About The Award
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The Hackmatack Children's Choice Book Award is a literary program designed for young readers in Atlantic Canada. Each year, thousands of children aged nine to twelve (grades four to 6) read from the selection of outstanding Canadian books and vote for the winners. The award is designed after similar successful programs in Ontario (The Silver Birch Award) and British Columbia (The Red Cedar Award). The Hackmatack Award was established with young readers in mind and serves to achieve the following objectives:
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The Hackmatack Selection Committee nominates renowned Canadian books for young readers to the Hackmatack shortlist. The forty books nominated for the Hackmatack Award are divided into four categories - English Fiction, English Nonfiction, French Fiction and French Nonfiction. Children in registered reading groups read the nominated books and vote for the winners of the award in the spring of each year. The winners of the Hackmatack Award in each category are announced at the final award ceremony in May.
Students, especially those at non-participating schools, may participate on-line through the P.E.I. Provincial Library Service's on-line bookclub.
Jump ahead: Hackmatack Project Kit | Eligibility | Voting | Timeline | Group Size | Book Selection | Financial Support | Bookstores.
Hackmatack Project Kit
The project manuals are designed annually and contain information on the nominated books and their authors, reading charts, activity ideas and much more:
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Eligibility
Who can participate?
- grade 4, 5, or 6 class in a school
- group formed by staff in a public or school library
- group formed by a parent or a community organization
Not part of a group? Ask at your public library for how to participate on your own. Organizers may add children who are either younger or older if they feel that they would benefit from the program.
Voting
How it works:
- groups buy books at bookstores or borrow from public libraries
- groups can choose to read from either English or French selections or both
- each reader casts votes for their favourite books in the spring
- to be eligible to vote, children must be enrolled in a registered reading group or participating through their public library
- each reader is entitled to one vote in each category in which they have completed at least 5 titles. Organizers should encourage children to read as many books as they can to make informed decisions. However, organizers may be flexible and exercise their discretion to encourage all readers' participation.
- group coordinators enter the results of their readers' voting on the official tally sheet and submit this sheet to the Hackmatack office. Votes for each book are counted by the Hackmatack Award Committee and the winner in each category (Fiction, Nonfiction and French) is determined by the number of children's votes. The winners in all three categories are presented the Hackmatack Award at the May ceremony.
Financial Support
Need support for book purchases or increased access to the nominated books? Try asking your Parent-Teacher Association or local business for their support. Your local public libraries are involved with the Hackmatack program and are interested in collaborating with schools to support reading groups.
The NS Teacher's Association for Literacy and Learning offers Hackmatack book-buying grants to teachers attending their inservice in late October each year. Contact Bonnie Boulter, bjboulter@eastlink.ca for more information.
Participating BookstoresSeveral independent bookstores in Atlantic Canada carry complete sets of Hackmatack-nominated titles. Hackmatack selections can be found in the following stores: New Brunswick
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Newfoundland
- The Bookery on Signal Hill: Sweet Relic, 42 Powers Court, St. John's, NLÊ A1A 1B6; tel: (709) 739-4223 fax: (709) 739-3367 (English titles only)
Nova Scotia
- The Inside Story: 1910 Greenwood Mall, Greenwood, NS B0P 1N0; tel: (902) 765-6116; fax: (902) 765-6484 (English titles only)
- Magasin a Campus: Université Ste Anne, Church Point, NS B0W 1M0; tel: (902) 769-3562; fax: (902) 769-3167 (French titles only)
- R&C Sagors Bookstore: 686 King St., Bridgewater, NS B4V 1B4; tel: (902)543-4204 (English titles only)
- Tattletales Books: Penhorn Mall, 535 Portland Street, Dartmouth, NS B2Y 5B1; tel: (902) 463-5551; fax: (902) 463-5552 (French and English titles)
- Woozles Bookstore: 1533 Birmingham Street, Halifax, NS B3J 2J6; tel: (902) 423-7626; fax: (902) 420-0418 (French and English titles)
Prince Edward Island
- Bookmark: Confederation Court Mall, 172 Queen Street, Charlottetown, PEI C1A 4B5; tel: (902) 566-4888; fax: (902) 368-3651 (English titles only)