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Green Mountain Book Award -- Book Blog-In '08

Submitted by ggevalt on October 18, 2007 - 19:46.

Want to read books and compare notes with other high school students around the state? We have just the thing -- a new set of forums for the finalist books nominated for the Green Mountain Book Award. Each year, a committee of Vermont librarians and educators select 15 excellent books suitable for students in grades 9-12 as finalists for the GMBA.

Working with the committee, we've created an area on this site for the GMBA books and discussion groups. Consider them online book clubs. We have book summaries, links to study guides and, of course, forums for each book. CLICK HERE to get to the GMBA area of this site. Read and join in!

We'd love to have you participate in this online book group. Last year, we had great response and this year -- even though it doesn't formally start until Jan. 15 -- we've already had some entries.

Here is what we have for you on this site:

MASTERLIST & INFO. Click on the long book list or short book list for descriptions of the books, links to excerpts and authors' sites and links to the individual discussion groups.

FORUMS. Click on the Green Mountain Book Award Forums to post a review or join in the discussion on any of these books. You must be registered and signed in on this site to participate in the GMBA Forums. To register, click here.

STUDY GUIDES. Click on Study Guides for GMBA recommendations on additional reading and resources for each book.

This is the third year for the Green Mountain Book Award. Co-sponsored by the Vermont Educational Media Association, Vermont Library Association and the Vermont Department of Libraries, this program is designed to introduce to high school students some excellent books for their pleasure reading.

These books, to be read during the 2007-2008 school year, comprise the master list for the award to be made in 2008. Voting forms will be made available to all Vermont schools and public libraries in the spring -- and on this Web site -- so that young adults can vote for their favorite book. The master list titles have been selected to satisfy the reading interests of young adults in grades 9-12, and include both adult and young adult books. All books on the list were first published in 2002-2006 and are available in paperback. The GMBA committee recommends that in order to be eligible to vote, a student should read at least three books on the masterlist.

The Green Mountain Book Award is the student-selected award for Vermonters in grades 9-12. In 2005 it joined the other two Vermont child-selected book awards, The Red Clover Award, a picture book award for children in Kindergarten-grade 4, and the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award, a book award for students in grades 4-8.

BACKGROUND

Librarians had been talking about the possibility of such an award for several years, but it was Marsha Middleton, the librarian at North Country Union High School in Newport, Vermont and Sybil McShane, the Vermont State Librarian, who made it a reality. Marsha had both the desire to start a young adult award and the knowledge of high school kids and their reading, and Sybil had strong interest in having the Department of Libraries better serve the teenagers of Vermont. Both librarians are passionate about young adult literature and bringing the best to kids, so it was a natural partnership.

The Department of Libraries agreed to fund a pilot project, and a group of excited volunteers formed a committee in 2004. The Vermont Educational Media Association contributed funding, and CAYAL, the Children's and Young Adult section of the Vermont Library Association, pledged support and recruited volunteers.

The goal of the award is to select a list of books of good literary quality that:

  • Engages high school students.
  • Represents a variety of genres, formats and viewpoints.
  • May include books written both for young people and adults.
  • Reflects the interests of high school students.

To be eligible for the Green Mountain Book Award list, a book must:

  • Be available in paperback
  • Have been published in the last 5 years (2002-2006 for the 2007-2008 list)
  • Have received two favorable reviews in professionally recognized review sources (if possible).

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