Sequoyah Book Award


The Sequoyah Book Award is a set of three annual awards for books selected by vote of Oklahoma students in elementary, middle, and high schools. The award program is named after Sequoyah, the Cherokee man who developed the Cherokee syllabary—a writing system adopted by Cherokee Nation in 1825. The awards are sponsored by the Oklahoma Library Association and administered by a committee of OLA members. Every year, three teams representing each award read and select books to be included on the master lists, which are then provided to Oklahoma schools for students to read and vote on. The winners are announced early spring of each year, and the winning authors are invited to the Association's annual conference to receive their awards and meet with students. The Sequoyah Children's Book Award, now voted by children in grades 3 to 5, was inaugurated in 1959. It is the third oldest U.S. state children's choice award after the original Kansas award and Vermont award. The Sequoyah Intermediate Book Award is voted by grades 6 to 8. It dates from 1988 where it was originally named the Young Adult award. Finally in 2010, the Sequoyah High School Book Award was added to the program. The Sequoyah Committee also selects the Donna Norvell Award for easy reader books, Pre-K-2nd grades; however, this award is chosen by the committee members and not by the students themselves.

Children's winners

YearTitleAuthor
1959Old YellerFred Gipson
1960Black GoldMarguerite Henry
1961Have Space Suit—Will TravelRobert A. Heinlein
1962The Helen Keller StoryCatherine O. Peare
1963Mystery of the Haunted PoolPhyllis Whitney
1964Where the Panther ScreamsWilliam Powell Robinson
1965A Wrinkle in TimeMadeleine L'Engle
1966RascalSterling North
1967Harriet the SpyLouise Fitzhugh
1968Gentle BenWalt Morey
1969Blackbeard’s GhostBen Stahl
1970MustangMarguerite Henry
1971Ramona the PestBeverly Cleary
1972Man in the BoxMary Lois Dunn
1973The Trumpet of the SwanE. B. White
1974Flight of the White WolfMel Ellis
1975Tales of a Fourth Grade NothingJudy Blume
1976How to Eat Fried WormsThomas Rockwell
1977The Toothpaste MillionaireJean Merrill
1978Shoeshine GirlClyde Robert Bulla
1979Summer of the MonkeysWilson Rawls
1980Kid PowerSusan B. Pfeffer
1981Get-Away CarEleanor Clymer
1982BunniculaJames Howe
1983A Dog Called KittyBill Wallace
1984The Cybil WarBetsy Byars
1985Thirteen Ways to Sink a SubJamie Gilson
1986Dear Mr. HenshawBeverly Cleary
1986Just Tell Me When We’re DeadEth Clifford
1987Night of the TwistersIvy Ruckman
1988Christina's GhostBetty Ren Wright
1989The Sixth Grade SleepoverEve Bunting
1990FudgeCharlotte Graeber
1991BeautyBill Wallace
1992Mary Downing Hahn
1993WeaselCynthia DeFelice
1994ShilohPhyllis Reynolds Naylor
1995Horror at the Haunted HousePeg Kehret
1996The Ghosts of Mercy ManorBetty Ren Wright
1997Nasty, Stinky SneakersEve Bunting
1998Titanic CrossingBarbara Williams
1999101 Ways to Bug Your ParentsLee Wardlaw
2000The Million Dollar ShotDan Gutman
2001HolesLouis Sachar
2002Dork in DisguiseCarol Gorman
2003Because of Winn-DixieKate DiCamillo
2004Skeleton ManJoseph Bruchac
2005The Stranger Next DoorPeg Kehret
2006The Tale of DespereauxKate DiCamillo
2007The World According to HumphreyBetty Birney
2008Angus and SadieCynthia Voigt
2009ClementineSara Pennypacker
2010Lawn BoyGary Paulsen
2011All the Lovely Bad OnesMary Downing Hahn
2012DragonbreathUrsula Vernon
2013The Strange Case of Origami YodaTom Angleberger
2014SidekicksDan Santat
2015The One and Only IvanKatherine Applegate
2016Chews Your Destiny: The Gumazing Gum Girl!Rhode Montijo
2017The Doll GraveyardLois Ruby
2018Roller GirlVictoria Jamieson

Young Adult and Intermediate winners

YearTitleAuthor
1988Abby My LoveHadley Irwin
1989The Other Side of DarkJoan Lowery Nixon
1990HatchetGary Paulsen
1991A Sudden SilenceEve Bunting
1992Appointment with a StrangerJean Thesman
1993The Silver KissAnnette Curtis Klause
1994What Daddy DidNeal Shusterman
1995Flight 116 Is DownCaroline B. Cooney
1996The GiverLois Lowry
1997Walk Two MoonsSharon Creech
1998Running Out of TimeMargaret Peterson Haddix
1999Danger ZoneDavid Klass
2000I Have Lived a Thousand YearsLivia Bitton-Jackson
2001HolesLouis Sachar
2002SpeakLaurie Halse Anderson
2003Define NormalJulie Ann Peters
2004Sisterhood of the Traveling PantsAnn Brashares
2005The House of the ScorpionNancy Farmer
2006EragonChristopher Paolini
2007Red KayakPriscilla Cummings
2008The Lightning Thief Rick Riordan
2009Runaway Wendelin Van Draanen
2010UnwindNeal Shusterman
2011The Hunger GamesSuzanne Collins
2012PositivelyCourtney Sheinmel
2013After Ever AfterJordan Sonnenblick
2014Richard Paul Evans
2015The False PrinceJennifer A. Nielsen
2016Goodbye, Rebel BlueShelley Coriell
2017The CrossoverKwame Alexander
2018The War that Saved My LifeKimberly Brubaker Bradley

High School winners

YearTitleAuthor
2010Thirteen Reasons WhyJay Asher
2011The Hunger GamesSuzanne Collins
2012Hate ListJennifer Brown
2013Clockwork AngelCassandra Clare
2014DivergentVeronica Roth
2015The Fault in Our StarsJohn Green
2016The 5th WaveRick Yancey
2017Wolf by WolfRyan Graudin
2018The Female of the SpeciesMindy McGinnis

Donna Norvell Award winners

The Norvell Award "honors a book making a significant contribution to the field of literature for children through third grade ... written and illustrated to present, organize, and interpret material for children." The writer and illustrator must be US residents, the book published two years before the award year. Librarians on the Sequoyah Committee select the winner.
YearTitleWriterIllustrator
2006Wild About BooksJudy SierraMarc Brown
2007Leaf ManLois EhlertEhlert
2008Not a BoxAntoinette PortisPortis
2009Fred Stays with Me!Nancy CoffeltTricia Tusa
2010Maybe a Bear Ate It!Robie HarrisMichael Emberley
2011Chicken DanceTammi SauerDan Santat
2012Interrupting ChickenDavid Ezra SteinStein
2013Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes
Eric LitwinJames Dean
2017Red, a Crayon's StoryMichael Hall-
2018The Legend of Rock Paper ScissorsDrew Daywalt and Adam Rex-

The official award webpage identifies only the title and writer.