2011 LLL Awards

The Extensive Reading Foundation (ERF), an unaffiliated, not-for profit organization that supports and promotes extensive reading in language education, takes pleasure in announcing the winners of the 7th Annual Language Learner Literature Award for books published in 2011.

An international jury chose the winning book in five categories, taking into account the Internet votes and comments of students and teachers around the world. The judges’ comment is followed by reactions from readers of the book.

Judge’s comment: It is amazing that this well-known story is absorbing and fun even if it is retold in very simple English.

Judge’s comment: These enchanting stories have the incantatory quality of oral literature and are simply a delight to read. Easy and engaging – the repetitions here bring the advantage of recycling and helping to memorise vocabulary and whole chunks of language without being monotonous or patronising. Gorgeous illustrations.

Judge’s comment: This exciting book features a set of twins in Dublin, in Ireland, on a school trip, and a false bank note. The clever twins solve a mystery that has an unexpected ending.

Judge’s comment: This was one of the more interesting non-fiction readers we have come across for a long time. It will be of interest to most young adult readers. Mount Everest is eternally intriguing, and here, the mountain itself is like a character from a novel. The mystery of the disappearance of George Mallory on the first British Expedition to climb Everest in 1921 is the narrative thread which links together fascinating information about the mountain and the challenge it has posed to climbers for nearly a century. Great pictures too.

Judge’s comment: Excellent storyline, very good development of characters, this story is pitched not only at the right level it will also appeal to the major target group of readership, young adults. The issues in this book will have positive, lasting effects on readers. This book is hard to put down as it takes you on unexpected paths.

Student’s comment: This book is interesting. It talks of all the shapes of animals in art. I liked the illustration because they are very different and interesting. Each paragraph is next to a painting, drawing or photo of an artist. The artists are varied and with many nationalities and their work is typical.

Student’s comment: The illustrations are beautiful, it has a good moral,the characters are cute, the story is funny, the fairies’ dance was super (children can dance it), interesting dialogues, funny exercises, great idea about the audio support.

Student’s comment: “The Game” is a great book. It has an original story with knights, wizards, princesses in a video game and Dylan, the player, goes into the game. It’s fantastic!

Student’s comment: This story is great. Because before I started reading, I thought this would be a sad story from the cover picture. When I finished reading this story I felt happy, because main character recalled things she have forgotten.

Student’s comment: I really like this story because it is talking about art and I really like art. It shows that Archie is the brave man, he caught the thieves and helped Tash. This book was really good and interesting.

Student’s comment: Very exciting and creative, I read it twice. fun fun story! the boy in the past is now the boss of her father’s company is fantastic plot, I think. I strongly recommend this book.

Student’s comment: It’s a very interesting book, because it explains different things about Asian people a long time ago that now for occidental people it is sometimes hard to understand.

Teacher’s comment: A real page-turner of a detective story. My class found the opening scene particularly gripping and it set them on to reading the rest of the story at full tilt. They thoroughly enjoyed the story. They liked the setting and the interaction between the characters. And they thought the ending was quite moving. A really good detective story.

Student’s comment: This is such a heart-warming and touching story describing a deep affection between Christian and the two men. I felt strongly that it doesn’t matter whether a human or a wild animal in terms of love. Despite their close relationship, the scene wild animals’ instinct sometimes appears brought me to the reality.

Student’s comment: The connections between the three stories are very surprising and I think the book isn’t too sad and it’s realistic and enables you to think about life and a lot of things.