The Great Stone Face Book Award

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The Great Stone Face Book Award is given annually to an author whose book receives the most votes from 4th through 6th graders throughout the state.  In April N.H. children vote for their favorite book from a list of 25 recently-published titles that are chosen by the Great Stone Face (GSF) Committee.  The deadline to submit tally sheets is April 15.  The purpose of the award is to promote reading enjoyment, to increase awareness of contemporary writing, and to allow children to honor their favorite authors.

For more information, the mission statement and selection criteria are available, and you can learn more about the GSF Committee if you are interested in joining.

 

WONDER by R.J. Palacio wins the 2012-2013 Great Stone Face Book Award!

The winning story, which spans a school year, is told from the points of view of a variety of characters, including ten year old Auggie Pullman who was born with such severe facial deformities that, even after 27 surgeries, children still run away from him screaming, his sister’s and a few friends.  Auggie is faced with challenges that he meets head-on, and the reader will cheer for him and savor his victory in the end. Auggie is just a regular kid, surrounded by a very loving and supportive family. He even has a best friend. Homeschooled and soon to be a fifth grader, Auggie’s mother has deWondercided it’s now time for him to attend a private school. But the transition isn’t easy when most people don’t get beyond judging him by his looks. In spite of the death of his dog, bullies, and friendships that are tested, Auggie proves to his new classmates and the school administration that he’s smart, funny and brave.

 

WONDER received 1,234 out of the 6,566 votes that were submitted.  A full list of the voting results is available, as well as a list of all the past winners.

2013-2014 Nominees

  • Buddy by M.H. Herlong
  • Chained by Lynne Kelly
  • Child of the Mountains by Marilyn Sue Shank H
  • Freaky Fast Frankie Joe by Lutricia Clifton
  • Ghost Knight by Cornelia Funke
  • Gods and Warriors by Michelle Paver
  • The Golden Door by Emily Rodda
  • Horten’s Miraculous Mechanisms by Lissa Evans
  • Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead
  • Little Dog, Lost by Marion Dane Bauer
  • Malcolm at Midnight by W.H. Beck
  • One Dog and His Boy by Eva Ibbotsen
  • One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
  • The Power of Poppy Pendle by Natasha Lowe
  • Prairie Evers by Ellen Airgood
  • The Prairie Thief by Melissa Wiley
  • Ship’s Cat Doris by Jane Simmons
  • Ungifted by Gordon Korman
  • The Vengekeep Prophecies by Brian Farrey
  • Wooden Bones by Scott William Carter