Best Kids' Picks

Close to 55,000 kids voted for their favorite book, author, and illustrator as part of the Children's Book Council's first Children's Choice Book Awards. Frankie Stein (Marshall Cavendish) by Lola M. Schaefer and illustrated by Kevan Atteberry nabbed the K–2 category; third and fourth graders chose Big Cats (Enslow) by Elaine Landau; and Encyclopedia Horrifica (Scholastic) by Joshua Gee landed the fifth- to sixth-grade grouping. Ian Falconer won for best illustrator and J. K. Rowling for best author.