write the story down.
I took him seriously. I spent a year on the manuscript, not sure anyone except Haley would ever want to read it.

I was wrong. The story seems to have struck a chord.

To date, The Lightning Thief is being published in seven languages and the film version is underway. I’ve gotten a flood of appreciative emails from readers, many of them ADHD/dyslexic kids who usually dislike reading. It’s tremendously gratifying, and yet the book remains a very personal story from a father to a son. Like the Greek stories of old, The Lightning Thief is an attempt to explain a natural phenomenon — a myth to help my son make sense of who he is.

Oh, I just love this! The creator at work, inspired by his own son. According to wikipedia, Rick Riordan finished writing The Lightning Thief in 1994. It was initially accepted by Bantam Books in 1997 and later sold at auction to Miramax Books before being released on July 28, 2005.

Five years later, the five-book Percy Jackson & the Olympians series is a huge hit! For this dad, his mission of telling a great story to his son was accomplished on a grand scale!

And then there’s me. In February, I ended up in a big pack of moms and kids going to see “The Lightning Thief” at our small-town theater. I think I was the only one of our group who had never heard of these books. Embarrassing to admit! (I read mostly girly novels, OK?)

The movie was fantastic, and I thought I’ve got to get these books for my son, who wasn’t able to come to the movie with us. Well, they were completely sold out at Borders, so I ordered a boxed set, and we had to wait a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, I’m hearing the buzz that everybody is reading Percy Jackson books — and this is in a Christian school where parents are careful about what they let their children read.

Finally, the books arrived, and my kids DEVOURED them. Then we had to go see the movie again, all of us! I enjoyed it even more the second time around because I wasn’t so scared of the action parts, and I could enjoy the humor so much more. We’ll be eagerly awaiting the sequel.

Reading this story on Rick Riordan’s blog reminds me why our children can be our greatest inspiration to write! If you have a minute, here’s another interesting Myth & Mystery post full of advice for writers, The Well-Written Life.

I love this poster. In honor of Children’s Book Week, why don’t you pull your favorite children’s book off the shelf and read it again — to yourself or to someone you love?

It does my heart and mind good to know that people are celebrating children’s literature around the world this week. You can read more about official events going on here.

I think tonight I’ll surprise my five-year-old daughter by reading HER favorite books — the three that I’ve hidden because I can’t bear to read them for the 101st time. Surely, I can find some new detail to keep me energized while reading Victoria and Elizabeth Kann’s PINKALICIOUS, PURPLICIOUS, and GOLDILICIOUS. They really are cute books, well-illustrated, and oh-so-popular with the preschool girl crowd.

What will you be reading this week?

In honor of Mother’s Day, I want to highlight one of my all-time favorite writers, Marion Bond West. She’s the author of hundreds of stories in Guideposts magazine, as well as several books. I grew up devouring my mother’s Guideposts as soon as they came in the mail, and when I was in college, my dear grandfather started giving me gift subscriptions, which continued into my 30s. It’s because of Guideposts that I learned to love the art of writing inspirational essays.

Marion Bond West’s stories always leaped off the page at me, especially because we’re from the same state of Georgia. I couldn’t believe how effortless she made it seem to write about her deep, dark secrets and struggles. It’s this type of transparent writing that opens a reader’s heart. Marion opened mine when I could tell her stories were probably written with a box of tissues close by.

I had the awesome privilege of sharing dinner with Marion and her husband when she was the keynote speaker at a Christmas event in my hometown a few years ago. I wrote up this experience, and it’s still one of the most-read posts in my archives, which you can read here.

When her book, Praying for My Life, was released, I wanted to review it for my Christian Women Online Book Buzz column, and I asked her publicist if I could interview Marion. Which I did, by telephone.

She was so gracious to take the time to speak to me, even though she has millions of readers who would love a minute of her time! I asked her the question that had been burning on my heart after reading her book, “How do you KNOW God is speaking to you?”

And she answered, “Oh, He’s speaking to you all the time. Just listen, and you’ll know.”

I want to be a better writer. I want to be able to write more transparently, like Marion. But I have such a hard time doing this, and I especially don’t feel comfortable writing about my kids. You’d think with a blog called “Mom 2 Mom Connection,” I’d get a kick out of blabbing about my own children, but I don’t. They’re the source of my private joys and frustrations, which I write about mostly in my pen-and-paper journal. It’s a safe, quiet place for me to work out my faith.

As I grow older, and as my kids grow older, perhaps I’ll feel more comfortable opening up. It’s easier to share a lesson learned when the lesson is over than when you’re in the midst of trial. Right now, I’m still focusing on survival.

I think that’s why I’ve enjoyed Marion’s stories so much about her early years of mothering. It was hard, sticky, messy, exhausting, but when she wrote about it, she’d lived through it and had gained the perspective she needed to encourage the rest of us. Her story, “Glory at the Garbage Can” is my absolute favorite. In it, she writes about the time when her twin sons were two, and she fled the house into the night, carrying sacks of trash. Alone at the garbage can, she finally has a moment of privacy, and as she confesses her failings as a mother, God intervenes, and gives her joy. I love this kind of writing. I just don’t know how to do it!

I recently discovered that Marion Bond West and her daughter, Julie West Garmon, who is also a wonderful writer, have a new blog together, called Woman to Woman. I can’t wait to browse through their posts! I also discovered a couple of beautiful essays Marion wrote for a blogging friend, Aging Gracefully — From a Seventy-Something Perspective, part one and part two.

Guideposts is currently collecting stories focusing on motherhood. Do you have a memory of you and your mom that you want to preserve? Read here for some examples, and read here to learn how you can submit your own.

I wish you all a Happy Mother’s Day!

I’m happy today to share with you some exciting news! Gina Holmes, one of my long-time blogging buddies, is releasing her first book this month! It’s called Crossing Oceans, published by Tyndale House. Gina has become a well known writer in the Christian book publishing world through her influential literary blog, Novel Journey. I enjoyed sharing a meal with Gina back in 2007 at the Christy Awards, held in Atlanta. She has definitely been an inspiration to me!

Welcome, Gina! Your blog, Novel Journey, grew out of your own journey to become a published author. Can you tell us a little about your journey to publication?

I’ve been writing toward the goal of publication for something like ten years. I had written four manuscripts that haven’t been published before this one, Crossing Oceans, was contracted. I’ve had lots of rejections and near misses along the way, but I’m so grateful for all of it. Crossing Oceans is my best piece of writing to date and a story I’m so very proud to debut with.

And thanks for mentioning Novel Journey. It has been a labor of love, not just for me, but for the whole Novel Journey team. It’s a great place for readers to discover new authors and for writers to connect and learn. And unlike most things in life, it’s a completely free resource.

As you reviewed novels and talked to a lot of novelists who have had varying degrees of commercial success, was there ever a “dark night of the soul” where you decided this just wasn’t what you thought it was going to be, just wasn’t worth pursuing?

Not worth pursuing? No way! There are so many worthy stories to tell, and it’s my burning desire to do that. Not to say that I didn’t have fleeting moments of despair along the way, particularly when I came close to getting a contract, only to see it fall through at the last minute. But those moments really were fleeting, and I knew God’s timing would be perfect … and it was.

You’ve written several as-yet-unpublished novels, all of them in a completely different genre—thriller/suspense. Crossing Oceans is quite a departure. Do you prefer or find your voice more easily in one or the other?

I grew up reading suspense, so naturally that’s what I thought I should write. I did okay with it and got some recognition in a contest and came close to getting contracted, but ultimately none of those suspense novels ever sold. Then I started reading some really amazing novels outside the suspense genre, and it was like another world opened up to me. It was no longer a thriller I longed to write, but a story that would change lives the way the books I read had changed mine.

When I started Crossing Oceans, I presented it along with a suspense novel I was working on to my agent, Chip MacGregor. I asked which one he thought suited me better. He told me both were good, but that Crossing Oceans seemed more like my true voice, or something to that effect.

It turned out to be a turning point and absolutely the right advice. I’m now writing what comes naturally and absolutely loving it. Chip’s a genius.

How did the idea for Crossing Oceans come to you?

I’m not exactly sure where the idea came from, but when I write, I’m usually working out something in my personal life, past or present. Often it’s not until the story is done that I figure out exactly what.

I think with Crossing Oceans it probably was my relationship with my parents. They divorced when I was a baby. For the first years of my life, I was with my mother, and then when I was in second grade, I went to live with my father. I know what it’s like to be torn, like Isabella, between two families who don’t always like each other but who all love the child they share. Then again, maybe I wasn’t working out anything! Maybe I just fell asleep watching something about a dying mother, and woke up thinking I had a brilliant idea.

Do you ever find your Christian worldview a challenge to convey in your writing or as you communicate with other novelists in the industry?

It’s not difficult to convey in my writing, I don’t think. At least not today. Hey, I’m a sinner. I wish I weren’t and I try not to be, but I always seem to fall short. It’s the same for my characters.

The thing with me, and them, is we get back up, dust ourselves off, and try to do better next time. My faith, in all its imperfection, isn’t lip service. It’s who I am. What I believe. That comes out in my conversations, my choice of clothing, music, friends, and in my writing. It’s very natural for me.

As far as other novelists go, I guess it’s not a challenge. I’m a Christian and not everyone’s going to agree with what I do, or what I write, or what I believe, and that doesn’t matter. My mother said when I turned forty that I would stop caring so much what people thought and really start being who I am. I’m almost there and, as usual, she was right. I would say that in my personal life, everyone who truly knows me is well aware that I’m a Christian. I don’t hide it in my professional life either.

Thank you so much for visiting us here, Gina! We wish you the best with your debut novel and look forward to seeing what’s next in your career!

You can learn more about Gina Holmes at her personal website and also see all the fun things she’s up to at Novel Journey. Here’s a picture of me and Gina hanging out together at the Christy Awards in 2007.

Blogging buddies meet!

I’ve been collecting some inspiring bits of writing-related wisdom for a while and wanted to post them here for you. I hope these links will encourage you in some way with your writing.

Elizabeth Bird, The Top 100 Children’s Novel Poll
If you love children’s books, this is a great list, with a link to detailed comments about each book. You’ll see many of your classic childhood favorites, plus some of the newer ones. Can you guess what the number one book is?

Publisher’s Weekly, Children’s Bestsellers 2009: The Reign Continues
Here’s a great list of the top-selling children’s books from last year. (Yep, Wimpy Kid, Percy Jackson, and Twilight made the top ten. These books are all really different, though. What made them bestsellers?)

Lanier Ivester, Facedown
This essay by my talented sister-in-law appeared on “The Rabbit Room” website and offers inspiration to Christian artists of every type, on why our creative endeavors bring glory to the God of the Universe. Inspiring!

Jane Friedman, Stop Being Afraid of Posting Your Work Online
Publisher & editorial director of Writer’s Digest offers reasons why writers today should post their work online “in a very smart, strategic, and targeted way.”

Jane Friedman, 5 Things that Make Me Stop Reading Websites and Blogs
Another great article, where Jane explains her pet peeves when she’s reading online. She has some good tips for writers hoping to improve the visibility of their website or blog.

Chuck Sambuchino, Be (Slightly) Afraid of Posting Your Work Online.
Why this agent believes writers should be wary about posting their high-concept ideas and fiction online. The rules are different for non-fiction, where the focus is on building platform.

Sarah Mlynowski, The Future is on the Line
What would you say to yourself if you had a magic cell phone that could call you up at age 14? Here are a bunch of YA novelists who wrote what they’d say.

Chip MacGregor, The Best Advice
CBA agent offers ten pieces of writing advice, full of Chip’s typical wit and wisdom.

Brenna Ehrlich, From Blog to Book Deal: How 6 Authors Did It
Here are some interesting stories about writers who turned their great ideas into book form by first creating an awesome blog. Hint: most of them offer people something to laugh about!

And one last quote:
I saw this today on a chiropractor’s sign:
“7 days with no exercise makes one weak.”

Happy reading (and exercising!)