The winners of the 2023 Surrey Book Awards have been announced, providing students and parents with list of great summer reads as the school year comes to a close.
Every year, the district's teacher-librarians organize the Surrey Book Awards, extending an invitation to students across the district to vote on their favourite books from a list nominated titles. The books are split across five categories: Book of the Year, Picture Book of the Year, Narrative Non-Fiction Book of the Year, Surrey Teens Read, and the Livre de L'Annee category.
Here are this year's winning titles:
- Picture Book of the Year: Invasion of the Unicorns - A story for primary readers about Special Agent Bubble07, an alien unicorn undercover on Earth. Posing as an earthling's stuffed animal, Special Agent Bubble07 embarks on a mission to decide whether his team of alien unicorns should invade Earth, or will his alien heart be won over by story time, snow days and snuggles?
- Book of the Year: Alone - An intermediate-level novel about 12-year-old Maddie, who wakes up from a sleepover to find the town she's in has been mysteriously evacuated overnight. With nobody around, Maddie learns to survive as she faces one of the most frightening experiences of her life.
- Surrey Teens Read: Iron Widow - A science fantasy reimagining of the rise of Chinese Empress Wu Zetian set in Huaxia, a futuristic reinterpretation of medieval China. The story follows 18-year-old Zetian as she fights to force society to stop failing its women and girls.
- Narrative Non-Fiction Book of the Year: The Elephant's New Shoe - A book about an Asian elephant calf named Chhouk, who is rescued and fitted with a prosthetic foot to help him walk again. In this true, touching tale, Chhouk is nursed back to health by conservationist Nick Marx and becomes one of the first animals to ever be fitted with a prosthetic.
- Livre de L'Annee - Tous les mots n'existent pas - For French readers, a fun book exploring the concept of words, the invention of new ones and how to use the imagination to visualize anything described by words.
For even more summer reading fun, check out the summer reading clubs available at Surrey Libraries and the White Rock branch of the Fraser Valley Regional Library. These annual clubs encourage students to stay busy reading over the summer months by unlocking awards and medals as they progress.
Click here to see the rest of this year's nominees, as well as the nominees for the next school year.
