Monarch Award
# Monarch Award

The Monarch Award: Illinois' K-3 Readers' Choice Award was established in 2003 by the Illinois School Library Media Association (ISLMA) to help Kindergarten through 3rd grade readers become familiar with books, illustrators and authors; encourage children to read critically; and to develop a statewide awareness of outstanding literature for children.

The award name and image was chosen as a symbol of growth, change and freedom and to help familiarize students with the state's insect.

## Award Process

The award is given annually (beginning in 2005) to a single author and/or illustrator by a collective vote of Kindergarten through 3rd grade students in Illinois. The award is administered by a steering committee that seeks nominations from public librarians, school library media specialist, teachers, and students. A volunteer reading committee then forms a master list of 20 of the nominated titles which include a range of interests and reading levels as well as 3 of each of the following types of children's books:

* Picture books
* Easy readers
* Chapter books

Students vote in February of each year for their favorite from the master list and the results are announced the following month.

## Criteria for nomination

* Nominator must have read the book
* Book copyrighted within the past 5 years
* Be in print at the time of selection
* Author and/or illustrator must be living at the time of selection of mater list
* Book must be of interest and appeal to children in grades kindergarten through 3rd grade
* Must have literary merit
* May be fiction or nonfiction
* No title or series may be on two consecutive master lists
* If a title in a series has been awarded, other books in that series are ineligible for 5 years
* Book must not be a textbook, anthology, translation, toy, puzzle, pop-up or formula fiction

## Recipients

Yellow background distinguishes winners from those runners-up that are listed.

| Year | Writer | Illustrator | Title | Citation |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 2005 | David Shannon | Shannon | David Gets in Trouble | Winner |
| 2005 | Helen Lester | Lynn Munsinger | Hooway for Wodney Wat | 2nd Place |
| 2005 | Lauren Child | Child | I Will Never Not Eat a Tomato | 3rd Place |
| 2006 | Keiko Kasza | Kasza | My Lucky Day | Winner |
| 2007 | Caralyn Buehner | Mark Buehner | Superdog: The Heart of a Hero | Winner |
| 2008 | Chris Van Dusen | Van Dusen | If I Built a Car | Winner |
| 2009 | Kevin O'Malley | O'Malley, Carol Heyer and Scott Goto | Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude | Winner |
| 2010 | Melanie Watt | Watt | Scaredy Squirrel | Winner |
| 2011 | Jan Thomas | Thomas | Rhyming Dust Bunnies | Winner |
| 2012 | Chris Barton | Tom Lichtenheld | Shark vs. Train | Winner |
| 2012 | Amy Krause Rosenthal | Tom Lichtenheld | Duck! Rabbit! | 2nd Place |
| 2012 | David Ezra Stein | Stein | Interrupting Chicken | 3rd Place |
