Librarian, Allie Bruce, at the Bank Street School for Children. / Cheryl Simon

Students from around the globe will decide the winners of the Bank Street Center for Children’s Literature (CCL) Irma Simonton Black and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children's Literature (Irma Black award) for the best read-aloud picture book (for first and second grades), and the Cook Prize for the best picture book that teaches STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) principles (for ages 8-10). The deadline for ballots is April 20, and winners in both categories will be announced April 28 with an awards ceremony to follow May 22. Based in New York City, the CCL has already announced the finalists in each category. The final contenders for the Irma Black Award were chosen by third and fourth graders at the Bank Street School for Children in New York from a pool of 16 read-aloud books. Over the course of a month, the students were engaged in critical discussion of the books before narrowing it down to four.

Fourth graders at the Bank Street School for Children. / Cheryl Simon

The four picture book finalists for the Irma Black Award (all published in 2013) are:

• Are the Dinosaurs Dead, Dad? by Julie Middleton, illustrated by Russell Ayto (Peachtree)
• Chick-O-Saurus Rex by Lenore Jennewin, illustrated by Daniel Jennewin (Simon & Schuster)
• The King of Little Things by Bill Lepp, illustrated by David T. Wenzel (Peachtree)
• That Is Not a Good Idea! by Mo Willems (HarperCollins)

The four finalists for the Cook Prize (all published in 2013) are:

• Bone by Bone: Comparing Animal Skeletons by Sara Levine, illustrated by T.S. Spookytooth (Lerner)
• The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdos by Deborah Heiligman, illustrated by LeUyen Pham (Macmillan)
• No Monkeys, No Chocolate by Melissa Stewart and Allen Young, illustrated by Nicole Wong (Charlesbridge)
• Toilet: How It Works by David Macaulay (Macmillan)

The CCL has offered easy online registration forms for teachers and discussion guidelines for their students in both categories:

• Irma Black Award registration and discussion guidelines.
• Cook Prize registration and discussion guidelines.

The CCL is also inviting children to create own clever campaigns in order to lobby for their favorite Irma Black Award and Cook Prize candidates, according to Director of the CCL, Jennifer Brown, “Please send us photos of your students’ posters, murals, bookmarks, and campaign speeches,” she says. Email Brown at jbrown@bankstreet.edu to share your students' voting process or other questions.