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What is Minnesota Youth Reading Awards?
Minnesota Youth Reading Awards (MYRA) is a volunteer-run organization that administers two annual "read and vote" book award programs for Minnesota youth: the Maud Hart Lovelace award and the Star of the North award. Its stated purpose is to offer nominee titles that let young readers see themselves and others in the pages, make new connections, and enjoy reading. The organization describes itself as 100% volunteer powered and says it has been connecting Minnesota youth to books for 40 years.
How the programs work
Each award follows a yearly cycle: a slate of nominees is announced, young readers read from the list, and participants then vote for their favorite. The site organizes each award into current nominees, winners, and archives of past nominees, so you can trace a given year's list and result. Voting privileges for both awards are tied to membership at a site level, and members also receive resources such as a summer packet with posters and bookmarks.
Who it is for
The main audiences are Minnesota educators, librarians, and group leaders who want a ready-made reading list and a voting activity, plus the youth readers themselves. A teacher or public librarian planning a term of reading could use the nominee lists as a curated shortlist and the voting step as a structured wrap-up.
Practical next step
If you are deciding whether to take part, start with the current nominee pages for both awards and check that the titles suit your readers' ages and interests. Then confirm membership details if you need voting access for a group, since voting is organized by site rather than by individual reader.
How do students vote for the Maud Hart Lovelace or Star of the North book awards?
Students vote for the Maud Hart Lovelace and Star of the North awards through MYRA's member sites rather than through a public online ballot on the website. The site lists "voting privileges for both the Maud Hart Lovelace AND the Star of the North Book Awards for one site" as a reason to join, which indicates that a school, library or other participating site holds a membership and runs the vote for its own students.
What that means in practice
- A teacher or librarian at a member site registers or joins through Minnesota Youth Reading Awards, then organizes voting locally.
- Students read from the current nominee lists—the site links to the 2025–2026 Maud Hart Lovelace and Star of the North nominees—and cast their votes at their site.
- Results are tallied into the statewide award, with winners announced at MYRA's annual announcement event; the site posts recordings of past announcements and winner lists by year.
A concrete next step
If you're a teacher or librarian planning a vote, confirm your site's membership status first, then pull the current nominee list and set a voting deadline that leaves time to submit results. If you're a student or parent, ask your school librarian or children's librarian whether your site participates—that person will know the ballot method and deadline.
The main trade-off is control versus reach: site-based voting gives each school or library flexibility over how students cast ballots, but it means there's no single public voting page for individuals to use on their own.
What is the difference between the Maud Hart Lovelace and Star of the North awards?
The two programs are separate "read-and-vote" book awards run by the same organization, Minnesota Youth Reading Awards, each with its own nominee lists, past winners and archives. The site presents them as parallel tracks: Maud Hart Lovelace (often shortened to MHL) and Star of the North (SOTN). Both share the same purpose—offering nominee titles so Minnesota youth can see themselves and others in books, make connections, and enjoy reading—and the same membership benefit: one membership gives voting privileges for both awards, plus member resources and a summer packet of posters and bookmarks.
The page does not spell out the grade-level or age split between the two awards, so it is worth confirming which award matches a given group of readers before planning a program. The clearest practical difference visible on the site is structural: each award maintains its own yearly cycle of nominees, winners and archives (for example, separate 2025–2026 nominee lists and separate 2026 winners for each).
| Feature | Maud Hart Lovelace (MHL) | Star of the North (SOTN) |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Annual read-and-vote youth book award | Annual read-and-vote youth book award |
| Nominee list | Separate list, e.g. 2025–2026 nominees | Separate list, e.g. 2025–2026 nominees |
| Winners and archives | Own winners and past-nominee archive | Own winners and past-nominee archive |
| Voting access | Included with MYRA membership | Included with the same MYRA membership |
| Volunteer/suggest options | Volunteer and suggest-a-title pages | Volunteer and suggest-a-title pages |
As a next step, a school librarian or youth-group leader choosing titles can open the current nominee page for each award and compare the lists against their readers' ages and interests, then use one membership to cover voting for both groups.
How can a school or library become an MYRA member site?
A school or library becomes an MYRA member site by joining the organization; membership is what gives a site voting privileges for both the Maud Hart Lovelace and Star of the North awards, plus member-only resources and a summer packet of materials such as posters and bookmarks. The site lists "Join MYRA" and "Membership" as the routes to start, and notes that membership is at the site level rather than individual.
What to do next
- Use the "Join MYRA" or "Membership" option on Minnesota Youth Reading Awards to begin a site membership.
- If your question is about eligibility, cost, or how votes are submitted for your age group, email the organization at [email protected] before registering; the homepage does not spell out those details.
- Plan around the award cycle: the site posts current nominees and winners by year (for example, the 2025–2026 nominee lists and the 2026 winners), so a site joining mid-year should check which list applies to its readers.
Who this suits
A public library youth services department or an elementary/middle school media center is the natural fit: one membership covers readers across grades, and the shared summer packet supports displays and programming. A single classroom teacher may find a site membership more than needed unless the whole school participates.
Decision criteria
Choose site membership if you want your students' or patrons' votes to count in both awards and you can distribute promotional materials. If you mainly want reading lists, the public nominee and winner pages are visible without joining, so browse those first to judge whether the titles fit your collection.
Who is eligible to participate in MYRA read-and-vote programs?
The page does not spell out detailed eligibility rules. It describes the programs as serving Minnesota youth and as administered through member "sites," which suggests participation is organized by schools, libraries or similar groups rather than by individual children signing up on their own.
What the page supports
- Audience: Minnesota youth are the intended participants in the Maud Hart Lovelace and Star of the North read-and-vote awards.
- Voting access: Voting privileges for both awards come through a MYRA membership at the site level.
- Site benefits: A membership includes member-only resources and a summer packet with posters, bookmarks and sponsor materials.
- Grade or age bands: The page names two separate awards but does not state which grades or ages each one covers.
Practical next step
If you are a teacher, librarian or youth-group leader, confirm your group's eligibility and the grade range for each award with MYRA before planning a reading unit. The organization's contact email is listed on the page for questions, and membership information is available through Minnesota Youth Reading Awards.
For a concrete example: a school media specialist in Minnesota could join as a site, use the nominee lists to build a reading program, and then let students cast votes through that membership. A family outside Minnesota would need to ask MYRA directly whether any participation route exists, since the page frames the awards around Minnesota youth.
How can I volunteer for MYRA or suggest a book title for nomination?
You can volunteer by emailing [email protected], which is the contact the Minnesota Youth Reading Awards site gives for people interested in helping with MYRA activities. To suggest a title, use the separate suggestion pages for each award program: Suggest MHL Title for the Maud Hart Lovelace award and Suggest SOTN Title for the Star of the North award. Both appear in the site's main navigation under their respective award sections.
Volunteering
MYRA describes itself as 100% volunteer powered and lists board members, selection committee members and readers among the roles volunteers fill. If you are unsure where you fit, say so in your email and mention what you enjoy—reading widely, organizing events at a school or library, or helping with communications. A concrete offer ("I can read and evaluate nominee candidates over the summer" or "I can help at a voting event at our media center") is easier to place than a general expression of interest.
Suggesting a title
Use the suggestion form tied to the award you have in mind rather than a single general form. The two programs serve different age bands and have their own nominee lists, so a book that suits one may not fit the other. Before submitting, check the current and past nominee lists on the site to avoid proposing something already in the pipeline, and note the book's publication year and intended audience, since award cycles run well ahead of the voting year.
A practical next step
If you are a teacher, librarian or parent, the fastest route is usually to start with the suggestion form for the award matching your readers' ages, then email the president if you also want to join a selection committee. Volunteers who have already read broadly from the nominee archives tend to be the most useful committee members, because they can compare a new suggestion against the standard of past lists.
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