By Jennifer Smith and Kathy Mansfield
The votes have been counted and Kentucky students have chosen the following titles as the 2016 winners of the Kentucky Bluegrass Award:
- K-2: “The Monkey Goes Bananas” by C.P. Bloom; Peter Raymundo, ill. Abrams, 2014.
- 3-5: “Duke” by Kirby Larson. Scholastic Press, 2013.
- 6-8: “The Crossover” by Kwame Alexander. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014.
- 9-12: “Faking Normal” by Courtney Stevens. Harper Teen, 2014.
The Kentucky Bluegrass Award (KBA) is a state student choice program designed to encourage the students of Kentucky in grades kindergarten through 12 to read a variety of quality literature suitable for their age and reading abilities. All Kentucky public and private schools, as well as public libraries, are welcome to participate in the program. A record number of schools and libraries participated in the 2016 vote, with 59,401 votes cast by 228 schools and libraries.
The Kentucky Association of School Librarians (KASL) will oversee the KBA program beginning in 2016 and has appointed Janet Wells, Rockcastle County school librarian, as the KBA coordinator. Additional information about the Kentucky Bluegrass Award is available on its new website here.
The 2016-17 KBA Master Lists also are available on the website, and the following Kentucky educators are chairpersons for each grade group’s list:
- K-2 Master List: Jennifer Timmerman
- 3-5 Master List: Cindy Judd
- 6-8 Master List: Emily Northcutt
- 9-12 Master List: Amanda Hurley and Lynda Short
The KBA Committee is working on re-establishing the Preschool Master List, a nonvoting recommended list for preschools, early learning centers, public libraries, child-care providers and parents. If you have an interest in that age group, look for an application form to be posted soon here.
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