For the first time in the history of the Nene Award, two winners will share this year's Award, the result of a tie vote! "The Invention of HugoCabret" by Brian Selznick and "The Lemonade War" by Jacqueline Davies each received 483 votes, and are declared co-winners of the 2012 Nene Award. The Nene Honor Book Award (runner-up) is ""How to Steal a Dog" by Barbara O'Connor.
The annual Nene Award is presented to the favorite fiction book based on a vote by the children of Hawaii in grades 4 through 6. This year, a total of 6,519 students from 80 public libraries, private and public schools statewide voted.
Best-selling children's book author Michael Buckley, the 2011 Nene Award winner for "NERDS: National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society," the first book of a three-part series, was a special guest and made the announcement this morning before an audience of more than 700 invited dignitaries, students, teachers, and other guests at the 47th Annual Nene Award Presentation Ceremony, conducted this year at the Hawaii Okinawa Center. Buckley is also author of the popular "Sisters Grimm" series.