CHARLIE MAY SIMON Book Award The Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award for children's literature has been presented annually in Arkansas since 1971 to an author whose book has been selected through a vote taken by Arkansas school children in grades 4, 5, and 6. The purpose of the award is to promote better reading for children and to recognize Mrs. John Gould Fletcher, an outstanding Arkansas author who wrote under the pen name Charlie May Simon.

2010 Charlie May Simon Winners WinnerRunner-Up

Appelt, Kathi THE UNDERNEATH An old hound that has been chained up at his hateful owner's run-down shack, and two kittens born underneath the house, endure many troubles before they finally end up reunited and free.

Clements, Andrew LOST AND FOUND Twin brothers Jay and Ray Grayson learn about friendship, honesty, and them- selves after taking advantage of a clerical oversight in which their new school thinks there is only one Grayson boy.

Creech, Sharon HATE THAT CAT Jack is studying poetry again in school, and he continues to write poems reflecting his understanding of famous poems and how they relate to his life.

DuPrau, Jeanne THE DIAMOND OF DARKHOLD: THE FOURTH BOOK OF EMBER After obtaining an ancient book with only a few pages remaining, Lina and Doon return to Ember seeking the machine described in the book that might be able to aid their new community, Sparks, through the winter.

Giff, Patricia Reilly ELEVEN When Sam, who can barely read, discovers an old newspaper clipping just before his eleventh birthday, it brings memories from his past, and with the help of a new friend his questions are eventually answered.

Henkes, Kevin BIRD LAKE MOON Twelve-year-old Mitch, spending the summer with his grandparents at Bird Lake after his parents' separation, becomes friends with ten-year-old Spencer, who has returned with his family to the lake where his little brother drowned years earlier, and as the boys spend time together and their friendship grows, each of them begins to heal.

Korman, Gordon SWINDLE After unscrupulous collector S. Wendell Palamino cons him out of a valuable baseball card, sixth-grader Griffin Bing puts together a band of misfits to break into Palomino's heavily guarded store and steal the card back, planning to use the money to finance his father's failing invention, the SmartPick fruit picker.

Law, Ingrid SAVVY Recounts the adventures of Mibs Beaumont, whose thirteenth birthday has revealed her "savvy"--a magical power unique to each member of her family--just as her father is injured in a terrible accident.

Lowry, Lois THE WILLOUGHBYS The four Willoughby children set about to become "deserving orphans" after their neglectful parents embark on a treacherous adventure, leaving them in the care of an odious nanny.

O’Brien, Tony, and Mike Sullivan AFGHAN DREAMS: YOUNG VOICES OF AFGHANISTAN From the landscape of war- ravaged Afghanistan, interviews with children, recording their dreams, their hopes, and their stories.

Park, Linda Sue KEEPING SCORE In Brooklyn in 1951, a die-hard Giants fan teaches nine-year-old Maggie, a Dodgers fan, how to keep score of a baseball game which creates a special friendship between them.

Schwabach, Karen THE HOPE CHEST Eleven-year-old Violet runs away from home in 1918 to go to New York City to find her older sister, a suffragist, joins a group her parents would call "the wrong sort," and ends up in Nashville, Tennessee awaiting the vote on the nineteenth amendment.

Woodruff, Elvira FEARLESS In late 1600s England, Digory becomes an apprentice to the architect who built a lighthouse on the rocks that sank his grandfather's ship.

Children in grades 4-6 should vote on these titles by April Children must have read or heard at least three of the books from this list in order to be eligible to vote.