Top books picks for kids by kids

Kids choose the winners of the annual Children's Choice Book Awards, so I always take note since I figure kids know what they like best.

More than 55,000 votes are cast by kids for the awards, which are organized and presented by the prestigious Children's Book Council.

This year's winners were announced Tuesday night in New York City. They are:

For kids in kindergarten to second grade, Frankie Stein by Lola M. Schaefer and illustrated by Kevan Atteberry.
Frankie Stein is nothing like his monstrous parents. He’s cute, with a pink face and golden hair. His parents do everything they can think of to give him a more frightening façade – painting his hair blue and teeth green and teaching him to walk stiffly and groan. In the end, Frankie discovers his own way of being scary, which frightens even his parents.

For kids in third- and fourth-grades, Big Cats: Hunters of the Night by Elaine Landau gives kids a look into the nighttime lives of lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars and how they hunt, where they live and what the future holds for the big cats.

For kids in fifth- and sixth-grades, Encyclopedia Horrifica: The Terrifying TRUTH! About Vampires, Ghosts, Monsters and More by Joshua Gee, a tongue-in-cheek look at the things that scare kids.

Kids also choose an Illustrator of the Year—Ian Falconer for Olivia Helps with Christmas by Ian Falconer – and Author of the Year, J.K. Rowling for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Since these are kids’ picks, these titles might be a good place to start for interesting summer reading. In fact, I think all three of those books will appeal to my 9-year-old. I'm also going to try to get him interested in the Chronicles of Narnia, what with the release of a second movie. What will your kids be reading this summer?

Karina Bland is raising her 9-year-old son in Tempe with a lot of love, humor and support from her friends and family. A longtime journalist covering child welfare and education issues for The Arizona Republic, she blogs about raising good kids.