New OTTER Award Titles for 2018

Announcing the 2017-2018 WLA OTTER Award Nominees

The OTTER Award – Our Time To Enjoy Reading – is sponsored by the Washington Library Association: School Libraries Division.  A newer award established in 2015, the committee is pleased to announce the 2017-2018 nominated titles.  

• The Bad Guys: Episode 1 by Aaron Blabey (Scholastic Inc.)
• Lola Levine Is Not Mean! by Monica Brown, illustrated by Angela Dominguez (Little, Brown)
• The Great Pet Escape (Pets on the Loose) by Victoria Jamieson (Macmillan/Henry Holt)
• The Infamous Ratsos by Kara LaReau, illustrated by Matt Myers (Candlewick)
• I am Jane Goodall by Brad Meltzer, illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos (Penguin/Dial)
• All Paws On Deck (Haggis and Tank Unleashed) by Jessica Young, illustrated by James Burks (Scholastic Inc.)

The goal of the OTTER Award is to highlight titles that encourage children to continue reading as they transition from picture books to longer chapter books.  Our motto is “books kids like, not books adults think kids should like”, and student feedback is taken into consideration when selecting the nominees.  A maximum of six titles are selected each year.  Nominated books should include developmentally-appropriate content, vocabulary, layout, and appeal.  Voting occurs in late April, and children should read at least two of the titles on the list. The winning title is announced in May.  For more information, please visit www.wla.org/the-otter-award.