The Massachusetts Children's Book Award Program was founded by Dr. Helen Constant in 1975 to encourage children in the fourth, fifth and sixth grades to read great books.

Students are given a “master list” of book titles. Children in grades 4 and 5 are eligible to vote if they have read, or have heard read aloud, at least five of the books from the 2018 Master List.

The author of the winning book receives a plaque to commemorate the award.

The 2018-2019 MCBA winners will be announced on the Salem State University website on April (TBA?) 2019.

MCBA Master List for 2018-2019


  1. All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook by Leslie Connor
  2. The Bad Guys (Episode #1) by Aaron Blabey
  3. A Boy Called Bat by by Elana Arnold
  4. The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
  5. The Doldrums by Nicholas Gannon
  6. Framed: A T.O.A.S.T. Mystery by James Ponti
  7. Ghost by Jason Reynolds
  8. Growing Up Pedro: How the Martinez Brothers Made It from the Dominican Republic All the Way to the Major Leagues by Matt Tavares
  9. A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord
  10. The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog
  11. by Adam Gidwitz
  12. It Ain’t So Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas
  13. The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary by Laura Shovan
  14. Ms. Bixby's Last Day by John David Anderson
  15. A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen
  16. One Last Word by Nikki Grimes
  17. Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin
  18. Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo
  19. Science Comics: Volcanoes: Fire and Life by Jon Chad
  20. The Terrible Two by Mac Barnett
  21. Took: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn
  22. Towers Falling by Jewell Parker Rhodes
  23. The Underground Abductor by Nathan Hale
  24. Waylon! One Awesome Thing by Sara Pennypacker
  25. What Elephants Know by Eric Dinerstein
  26. Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk