StreetScenes
2010
2009 Irma S. and James H. Black Children's Picture Book Award
goes to Bank Street Alumna, Robie H. Harris
Speakers stress importance of good literature for children's literacy and learning.
Robie H. Harris '70 was the author of this year's winner of the Irma Simonton Black and James H. Black Children's Picture Book Award--Mail Harry to the Moon! (Little, Brown), illustrated by her long-time collaborator, Michael Emberley. The award was presented at a breakfast ceremony on May 12 at the Harvard Club.
Robie H. Harris with President Dickey.
Harris, a widely-renowned author of dozens of fiction and non-fiction children's books, taught at the Bank Street School for Children and then ran the After School Program for the Bank Street Head Start Program (one of the first Head Start programs in the country). She moved on to work with two well-known children's book authors at the Bank Street Writers Lab--Irma Simonton Black, for whom this award is named, and who was also Director of Bank Street's Publications Division; and Bill Hooks, who became Director after Irma. She received her masters from the Bank Street Graduate School in 1970.
In her acceptance speech, Harris said the prize was especially meaningful because of her close association with Irma Simonton Black, whom she thanked for teaching her "how children think and feel," and also because children themselves chose the winner, which she thought Irma would heartily approve. More than 2,000 children in 13 schools in the United States (including the School for Children), and one in Canada, read and discussed the books over a period of time, and then finally voted. "Learning how to think hard before you vote, whether for a book or in an election, is a valuable lesson for our children," Harris noted.
A rapt audience listens to the presentations.
Bank Street President Elizabeth Dickey, who emceed the proceedings, cited Ben Franklin's remark that the sorriest sight he ever saw was "a man on a rainy day who doesn't know how to read," then announced that she was updating the sorriest sight to "a child on a rainy day who doesn't LIKE to read." She stressed that positive childhood experiences with reading are crucial for creating lifetime learners and thinkers, which is something that Bank Street understands very well.
Lisa Von Drasek, Bank Street Children's Librarian, with Kristen Balouch, illustrator of the Honor Book, The Ghost Catcher.
Keynote speaker Lisa Von Drasek continued the emphasis on the importance of children becoming lifelong learners through their enjoyment of excellent literature. Von Drasek, the Bank Street Children's Librarian, also teaches in the School for Children and the Graduate School, is a member of the National Book Critics Circle, and served as a juror for the New York Times Best Illustrated and the Newbery. In her remarks, Von Drasek related the history of the award, and outlined the exacting process through which children discuss, debate, and appraise the finalists for the award, and then vote for a winner.
For more information on the history of the Irma Simonton Black and James H. Black Award, visit the Bank Street Center for Children's Literature.
Winner:
Mail Harry to the Moon!, written by Robie H. Harris and illustrated by Michael Emberley (Little, Brown).
Honor Books:
The Ghost Catcher, a retelling of a Bengali folk tale, written by Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss, and illustrated by Kristen Balouch (August House).
Nic Bishop Frogs, written and with photographs by Nic Bishop (Scholastic).
What To Do About Alice? How Alice Roosevelt broke the rules, charmed the world and drove her father Teddy crazy! Written by Barbara Kerley and illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham (Scholastic).
