Nene Award
The Nene Award was originated by a third-grade class at the University Elementary
School of the University of Hawaii. During the 1958-59 school year, they held a contest to
select the best fiction book for children published in the previous 5 years whose author
was still living. In the following years, the contest attracted interest and extended into
grades 4, 5, and 6. Soon others outside of University Elementary School became
interested in the project and a committee was formed to consider setting up a state
award. The Nene Award was established as the Hawaii State Children’s Book Award in
1964. The first award was announced in November of that same year.
The Nene Award is sponsored jointly by the Hawaii Association of School Librarians (HASL) and by the Youth Services Section of the Hawaii Library Association. HASL and HLA will alternate financial management of the Award.
The purpose of the award is to help the children of Hawaii:
- To become acquainted with the best contemporary writers of fiction.
- To choose the best rather than the mediocre.
- To honor an author whose books have been enjoyed by the children of Hawaii.
The eligibility rules are:
- Book must be fiction.
- Book must have a copyright date within the last 6 years.
- Book must be suitable for grades 4 - 6.
- Author must be living.
- Author cannot win more than once in a 6-year period.
The schedule for the year is:
- October - Begin promotion and reading
- November to March - Continue promotion and reading
- March - voting
- April - Announcement of winner during National Library Week
Nene Award Winners
2007: Boy at War by Harry Mazer
2006: Eragon by Christopher Paolini (image)
2005: Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
2004: Double Fudge by Judy Blume
2003: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
2002: Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
2001: Holes by Louis Sachar
2000: Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone by J. K. Rowling
1999: Best School Year Ever by Barbara Robinson
1998: Under the Blood-Red Sun by Graham Salisbury
1997: Ghosts in Fourth Grade by Constance Hiser
1996: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
1995: My Teacher is an Alien by Bruce Coville
1994: Shiloh by Phyllis Naylor
1993: Fudge-a-mania by Judy Blume
1992: The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
1991: There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom by Louis Sachar
1990: Fudge by Charlotte Towner Graeber
1989: Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
1988: You Shouldn't Have to Say Goodbye by Patricia Hermes
1987: Karen Kepplewhite is the World's Best Kisser by Eve Bunting
1986: Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days by Stephen Manes
1985: Jelly Belly by Robert Kimmel Smith
1984: Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade by Barthe DeClements
1983: Bunnicula by Deborah & James Howe
1982: Superfudge by Judy Blume
1981: My Robot Buddy by Alfred Slote
1980: The Cat Ate My Gymsuit by Paula Danziger
1979: Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
1978: Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl
1977: Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers
1976: How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
1975: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
1974: Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
1973: Sounder by William Armstrong
1972: Runaway Ralph by Beverly Cleary
1971: Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
1970: Henry Reed's Babysitting Service by Keith Robertson
1969: The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary
1968: Ribsy by Beverly Cleary
1967: No award given
1966: Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
1965: Mary Poppins by Pamela Travers
1964: Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
