Mountain Laurel Book Award
sponsored by Pennsylvania School Librarians Association
About the Mountain Laurel Book Award
Overview
The Mountain Laurel Book Award (formerly Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award) is sponsored by the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association (PSLA). The purpose of the award is to promote the reading of quality books by young people in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to promote teacher and librarian involvement in children's and young adult literature, and to honor authors whose works have been recognized by the students of Pennsylvania.
History
Jeanne Bellavance (retired) created the Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award (PYRCA) as a class project while earning her Master’s Degree at Villanova. She was intrigued by the national book awards and those given in other states, but was interested in something where the students themselves had the opportunity to vote. She started small in her own elementary school and then approached PSLA to become the sponsor of the award. The 1991-1992 school year marked the first year the Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Award was given by PSLA.
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In the beginning, there were two strands: grades 3-5 and grades 6-8. The entire PYRCA committee totaled four librarians! There was one year where there was only a 3-8 category, but it was clear that wasn’t sustainable. After six years, the categories changed to add K-3, 3-6, and 6-8 with the idea that there would be crossover to allow for flexibility with advanced readers within a strand. By the 2005-2006 school year the YA strand was added with 5-6 readers on each of the four strands.
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Jeanne led the charge for the PYRCA for decades, stepping down in 2017 to trust PSLA and school librarians to carry on the good work! In April 2025, a new branding occurred at the request of the PSLA Board and today we are celebrating the Mountain Laurel Book Award in full bloom!
Selection of Books for Final Lists
The Mountain Laurel Book Award Committee prepares a master list of 15 titles in each division (Kindergarten to grade 3, Grades 3-6, Grades 6-8, Young Adult) from a list of books that have been suggested by students, librarians, teachers and parents. Interested parties may suggest books on the Mountain Laurel Book Award website under SUGGEST TITLES.
The books must meet the following criteria:
Criteria for Consideration
1. It must have an original copyright date within five years of the award’s presentation.
2. It must be written by an author currently living in North America.
3. It must be appropriate to the interest, reading and grade level of those students in each grade strand: K-3, 3-6, 6-8, and 9-12.
4. It must receive positive reviews from recognized published sources.
5. It may be any genre: fiction, informational, or poetry, but not anthologies of collected works of multiple authors.
Guidelines and criteria for final selection (Used by the committee)
1. A book must be read and highly recommended by all members of each corresponding grade strand on the committee.
2. The final list must be equally representative of interest to all readers.
3. The final list must strive for a balanced representation of genre, and include both informational and fiction representation.
4. Picture books should be accessible as read-alouds.
5. Selections should consider curriculum connections.
6. Illustrations must complement and enhance text, rather than distract.
7. List is limited to 15 titles in each grade strand selected by consensus of the committee members.
