Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Award
Honoring the Best Beginning and Transitional Fiction and Nonfiction For Children
Blue Crab 2024 News
The Blue Crab committee has selected the winning books for 2024. Results will be shared at the Kids Are Customers, Too conference on April 4 at the Miller Branch of the Howard County Library System.
Join the Blue Crab Committee
Are you interested in joining the 2025 Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Award Committee?
To serve on the committee, you must be a member of either the Maryland Library Association or the Maryland Association of School Librarians. The committee will meet monthly from June 2024 through February 2025 on a schedule to be determined by the committee chair and members themselves. Monthly meetings are held virtually.
On this committee you will read and analyze MANY early-reader and transitional-reader books throughout the year. The work is worth it. You'll become an expert on early and transitional books for young readers, form new friendships, and make 16 authors really, really happy!
Committee members will serve a 10-month term and may not serve on concurrent Blue Crab Award Committees (e.g. the 2024 award AND the 2025 award). Committee members will earn 30 contact hours at the end of their term.
Blue Crab 2024 Committee Members
Teresa Frost – Anne Arundel County Public Library
Jessica Letizia – Baltimore County Public Library
Todd Krueger – Baltimore County Public Library
Diane Bobo – Baltimore County Public Library
Mandy Davis – Carroll County Public Library
Nikeia Thompson McFarlane – Charles County Public Library
Robin Willis – Frederick County Public Libraries
Colleen Kessler – Harford County Public Library
Judy Ehrenstein – Montgomery County Public Libraries
Luz Flores – Montgomery County Public Libraries
Jenny Corrado – Montgomery County Public Schools
Pamela Mann – Washington County Free Library
2023 Winners and Honor Books
2023 BC Brochure.pdfAbout the Award
The Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Award was created in 2004 in an attempt to stimulate interest in books for the beginning reader and the emergent independent reader. At that time, there were few books produced in this niche, and it was hoped that an award that could garner national attention would encourage authors, illustrators and publishers to produce better quality books in this niche.
Since the inception of this committee for the Maryland Library Association (MLA), other organizations have begun to offer beginning reader awards as well. For example, the American Library Association (ALA) established the Geisel award in 2004 in response to this need in children's publishing.
Each year, one winning book and up to three honor books will be selected to receive an award in each of the following categories:
Beginning Reader Fiction
Beginning Reader Nonfiction
Transitional Fiction
Transitional Nonfiction
Purpose:
Identify and promote the best fiction and nonfiction books published at the K-2nd grade reading level (early readers) and at the 2nd-4th grade reading level (transitional readers), both for children reading at grade level and for reluctant older readers.
Provide teachers, librarians, and caregivers with a resource list of excellent books for beginning readers.
Encourage publishers, authors, and illustrators to create high quality books for beginning readers.