Each year, Indiana librarians nominate five picture books with high artistic quality and compelling narratives that support early literacy for the Indiana Firefly award, but it is children who ultimately decide the winner. Children ages 0-5 are encouraged to cast their vote for their favorite of these books at any of our ten locations or online. Voting will begin May 1st and continue until July 31st.
During storytime, you may hear librarians say that reading is the single most effective way to help children get ready to learn how to read. This award takes that knowledge one step further. The Indiana Center for the Book recognizes the importance of children taking ownership of their reading by allowing children to choose what books they want to read.
However, this award is not just about providing books for children. The purpose of this award is to encourage children, parents, and caregivers to interact with one another while reading together. During the month of May, each of our ten branches will have a Scavenger Hunt that will give examples of how to incorporate early literacy activities with your children that relate to the Indiana Firefly Award nominees. We hope that this inspires you to incorporate early literacy activities with your children into your daily lives.
How to Vote
Participating in the voting process is easy.
- To vote on paper, go to any St. Joe County Public Library location and ask for a voting form.
- Make sure you and your child have read all the books available, then help your child circle their favorite book on the voting form.
- Return the voting form to your branch. Each branch has voting boxes to make the experience even more special. If you prefer to vote online, you can go directly to the online voting form. Ballots will be accepted until July 31.
We’re excited for your children to read these great books, which touch on fun subjects such as cats, insects, and paletas! We can’t wait to see which book your children will choose!
