The Seven Candles Book Award

6th Grade Library students have created a short list of five picture books that they feel qualify for Cathedral’s Seven Candles Book Award. This annual award, initiated by Cathedral’s Director of Library & New Media, Ricca Gaus, is in its second year but already feels like a cherished tradition. During Lower School Assemblies, 6th Grade students introduced book trailer videos to pitch their nominees to Lower School students. Lower School students will vote on the selections to choose a winner this week. 

 

To assemble the shortlist of nominees, 6th Graders studied several established book awards–like the prestigious Caldecott and Newbery Medals–and analyzed the criteria upon which these prizes are based. They developed their own criteria using Cathedral’s Core Values as a guide. Nominated books had to exemplify at least one Core Value. They then broke into collaborative groups to hone their iMovie skills and edit their persuasive video trailers. The Seven Candles Book Award is a wonderful way to bring Lower School students into the minds and interests of their Upper School counterparts, reinforce our Core Values, and celebrate the joy of reading.

 

To hear Ms. Gaus read each of the nominated books, click on the book images in this PDF presentation.

View the 6th Grade Book Award Video Trailers: