MARK TWAIN AWARD

Sponsored by Missouri Association of School Librarians

MASL sponsors two children's choice book awards, the Mark Twain Award and the Show Me Readers Award. The Mark Twain Award is selected by students in grades four through eight and presented annually to a living United States author. Nominations of titles of literary merit for the stated grade range to be considered for the award are invited.

PURPOSE: The Mark Twain Award is to provide the children of Missouri with their very own source to enrich their lives through reading. 

WHO MAY VOTE: Missouri students in grades four through eight are eligible to vote for their favorite book if they have read, or have had read to them, at least FOUR of the titles on the current master list. 

HOW TO VOTE: Each school or qualifying group will design its own ballots. Each student gets ONE vote.  Votes are tallied by each school or group on a tally sheet, which is provided by the Mark Twain Award Committee. The tally MUST show how many individual votes were cast for each book. All tallies MUST BE POSTMARKED BY MARCH 26. 

MAIL VOTE TALLY TO:

MARK TWAIN AWARD
3912 Manorwood
Dr. St. Louis, MO 63125

2003-2004 Winners:

1st Place: Zach's Lie by Roland Smith
When Jack Osborne is befriended by his school's custodian and a Basque girl, he begins to adjust to his family's sudden move to Elko, Nevada, after entering the Witness Security Program, but the drug cartel against which his father will testify is determined to track them down.  

2nd Place: Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen
After his anger erupts into violence, Cole, in order to avoid going to prison, agrees to participate in a sentencing alternative based on the Native American Circle Justice, and he is sent to a remote Alaskan island where an encounter with a huge Spirit Bear changes his life.

3rd Place: The Good Dog by Avi
McKinley, a malamute, is torn between the domestic world of his human family and the wild world of Lupin, a wolf that is trying to recruit dogs to replenish the dwindling wolf pack.

Mark Twain Award 2005-2006Nominees

Each year, Missouri schoolchildren in grades 4—8 vote for their favorite book from a list of nominated titles.  The Mark Twain Award is awarded to the author of this book by the Missouri Association of School Librarians. 

Boy Who Saved Baseball by John Ritter
The fate of a small California town rests on the outcome of one baseball game, and Tom Gallagher hopes to lead his team to victory with the secrets of the now disgraced player, Dante Del Gato.

City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a Messenger to run to new places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions.

Cold in Summer by Tracy Barrett
At the beginning of seventh grade, Adriadne moves to a Tennessee near a former farming community submerged under a man-made lake and meets the ghost of a girl from the past.

Crandall's Castle by Betty Wright
Charli's impulsive uncle, Will Crandall, decides to buy the town's abandoned, possibly haunted castle and fix it up as a bed-and-breakfast, but Charli and Sophia, a clairvoyant orphan who has come to stay with the Crandall family, know his plan is somehow dangerous.

For Freedom by Kimberly Bradley
Despite the horrors of World War II, a French teenager pursues her dream of becoming an opera singer, which takes her to places where she gains information about what the Nazi's are doing- information that the French Resistance needs.

Ghost Girl: a Blue Ridge Mountain Story by Delia Ray
Eleven-year-old April is delighted when President and Mrs. Hoover build a school near her Madison County, Virginia, home but her father's poverty, grief over the accidental death of her brother, and other problems may mean the April can never learn to read from the wonderful teacher, Miss Vest.

Gorillas of Gill Park by Amy Gordon
While spending the summer before seventh grade with his aunt, Willy Wilson finds his first friends ever in the colorful characters who all love the neighborhood park owned by an eccentric old man.

Haunting of Swain's Fancy by Brenda Seabrooke
Eleven-year-old Taylor spends the summer with her father and his new family in a historic house in West Virginia and, while contending with hostility from her stepsister Nicole, attempts to solve the mystery of ghosts who haunt the site.

How Angel Peterson Got His Name by Gary Paulsen
Author Gary Paulsen relates tales from his youth in a small town in Northwestern Minnesota in the late 1940s and early 1950s, such as skiing behind a souped-up car and imitating daredevil Evel Knievel.

Impossible Journey by Gloria Whelen
In 1934, thirteen-year-old Marya and her younger brother, Gerogi, set out alone on a long and arduous journey into Siberia to find their mother after she and their father are exiled for opposing Stalin.

Jackie's Wild Seattle by Will Hobbs 
Fourteen-year-old Shannon and her little brother, Cody, spend the summer with their uncle, helping at a wildlife rescue center named Jackie's Wild Seattle.

The Last Dog on Earth by Daniel Ehrenheft
Logan Moore hates everyone. The father who abandoned him. The stepfather who wants to control him. Kids who get in his face. Everyone. Except Jack. A mangy mutt that nobody wants. Except Logan. He doesn’t care that Jack has already bitten three workers at the animal shelter or that she’s ugly. She’s the only one who doesn’t want anything from him and that’s enough for Logan.  But Jack is in terrible danger. A mysterious disease is sweeping across the country, turning dogs into vicious, raging predators. Jack isn’t infected, but that won’t keep her safe. People are shooting dogs on sight, and asking questions later. Logan’s own parents want to hand Jack over to the authorities. Now Logan and Jack are on the run. There’s nowhere they can turn and no one they can trust.  Except each other.

Maggie's Door by Patricia Reilly Giff
In the mid-1800s, Nory and her neighbor and friend, Sean, set out separately on a dangerous journey from famine-plagued Ireland, hoping to reach a better life in America.

Mountain Solo by Jeanette Ingold
Back at her childhood home in Missoula, Montana, after a disastrous concert in Germany, a teenage violin prodigy contemplates giving up life with her mother in New York City and her music as she, her father, stepmother, and stepsister hike to a pioneer home site where another violinist once faced difficult decisions of his own.

Ravenmaster's Secret by Elizabeth Woodruff
The eleven-year-old son of the Ravenmaster at the Tower of London befriends a Jacobite rebel being held prisoner there.

Saving Grace by Priscilla Cummings
When Grace's family is evicted from their Washington, D.C., apartment just before Christmas1932, and she and her younger brothers are sent to the Mission, Grace wonders what will become of her sick older brother, her pregnant mother, and her out-of-work father.

Simple Gift by Nancy Patterson
A small-town community theater production based on one of her mother's books brings Carrie a glimpse of her mother's past and a new understanding of giving to others.

Sliding Into Home by Dori Butler

Tadpole by Ruth White
In rural Kentucky in 1955, Serilda Collins, single mother of four lively girls, discovers that her orphaned nephew is being subjected to brutality.

Under the Same Sky by Cynthia DeFelice
While trying to earn money for a motor bike, fourteen-year-old Joe Pederson becomes involved with the Mexicans who work on his family's farm and develops a better relationship with his father.

Past Award Winners                   

2002 -Dork in Disguise by Carol Gorman

Starting middle school in a new town, brainy Jerry Flack changes his image from “dork” to “cool kid,” but discovers that he’d rather be himself. 

2001 –Holes by Louis Sachar

As further evidence of his family’s bad fortune which they attribute to a curse on a distant relative, Stanley Yelnats is sent to a correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds his first real friend, a treasure, a new sense of himself. 

2000 –Saving Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds

NaylorSixth-grader Marty and his family try to help their rough neighbor, Judd Travers, change his mean ways, even though their West Virginia community continues to expect the worse of him. 

1999 –Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio by Peg Kehret

The author describes her battle against polio when she was thirteen and her efforts to overcome its debilitating effects. 

1998 –Titanic Crossing by Barbara Williams           

In 1912, 13-year-old Albert considers his younger sister a pest, but things change when they travel with their mother and uncle aboard the Titanic and are caught up in its tragic sinking. 

1997 –A Time for Andrew by Mary Downing Hahn

When he goes to spend the summer with his great-aunt in the family’s old house, 11-year-old Drew is drawn eighty years into the past to trade places with his great-great-uncle who is dying of diphtheria. 

1996 –The Ghosts of Mercy Manor by Betty Ren Wright

12-year-old Gwen, an orphan who comes to live with the Mercy family, discovers that the house is haunted by the ghost of a sad-looking young girl and is determined to solve the mystery behind her appearances. 

1995 –The Man Who Loved Clowns by June Rae Wood

13-year-old Delrita, whose unhappy life has caused her to hide from the world, loves her Uncle Punky but sometimes feels ashamed of his behavior because he has Down’s Syndrome. 

1994 –Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

When he finds a lost beagle in the hills behind his West Virginia home, Marty tries to hide it from his family and the dog’s real owner, a mean-spirited man known to mistreat his dogs. 

1993 –Maniac Magee by Jerry SpinelliAfter his parents die, Jeffrey Lionel Magee’s life becomes legendary as he accomplishes athletic and other feats which awe his contemporaries. 

1992 –The Doll in the Garden by Mary Downing Hahn

After Ashley and Kristi find an antique doll buried in old Miss Cooper’s garden, they discover that they can enter a ghostly turn-of-the-century world by going through a hole in the hedge. 

1991 –All About Sam by Lois Lowry

The adventures of Sam, Anastasia Krupnik’s younger brother, from his first day as a newborn through his mischievous times as a toddler.

1990 –There’s a Boy in the Girls’s Bathroom by Louis Sachar

An unmanageable, but lovable, 11-year-old misfit learns to believe in himself when he gets to know the new school counselor, who is somewhat of a misfit as well. 

1989 –Sixth Grade Sleep-Over by Eve Bunting

Janey worries that the sixth grade Rabbit Reading Club’s all-night sleepover will expose her fear of the dark, but it turns out she is not the only member with a secret.

1988 –Babysitting is a Dangerous Job by Willo Davis Roberts

A baby sitter and her three willful charges make a formidable team to outwit their surprised kidnappers. 

1987 –The War with Grandpa by Robert K. Smith

Upset that he has to give up the room he loves to his grandfather, Pete decides to declare war in an attempt to get it back. 

1986 –The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright

A dollhouse filled with ghostly light in the middle of the night and dolls that have moved from where she left them lead Amy and her sister to unravel the mystery surrounding grisly murders that took place years ago. 

1985 –A Bundle of Sticks by Pat Rhoads Mauser

At the mercy of the class bully, a fifth grader is sent to a martial arts school where he learns techniques to defend himself as well as a philosophy that allows him not to fight. 

1984 –Secret Life of the Underwear Champ by Betty Miles

10-year-old Larry is “discovered” on the street and asked to appear in a television commercial.  Only later does he find out what he is advertising. 

1983 –The Girl With the Silver Eyes by Willo Davis Roberts

A 10-year-old girl, who has always looked different from other children, discovers that she not only has unusual powers, but that there are others like her. 

1982 –The Boy Who Saw Bigfoot by Marian T. Place

A 10-year-old boy, placed once again with new foster parents, becomes involved in a search for Bigfoot. 

1981 –Soup for President by Robert Newton Peck

Rob manages Soup’s campaign for class president in their small Vermont town. 

1980 –The Pinballs by Betsy Byars

Three lonely foster children learn to care about themselves and each other. 

1979 –The Champion of Merrimack County by Roger Drury

The discovery of a bike-riding mouse in the bathtub is just the beginning of a series of humorous communications for the Berryfield family.

1978 –Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary               

6-year-old Ramona tries to cope with an unsympathetic first-grade teacher. 

1977 –The Ghost on Saturday Night by Sid Fleischman

A thick fog and a ghost-raising lead to more excitement and reward than Opie had counted on. 

1976 –The Home Run Trick  by Scott Corbett

The Panthers try desperately to convincingly lose a baseball game when they find out the winners must play a girls’ team. 

1975 –How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

Two boys set out to prove that worms can make a delicious meal. 

1974 –It’s a Mile from Here to Glory by Robert C. Lee

A shy undersized 16-year-old finds himself suddenly popular when he becomes star of the track team. 

1973 –Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nihm by Robert C. O’Brien

Having no one to help her with her problems, a widowed mouse visits the rats whose former imprisonment in a laboratory has given them wisdom and long life. 

1972 –Sounder by William H. Armstrong

Angry and humiliated when his sharecropper father is jailed for stealing food for his family, a young black boy grows in courage and understanding with the help of the devoted dog Sounder.