Area Keiki Vote For Best Books

The written word still has some clout, folks. Hawaii’s young readers have declared their favorite 2013 author, and two West Oahu students also scored recently for their own related commentary on good reads.

In a vote of 6,000 Hawaii fourth- through sixth-graders, the Nene Award went to Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life by Chris Tebbetts and James Patterson (yes, that bestselling James Patterson). Last year’s co-winner, The Lemonade War author Jacqueline Davies, was present April 18 for the awards ceremony at Hawaii Okinawa Center, where winning student essays, digital media and posters also were honored.

Pearl Ridge Elementary School student Sofia Mishima won among fourth-graders in the Persuasive Digital Media category (images and comments), and Holomua Elementary’s Maya Woo was an honorable mention among sixth-graders in the Interpretive/Creative Story category.

Sponsored by the Hawaii State Public Library System and DOE, the Nene program attracted children from 78 libraries and schools across the state to vote for their favorite fiction books of 2013. Each library and school will get copies of the award-winning titles from Perma-Bound Books.