The Children's Book Council (CBC) in conjunction with Every Child A Reader, the CBC Foundation, is hosting the fourth annual Children's Choice Book Awards Program with the announcement of 30 finalists in 6 different categories. Zebrafish, written by Peter H. Reynolds and Fablevision has been chosen as a finalist in the Fifth Grade to Sixth Grade Book of the Year category. Several years ago the Children's Hospital Trust came to Fablevision with an inspiring challenge: to conceive of and create a new kind of philanthropy campaign for childhood-related medical research and care--to build a movement of kids and their parents. The result was Generation Cures, an inspiring transmedia family resource. Fablevision and Children's Hospital Trust have created a ground-breaking approach to motivate tweens to care about and help other tweens through entertainment, story, and gaming.
Zebrafish tells the story of a quirky group of children who form a band. When one of them falls ill, the children are united by a common goal and learn how they can change their community and the lives of others. The success of the online webisodes caught the eye ofSimon & Schuster, who loved the humor and very "real" characters. The first Zebrafish visual novel was published in May of 2010 and the second will be released in May 2012.
Voting is now open for the competition! Children and teens can now vote for their favorite book, author, and illustrator at book stores, school libraries, and at BookWeekOnline.comuntil April 29, 2011. The winners will be announced LIVE at the annual Children's Choice Book Awards Gala on May 2 at the Lighthouse in New York City as part of Children's Book Week from May 2nd to the 8th. Encourage any children that you know to vote for Zebrafish!
