National Homeschool Book Award
Created by homeschoolers, for homeschoolers! We nominate books that show kids learning like our kids do--at home, in the woods, with siblings, by reading, living and experiencing.
Participation is free, fun and easy! Simply read the nominated books and vote in October for your favorite along with other homeschoolers from around the world.
Sign up for email news, voting information and blog posts with more information about the nominees, authors and activity suggestions for using the books as a stepping stone to learning more!
How We Got Started
The National Homeschool Book Award was the brain child of a group of
literature-loving homeschool moms in Minnesota. It was born out of a desire to
share and celebrate great fiction that shines a positive light on what learning
outside a traditional classroom looks like. Sometimes, this looks like what
most people think when you say homeschool, but more often it looks like life -
learning and growing through experiences. Which, as most homeschoolers know
well, is usually where the learning really takes place!
You may contact us at
contact@nationalhomeschoolbookaward.com
The NHBA co-founders include:
Michelle Dudley
Hi! I'm Michelle and I've been a homeschooling mom to my two boys for 6 1/2
years. My oldest went to a neighborhood public school through first grade, but
we decided to homeschool when we got tired of yelling at him to get his nose out
of books so he could do his homework!
We love books and spend a great deal of
time working our way through a stack of books that seems to be growing faster
than we can read. We also really enjoy being homeschoolers because it gives us
time to go to plays, concerts, museums, and parks with our friends. Like most
homeschoolers, we stay pretty busy and have to schedule time to be home! I
thought of creating a reader's choice book award specific to homeschoolers
because I felt disillusioned with how many books seemed to center on the
traditional brick-and-mortar school experience.
My hope for the book award is
that it will be a way for homeschoolers (and their literature-loving parents)
across the U.S. to connect and have a collective voice so authors and publishers
get the message that we're here and that we appreciate good books that show kids
learning from life!
Valerie Geary
Hi – I am Valerie, and I have been part of the homeschool community since 2003.
My husband and I have four amazing kids (13, 9, 6 and 6). Growing up, I was
never a reader. I never read a book unless forced (which really wasn’t often).
But since starting to share amazing books with my kids, I have more than made up
for this oversight.
Other than spending a day reading aloud while my kids
draw, play lego or cuddle on a couch, my favorite way to spend a day is at the
homeschool book club I started four years ago. When I read a book where a
character eats flan, of course we are going to try flan and it's all the more
fun trying it with a bunch of fellow book lovers! Now, as I am reading a
section from a book talking about a character making a yarn doll, it is my kids
that interrupt to say we have to make yarn dolls. I wouldn’t have it any other
way.
When presented with the idea of helping create an award where I can share
my love of juvenile fiction with more than just my kids and the book club, I was
thrilled!
Blair Löder
Greetings! I had no idea when I started homeschooling our two kids in 2004 that
reading books to them would end up being our core curriculum.
First, we read because we love a good story. Second, I’m not sure any of us would
know how to end our day if not for a bowl of ice cream and an hour or two of a
book we’ve been reading together!
The questions and conversations that arise while we read aloud are priceless
learning moments for all of us. Aside from the obvious life lessons that can be
absorbed through great literature, the time spent as a family doing something as
worthwhile as reading together is immeasurable.
I am beyond excited to be a part of the National Homeschool Book Award!
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