Every year, Emerson 4th and 5th grade students become literary critics. Each class chooses a category for their award, designs a medal, nominates books, and narrows down their final selections for a final vote by all students in grades K – 8. Below are the six winners of the 2016 Emerson Book Awards, along with the honorable mentions.
+ See more photos of the award winning books
FANTASTIC PHANTOM FANTASY AWARD
Best Fantasy Book
- WINNER: Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets—J. K. Rowling
- Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell–Chris Colfer
- Charlie Bone and the Shadow–Jenny Nimmo
OLDBERRY AWARD
Best Action/Adventure Book
- WINNER: Hatchet—Gary Paulsen
- Al Capone Does My Shirts—Gennifer Choldenko
- The Princess Bride—William Goldman
WHITE WILLOW AWARD
Best Fiction Published 2005-2015
- WINNER: Dragons Love Tacos—Adam Rubin
- Wings of Fire: The Lost Heir—Tui Sutherland
- Wonder—R. J. Palacio
POSITIVELY PERFECT PICTURE BOOKS AWARD
Best Picture Book
- WINNER: Interrupting Chicken—David Ezra Stein
- Creepy Carrots—Aaron Reynolds
- Happy Pig Day—Mo Willems
1, 2, 3, MUNCH ON ME, MYSTERY AWARD
Best Mystery Book
- WINNER: The Mystery of Eatum Hall—John Kelly
- Artemis Fowl—Eoin Colfer
- The Westing Game—Ellen Raskin
THE ELM TREE AWARD
Best Realistic Fiction
- WINNER: Out of My Mind—Sharon M. Draper
- Echo—Pamela Munoz Ryan
- Counting by 7’s—Holly Goldberg Sloan
- Half a World Away—Cynthia Kadohata
