# Young Reader's Choice Award

The Young Reader's Choice Award is an award program of the Pacific Northwest Library Association (PNLA) which was inaugurated in 1940 by Harry Hartman, a well-known Seattle based bookseller. It is the oldest "children's choice" award in the U.S. and Canada and the only award chosen by children in two countries. Initially a single award, in 1991 the award expanded to include both a Youth and Senior category. In 2002, a third award category, Intermediate, was created. The PNLA now offers three annual awards for books selected by schoolchildren in the Pacific Northwest. The PNLA homepage heading is "Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Washington", a list of the four U.S. states and two Canadian provinces where most of its members are located. It is the oldest regional association and the only binational one in the US and Canada.
The three winners of 2018 awards were published during 2015. The voting, open to "anyone in grades four through twelve in the Pacific Northwest who has read (or has heard read) at least one title from the list", is conducted by member libraries during March and April (school and public libraries, primarily the former).
The nomination process was last revised in 2012. Children, teachers, parents and librarians in Pacific Northwest may recommend books to their state, provincial representatives or to the YRCA Chair. Nominations of 2017 publications are due in February 2018. One nominee in each category must also include either a Canadian author or a title where the story primarily occurs in Canada.

## Recipients, 1940–1990

YRCA winners from 1940 to 1990 :
| Year | Author | Title |
| 1940 | Dell J. McCormick | Paul Bunyan Swings His Axe |
| 1941 | Richard and Florence Atwater | Mr. Popper's Penguins |
| 1942 | Laura Ingalls Wilder | By the Shores of Silver Lake |
| 1943 | Eric Knight | Lassie Come-Home |
| 1944 | Walter Farley | The Black Stallion |
| 1945 | Marie McSwigan | Snow Treasure |
| 1946 | Jack O'Brien | The Return of Silver Chief |
| 1947 | Robert McCloskey | Homer Price |
| 1948 | Walter Farley | The Black Stallion Returns |
| 1949 | Shannon Garst | Cowboy Boots |
| 1950 | Dr. Seuss | McElligot's Pool |
| 1951 | Marguerite Henry | King of the Wind |
| 1952 | Marguerite Henry | Sea Star, Orphan of Chincoteague |
| | No awards, 1953–1955 | |
| 1956 | Ellen MacGregor | Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars |
| 1957 | Beverly Cleary | Henry and Ribsy |
| 1958 | William Corbin | Golden Mare |
| 1959 | Fred Gipson | Old Yeller |
| 1960 | Beverly Cleary | Henry and the Paper Route |
| 1961 | Jay Williams | Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine |
| 1962 | Stewart Holbrook | The Swamp Fox of the Revolution |
| 1963 | Jay Williams | Danny Dunn on the Ocean Floor |
| 1964 | Sheila Burnford | The Incredible Journey |
| 1965 | Richard Tregaskis | John F. Kennedy and PT-109 |
| 1966 | Sterling North | Rascal |
| 1967 | Ian Fleming | Chitty Chitty Bang Bang |
| 1968 | Beverly Cleary | The Mouse and the Motorcycle |
| 1969 | Keith Robertson | Henry Reed's Baby-Sitting Service |
| 1970 | William Corbin | Smoke |
| 1971 | Beverly Cleary | Ramona the Pest |
| 1972 | Donald J. Sobol | Encyclopedia Brown Keeps the Peace |
| 1973 | No award | |
| 1974 | Robert C. O'Brien | Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH |
| 1975 | Judy Blume | Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing |
| 1976 | John D. Fitzgerald | The Great Brain Reforms |
| 1977 | Judy Blume | Blubber |
| 1978 | John D. Fitzgerald | The Great Brain Does It Again |
| 1979 | Mildred Taylor | Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry |
| 1980 | Beverly Cleary | Ramona and Her Father |
| 1981 | Ellen Conford | Hail, Hail Camp Timberwood |
| 1982 | Deborah Howe and James Howe | Bunnicula: A Rabbit Tale of Mystery |
| 1983 | Judy Blume | Superfudge |
| 1984 | Lynne Reid Banks | The Indian in the Cupboard |
| 1985 | Jamie Gilson | Thirteen Ways to Sink a Sub |
| 1986 | Betty Ren Wright | The Dollhouse Murders |
| 1987 | Robert Kimmel Smith | The War with Grandpa |
| 1988 | Barthe DeClements | Sixth Grade Can Really Kill You |
| 1989 | Mary Downing Hahn | Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story |
| 1990 | Louis Sachar | There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom |

## Recipients, 1991–2001

YRCA winners in two categories from 1991 to 2001 :
| Year | Youth | Youth | Senior | Senior |
| 1991 | Ann M. Martin | Ten Kids, No Pets | Jenny Davis | Sex Education |
| 1992 | Bill Wallace | Danger in Quicksand Swamp | Peter Dickinson | Eva |
| 1993 | Jerry Spinelli | Maniac Magee | Caroline B. Cooney | The Face on the Milk Carton |
| 1994 | Phyllis Reynolds Naylor | Shiloh | Ann Rinaldi | Wolf by the Ears |
| 1995 | Peg Kehret | Terror at the Zoo | Lois Duncan | Who Killed My Daughter? |
| 1996 | Lois Lowry | The Giver | Phyllis Reynolds Naylor | The Boys Start the War |
| 1997 | Caroline B. Cooney | Driver's Ed | Eve Bunting | Nasty Stinky Sneakers |
| 1998 | Louis Sachar | Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger | Karen Cushman | The Midwife's Apprentice |
| 1999 | Andrew Clements | Frindle | Eve Bunting | SOS Titanic |
| 2000 | Dick King-Smith | A Mouse Called Wolf | Mel Glenn | The Taking of Room 114 |
| 2001 | Louis Sachar | Holes | William Sleator | The Boxes |

## Recipients, 2002–present

YRCA winners in three grade-level categories (from 2002) :
| Year | Junior | Junior | Intermediate | Intermediate | Senior | Senior |
| 2002 | Christopher Paul Curtis | Bud, Not Buddy | Carolyn Meyer | Mary, Bloody Mary | William Sleator | Rewind |
| 2003 | Kate DiCamillo | Because of Winn-Dixie | Gordon Korman | No More Dead Dogs | Joan Bauer | Hope Was Here |
| 2004 | Joseph Bruchac | Skeleton Man | Eoin Colfer | Artemis Fowl | Ann Brashares | The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants |
| 2005 | Cornelia Funke | The Thief Lord | Gordon Korman | Son of the Mob | Nancy Farmer | The House of the Scorpion |
| 2006 | Kate DiCamillo | The Tale of Despereaux | Christopher Paolini | Eragon | KL Going | Fat Kid Rules the World |
| 2007 | Cornelia Funke | Dragon Rider | Eoin Colfer | The Supernaturalist | Terry Pratchett | A Hat Full of Sky |
| 2008 | Ann M. Martin | A Dog's Life: The Autobiography of a Stray | Rick Riordan | The Lightning Thief | Jodi Lynn Anderson | Peaches |
| 2009 | Kate DiCamillo | The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane | John Boyne | The Boy in the Striped Pajamas | Stephenie Meyer | New Moon |
| 2010 | Jeff Kinney | Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Diary #1) | Gordon Korman | Schooled | Cassandra Clare | City of Bones |
| 2011 | Kazu Kibuishi | Amulet: The Stonekeeper | Shannon Hale | Rapunzel's Revenge | Suzanne Collins | The Hunger Games |
| 2012 | Wendy Mass | 11 Birthdays | James Dashner | The Maze Runner | Maggie Stiefvater | Shiver |
| 2013 | Rick Riordan | The Lost Hero (The Heroes of Olympus #1) | Raina Telgemeier | Smile | Han Nolan | Crazy |
| 2014 | Jeff Kinney | Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever (Diary #6) | Rick Riordan | The Son of Neptune (Heroes #2) | Veronica Roth | Divergent |
| 2015 | R. J. Palacio | Wonder | Raina Telgemeier | Drama | John Green | The Fault in Our Stars |
| 2016. | Chris Grabenstein | Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library | Rick Yancey | The 5th Wave | Jennifer E. Smith | This is What Happy Looks Like |
| 2017. | Cece Bell | El Deafo | Holly Black and Cassandra Clare | The Iron Trial | Veronica Roth | Four |
| 2018. | Victoria Jamieson | Roller Girl | Rick Riordan | Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer | Victoria Aveyard | Red Queen |
| 2019 | Dav Pilkey | Dog Man | Rick Riordan | The Hidden Oracle | Kendare Blake | Three Dark Crowns |
| 2020 | Alan Gratz | Refugee | Dusti Bowling | Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus | Angie Thomas | The Hate U Give |
| 2021 | Tui. T Sutherland | Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy | Victoria Schwab | City of Ghosts | Rachael Lippincott | Five Feet Apart |
| 2022 | Jerry Craft | New Kid | Padma Venkatraman | The Bridge Home | Tehlor Kay Mejia | We Set the Dark on Fire |
| 2023 | Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed | When Stars are Scattered | Jordyn Taylor | The Paper Girl of Paris | Jennifer Lynn Barnes | The Inheritance Games |

## Nominations 2019 - Present

YRCA Junior Division Nominations. :
| | Author | Title |
| 2019 | Dav Pilkey | Dog Man |
| 2019 | Kelly Barnhill | The Girl Who Drank the Moon |
| 2019 | Firoozeh Dumas | It Ain't so Awful Falafel |
| 2019 | Natalie Lloyd | The Key to Extraordinary |
| 2019 | John David Anderson | Ms. Bixby's Last Day |
| 2019 | Sara Pennypacker | Pax |
| 2019 | Peter Brown | The Wild Robot |
| 2019 | Marina Cohen | The Inn Between |
| 2020 | Katherine Applegate | Wishtree |
| 2020 | Linda Bailey | The Tiny Hero of Ferny Creek Library |
| 2020 | Pablo Cartaya | The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora |
| 2020 | Cat Clarke | The Pants Project |
| 2020 | Cressida Cowell | The Wizards of Once |
| 2020 | Alan Gratz | Refugee |
| 2020 | Gordon Korman | Restart |
| 2020 | Jessica Townsend | The Trials of Morrigan Crow |
| 2021 | Katherine Arden | Small Spaces |
| 2021 | John David Anderson | Granted |
| 2021 | John August | Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire |
| 2021 | Jonathan Auxier | Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster |
| 2021 | Sayantani DasGupta | The Serpent's Secret |
| 2021 | Tui T. Sutherland | Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy |
| 2021 | Terri Libenson | Positively Izzy |
| 2021 | Kenneth Oppel | Inkling |
| 2022 | Charlene Willing McManis | Indian No More |
| 2022 | Jerry Craft | New Kid |
| 2022 | Lynda Mullaly Hunt | Shouting at the Rain |
| 2022 | Kelley Armstrong | A Royal Guide to Monster Slaying |
| 2022 | Rosanne Parry | A Wolf Called Wander |
| 2022 | Jasmine Warga | Other Words for Home |
| 2022 | Yoon Ha Lee | Dragon Pearl |
| 2022 | Lynne Kelly | Song for a Whale |
| 2023 | David Robertson | The Barren Grounds |
| | Janae Marks | From the Desk of Zoe Washington |
| | James Ponti | City Spies |
| | Rena Barron | Maya and the Rising Dark |
| | Tae Keller | When You Trap a Tiger |
| | Daniel Nayeri | Everything Sad Is Untrue (A True Story) |
| | Rob Harrell | Wink |
| | Victoria Jamieson | When Stars Are Scattered |
YRCA Intermediate Division Nominations. :
| Year | Author | Title |
| 2019 | Kwame Alexander | Booked |
| 2019 | Marissa Meyer | Heartless |
| 2019 | Rick Riordan | The Hidden Oracle |
| 2019 | Iian Lawrence | The Skeleton Tree |
| 2019 | Nicole Castroman | Blackhearts |
| 2019 | Lauren Oliver | Replica |
| 2019 | Alwyn Hamilton | Rebel of the Sands |
| 2019 | Wesley King | OCDaniel |
| 2020 | S. K. Ali | Saints and Misfits |
| 2020 | Dusti Bowling | Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus |
| 2020 | Chris Colfer | Stranger Than Fanfiction |
| 2020 | Rosalyn Eves | Blood Rose Rebellion |
| 2020 | Stephanie Garber | Caraval |
| 2020 | Ryan Graudin | Invictus |
| 2020 | Antonio Iturbe | The Librarian of Auschwitz |
| 2020 | Fonda Lee | Exo |
| 2021 | Elizabeth Acevedo | The Poet X |
| 2021 | Leslie Connor | The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle |
| 2021 | Lisa Greenwald | TBH, This Is So Awkward |
| 2021 | Adib Khorram | Darius the Great is Not Okay |
| 2021 | Susin Nielsen-Fernlund | No Fixed Address |
| 2021 | Victoria Schwab | City of Ghosts |
| 2021 | Laura Sebastian | Ash Princess |
| 2021 | Scott Westerfeld | Imposters |
| 2022 | Padma Venkatraman | The Bridge Home |
| 2022 | Margaret Rogerson | Sorcery of Thorns |
| 2022 | Kwame Mbalia | Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky |
| 2022 | Elizabeth Lim | Spin the Dawn |
| 2022 | Sarah Henstra | We Contain Multitudes |
| 2022 | Kip Wilson | White Rose |
| 2022 | Christine Day | I Can Make This Promise |
| 2022 | Sarah Kuhn | I Love You So Mochi |
| 2023 | Aiden Thomas | Cemetery Boys |
| 2023 | Elizabeth Acevedo | Clap When You Land |
| 2023 | Darcie Little Badger | Elatsoe |
| 2023 | Tracy Deonn | Legendborn |
| 2023 | Ibi Aanu Zoboi | Punching the Air |
| 2023 | Adiba Jaigirdar | The Henna Wars |
| 2023 | Jordyn Taylor | The Paper Girls of Paris |
| 2023 | Traci Chee | We Are Not Free |
YRCA Senior Division Nominations. :
| Author | Title |
| 2019 ||
| Mindy McGinnis | The Female of the Species |
| E.K. Johnston | Exit, Pursued by a Bear |
| Shaun David Hutchinson | We Are the Ants |
| Ruta Sepetys | Salt to the Sea |
| Kendare Blake | Three Dark Crowns |
| Ransom Riggs | Tales of the Peculiar |
| Ryan North | The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe |
| Alexandra Bracken | Passenger |
| 2020 ||
| Cherie Dimaline | The Marrow Thieves |
| John Green | Turtles All the Way Down |
| S. Jae-Jones | Wintersong |
| E. K. Johnston | That Inevitable Victorian Thing |
| Karen M. McManus | One of Us is Lying |
| Adam Silvera | They Both Die at the End |
| Angie Thomas | The Hate U Give |
| Ibi Aanu Zoboi | American Street |
| 2021 ||
| Tomi Adeyemi | Children of Blood and Bone |
| Holly Black | The Cruel Prince |
| Steven Levenson | Dear Evan Hansen |
| Rachel Lippincott | Five Feet Apart |
| Tahereh Mafi | A Very Large Expanse of Sea |
| Kate Alice Marshall | I Am Still Alive |
| Neal Shusterman | Dry |
| Courtney Summers | Sadie |
| 2022 ||
| Ruta Sepetys | The Fountains of Silence |
| Elizabeth Acevedo | With the Fire on High |
| David Yoon | Frankly in Love |
| Akwaeke Emezi | Pet |
| Mindee Arnett | Onyx & Ivory |
| Randy Ribay | Patron Saint of Nothing |
| Mariko Tamaki | Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me |
| Tehlor Kay Mejia | We Set the Dark on Fire |
| 2023 ||
| Nic Stone | Dear Justyce |
| Julie Murphy | Faith: Taking Flight |
| Kacen Callender | Felix Ever After |
| Kelly Yang | Parachutes |
| June Hur | The Silence of Bones |
| Jennifer Lynn Barnes | The Inheritance Games |
| Owen Laukkanen | The Wild |
| Leah Johnson | You Should See Me in a Crown |