Dark Hills wins 2007 Cochecho Reader's Award

FIRST BOOK IN PATRICK CARMAN’S LAND OF ELYON SERIES WINS COCHECHO READERS’ AWARDSeptember 18, 2006Young readers in Dover, New Hampshire have awarded the 2006-2007 Cochecho Readers’ Award to The Dark Hills Divide, the first book in the best-selling Land of Elyon series by Patrick Carman. Named after the Cochecho River that runs through the center of Dover, the award is sponsored by the Children’s Librarians of Dover. It is given annually to an author whose book garners the most city-wide votes from third and fourth graders. “The Dark Hills Divide is a fantasy with a different twist to it. The story is accessible and is written at the right level,” comments Marcia Cannon, Children’s Librarian at the Dover Public Library, where copies of The Dark Hills Divide have been in high demand.Carman’s book was chosen from among a group of 25 notable books published within the last three years. Criteria for selection included both the quality of writing and child appeal of a book. In order to vote, children were required to listen to or read at least three of the titles on the list. They voted for their favorite book at school libraries during National Library Week in April 2006.Patrick Carma’s best-selling Land of Elyon series continues with Beyond the Valley of Thorns and The Tenth City, both published by Scholastic.For questions, interview opportunities or public relations please contact:press@patrickcarman.comFor press material, pictures, and video or to find out more about Patrick Carman log onto http://www.patrickcarman.com