Award Winning Books

This week, we're sharing the Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award Books and the Show Me Readers Award Books.  Both awards are chosen by the children each year.  

Bunnies!!! by Kevan Atteberry
A monster searches everywhere to find the things he loves: bunnies!!!

The Magic Word by Mac Barnett

Paxton discovers that by saying the word "alakazoomba," he can magically get whatever he pleases.

Ketzel, the Cat Who Composed by Leslea Newman

Composer Moshe Cotel adopts a six-toed, black-and-white kitten whom he calls Ketzel, and when he needs a piece to enter in a contest for music less than a minute long, it is Ketzel who provides the solution.

Naked! by Michael Ian Black

A child discovers that the only thing more fun than being naked is wearing nothing but a cape.

More Award Winning Books --

10 Little Ninjas by Miranda Paul

Arrowhawk by Lola Schaefer

Bad Dog by Mike Boldt

Bubble Bath Pirates by Jarrett Krosoczka

Bye-Bye, Big Bad Bullybug! by Ed Emberley

Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings

Dandy by Ame Dyckman

The Epic Adventures of Huggie and Stick by Drew Daywalt

Epossumondas by Colleen Salley

The Frog Principal by Stephanie Calmenson

Hero Cat by Eileen Spinelli

I Ain't Gonna Paint No More by Karen Beaumont

The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Drew Daywalt

Llama Llama Mad at Mama by Anna Dewdney

Move Over Rover! by Karen Beaumont

Mustache Baby by Bridget Heos

Painter and Ugly by Robert Blake

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin

Press Here by Herve Tullet

Scaredy Snacks by Terry Border

Snack Attack by Terry Border

Some Dog! by Mary Casanova

Strongheart: The World's First Movie Star Dog by Emily Arnold McCully

Two Bobbies by Kirby Larson

Verdi by Janell Cannon

Who Took the Cookies From the Cookie Jar? by Bonnie Lass

Wolfboy by Andy Harkness

Award Winning Picture Books

We are often asked for award-winning books when patrons don't have a specific topic they want to read.  It is a common enough request that we label the winners of three picture book awards -- Caldecott Medal (best picture book awarded by ALA), Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award (favorite picture book chosen by children awarded by MLA), and Show Me Readers Award (favorite picture book chosen by children awarded by MASL).  Here are some of our favorites of these award-winning picture books . . . .

The Adventures of Beekle: An Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat

An imaginary friend waits a long time to be imagined by a child and given a special name, and finally does the unimaginable--he sets out on a quest to find his perfect match in the real world. (2015 Caldecott Award)

Bunnies!!! by Kevan Atteberry

A monster searches everywhere to find the things he loves: bunnies!!! (2016 Building Block Award)

This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen

A little fish thinks he can get away with stealing a hat. (2013 Caldecott Medal)

Strongheart: The World's First Movie Star Dog by Emily Arnold McCully

When silent movie director Larry Trimble decides to put Strongheart, a police dog, into his movies as the lead actor, he must first train him to play with toys and walk like a regular dog, but Strongheart becomes a sensation until his military training leads to trouble, and possibly the end of his career. (2017 Show Me Readers Award)

I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont

In the rhythm of a familiar folk song, a child cannot resist adding one more dab of paint in surprising places. (2006 Building Block Award)

More Award-Winning Picture Books --

Bad Dog by Mike Boldt

Bark, George by Jules Feiffer

The Blue House Dog by Debrorah Blumenthal

Dandy by Ame Dyckman

Flotsam by David Wiesner

Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg

Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes

Last Stop of Market Street by Matt de la Pena

The Little Island by Margaret Wise Brown

Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully

Mustache Baby by Bridget Heos

My Friend Rabbit by Eric Rohmann

Pug Meets Pig by Sue Gallion

Scaredy Snacks by Terry Border

Smoky Night by Eve Bunting

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Some Dog by Mary Casanova

Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig

The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Wolfboy by Andy Harkness

And the Winner Is . . .

The Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award
2014 Winner has been announced!

Mustache Baby by Bridget Heos

When Baby is born his parents are shocked to find he has a mustache.  What does it mean?

The nurse reveals that we must wait to see if it is a "bad guy mustache" or a "good guy mustache".  And so we see how Baby's mustache affects him through time.

2014 Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award

The Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award is a readers' choice award geared towards children birth through kindergarten.  The children are asked to listen to at least five of the books read before voting for their choice for the award.  Voting for the Building Block Award can be done at the Arnold Branch or online at http://www.kclibrary.org/kids/missouri-building-block-2014 through the end of December.





Count the Monkeys by Mac Barnett
The reader is invited to count the animals that have frightened the monkeys off the pages.

I Dare You Not to Yawn by Helene Boudreau
A boy tries to not yawn although facing baby orangutans, cuddly blankets, and sleepytime songs.

Open Very Carefully: A Book with Bite by Nicole O'Byrne
A crocodile falls into a quiet storybook and wreaks havoc on the characters.

Ribbit! by Rodrigo Folgueira
A pig visits a frog pond, sits on a rock, and says only "Ribbit!".

Little Nelly's Big Book by Pippa Goodhart
Little Nelly's book tells her she is a mouse.

This Little Piggy by Tim Harrington
The toes decide they would like to do more exciting stuff than the traditional rhyme lets them do.

Mustache Baby by Bridget Heos
Is baby Billy's mustache a Good-Guy mustache, or a Bad-Guy mustache?

Moo! by David LaRochelle
When Cow gets her hooves on the farmer's car, she takes it for a wild ride through the country.

The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli
After swallowing a watermelon seed, a crocodile imagines a scary outcome.

That Is NOT A Good Idea! by Mo Willems
A hungry fox invites a plump goose to dinner.

Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award

The Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award is a readers' choice award for preschool children in the state of Missouri.  Children are encouraged to listen to at least six of the nominee books and to vote for their favorite at their public library.  Last year, over 22,000 children voted for the winning book - Press Here by Herve Tullet. 

Here are the nominees for this year --

I'm Bored by Michael Ian Black
When a bored girl meets a potato who finds children tedius, she tries to prove him wrong by demonstrating all of the things they can do.

Cat Secrets by Jef Czekaj
Important secrets about how best to live a cat's life will be revealed only to those who can prove that they are genuine cats.

Who's Who? by Ken Geist
Illustrations and simple rhyming text introduce six pairs of animal twins, who moo, hop, swing, swim, flap, and hoot their way through the day.

Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton
George finds it hard to be a good dog when there are cats to chase, flowers to dig up, and a delicious cake sitting on the kitchen table.

It's a Tiger! by David LaRochelle
A child imagines that he is in a story where he encounters a tiger at every turn.

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin
Pete the cat loves the buttons on his shirt so much that he makes up a song about them, and even as the buttons pop off, one by one, he still finds a reason to sing.

One Special Day by Lola Schaefer
An energetic and imaginative boy becomes a big brother.

Find a Cow Now by Janet Stevens
Tired of hearing Dog yipping at chairs and trying to round up rugs, Bird tells him to go to the country to find a cow, but this is one cattle dog who does not know a cow when he sees one.

Let's Sing a Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy by Jan Thomas
Brave Cowboy tries to sing his young calf pals to sleep on a dark, dark night, with humorous results.

The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? by Mo Willems
Pigeon is very angry when the duckling gets a cookie just by asking politely.