Each year thousands of children’s books are published, so for parents, or anyone wanting to read to children, it can be overwhelming to find the best books to read aloud.
The MSUM Comstock Read Aloud Initiative has set out to help parents and teachers by finding the best of the best books to read aloud. The committee members read 229 picture books to 21,205 children. The winners were determined after the Read Aloud Committee examined 
feedback from readers, including the responses of children to each of the books.
On May 22 the Read Aloud Book Award Committee announced the Comstock and Wanda Gág award winners at St. Joseph School in Moorhead.
The Comstock Read Aloud Book Award is an annual award for the best read aloud picture book for older children (ages 9-12). This award is named for the Comstock Family, an important pioneer family in Moorhead.
The 2013 Comstock Award winner is: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore written by William Joyce, illustrated by William Joyce and Joe Bluhm, and published by Moonbot Books, an imprint Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2012.
The Wanda Gág Read Aloud Book Award is an annual award for the best read aloud picture book for younger children (toddlers to age 8). This award is named for 
Wanda Gág, a children’s book author and illustrator and artist.
The 2013 Wanda Gág Award winner is: Silly Doggy! written and illustrated by Adam Stower and published by Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic, 2012.
Visit the Read Aloud website to learn more and to view the other honor books.
