SASQUATCH BOOK AWARD HISTORY

Past Winners of the Sasquatch Reading Award:

2003 Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
2002 Dork in Disguise, by Carol Gorman
2001 Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, by Jack Gantos
2000 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J.K. Rowling
1999 Frindle, by Andrew Clements
1998 Mick Harte Was Here, by Barbara Park,

SASQUATCH BALLOT LISTS from the Beginning (.doc, .pdf)

Activity Handouts of 2007

Activity handouts and annotations 2006

Activity handouts and annotations 2005

Activity handouts and annotations 2004

Activity Handouts of 2003

A Brief History of the Sasquatch Award, by Joanne Hjort

This WLMA Award for chapter books, grades 3-6 was begun in 1999.

In March of 1997 a few of my colleagues were lamenting the gap in reading/literature promotion between our Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award (for children K- 3) and the Young Reader's Choice Award which tended to focus on 5th grade and above readers.

We casually presented the idea of some sort of award for the early chapter book readers to a Board meeting of the Washington Library Media Association, with the idea of forming an exploratory committee. There was immediate enthusiasm, and before the Board Meeting was adjourned, we had a committee, some meeting dates and a plan for introducing the first list at the fall conference in October, 1997.

Jan Weber and I both worked for a number of years on the Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award committee, which is also sponsored by the Washington Library Media Association. Many of the guidelines and voting procedures are the same as many of the participants are the same. The major difference is that the Washington Children's Choice Selections are read to all children in a participating school and all children vote. The Sasquatch Award nominees require children to read or have read to them at least two titles in order to vote.

As you may notice in the brochure, we are specifically vague about age and grade level. Our intent is that any child who reads or has read to them two titles, may vote. That student might be a first grader or a tenth grader.

During the first year the committee was exclusively people who happened to attend the board meeting mentioned. The second year, we solicited membership which now includes both public librarians and school librarians and folks from different regions of the state.

This committee meets in the early spring, in Ellensburg. We each bring our pile of book nominations with us. We solicit nominations from teachers, students, a few book shop owners and other librarians. We constantly try to focus on titles that children like and want to read while continually discussing the merits of individual titles in a series such as Redwall, American Girl, etc.

The actual process is a round robin in which each member presents their best title. We do this about three times around or until everyone feels that have presented the titles that have been most favored in their region. At this point we start discussing various titles, balance of male and female focus, ethnic diversity, and a variety of reading levels ranging from the earliest chapter book reader on up. One year we decided to include one picture book for older students (Passage to Freedom) as well as an autobiographical title (Basher Five-Two). I guess we then trust our instincts and negotiate the final list.

The actual award is a pewter goblet with the logo, the author's name, the title of the book and the year engraved. The Washington Children's Choice Award is a small pewter plate. Both awards are presented at the Fall WLMA state conference and then mailed to the winners, if not present.

On a personal level, working on these two committees has been a most rewarding experience. Both are programs that truly involve children in making literary choices, give teachers a chance to learn of new literature then the librarian basks in the joy!

Joanne L. Hjort