StreetScenes
2010
The Children's Book Committee celebrates its 100th anniversary with two award ceremonies
The 2009 three winning books: The Lincolns, by Candace Fleming; After Tupac & D Foster, by Jacqueline Woodson; and The Surrender Tree, by Marguerite Engle.
The last six months have been an exciting time for Bank Street's Children's Book Committee.
First, the Committee moved its annual awards ceremony from March 2009 to October 2009 to coincide with a celebration for its 100th anniversary and the publication of its Best Children's Books of the Year by Teachers College Press.
Then, just six months later, on March 18, 2010, it held its annual awards ceremony in its usual month. The result was a cornucopia of wonderful and amazing books for delighted fans of the CBC. The audience also learned that, in keeping with much of the "green" measures Bank Street was already taking, the Committee itself was now "going green."
According to Linda Colarusso, co-chair of the CBC with Alice Belgray: "Our Committee, comprised of 35 volunteers from various professions and backgrounds concerned with children and books, has a lot to celebrate! We have been championing good literature for 100 years, and are excited to increase our reach and further Bank Street's efforts to go green by offering our latest edition of The Best Children's Books of the Year as an online publication at our site."
On October 8, 2009, the winning books were:
The Josette Frank Award for Fiction,
which honors a book in which children face difficulties in a realistic way and grow emotionally and morally, went to After Tupac & D Foster, by Jacqueline Woodson (Putnam). Three girls in a poor but close-knit African American community in Queens, idolize rapper Tupac Shakur as they try to find their "Big Purpose" in life.
Author Candace Fleming accepts the 2009 Non-Fiction Award for her book, The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary.
The Flora Stieglitz Straus Award for Non-Fiction,
for a book that serves as an inspiration to young readers, went to The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary, by Candace Fleming (Schwartz and Wade). This lively collection of excerpts, graphics, and primary documents provides a rich portrait of these two entwined lives. After Lincoln's death, the book continues with Mary's story to the end.
The Claudia Lewis Award for Poetry
honors an esteemed poet, author, and former Bank Street faculty and CBC member. The winner, The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom, by Marguerite Engle (Holt), is a narrative of alternating voices, predominantly that of Rosa, a freed slave, that depict Cuba's Wars for Independence during the years 1850-1899.
On March 18, 2010, there were five winners since two categories each had two winners:
The Josette Frank Award for Fiction was given to two titles:
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly (Holt). On the arid Texas plains in the year 1899, Calpurnia, a budding 12-year-old naturalist with six brothers, who barely endures her mandatory tatting and piano lessons, forms an alliance with her scientist grandfather.
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin (Little, Brown). In this joyful tale full of magic and mystery, a girl from a poor family, inspired by her father's fantastic tales of the Jade Dragon and the Old Man of the Moon, embarks on a journey to find the Old Man and ask him to help her family.
The Claudia Lewis Award for Poetry went to:
Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors, by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski (Houghton Mifflin). In an enchanting book that is a feast for both ear and eye, prizewinning poet Sidman and brilliant painter Zagarenski guide us through all the colors of the seasons.
The Flora Stieglitz Straus Non-Fiction Award also had two winners:
Author and illustrator Brian Floca, co-winner of the 2010 Non-Fiction Award, with his book, Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11.
Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream, by Tanya Lee Stone (Candlewick). Thirteen women who wanted to be among America's first astronauts in 1960-1961 were as good, and sometimes better, at the rigorous tests than the male candidates, but were prevented from becoming astronauts. But they inspired later generations of women who did become astronauts.
Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11, written and illustrated by Brian Floca (Atheneum). A beautifully illustrated oversize book for younger readers that effectively recreates the amazing experience of going to the Moon for the very first time.
Grace Lin, co-winner of the 2010 Fiction Award, with her book, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, which she both wrote and illustrated.
Tim Jones, of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, holds up the co-winner of the 2010 Fiction Award, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly. Ms. Kelly's editor, Laura Godwin, also attended the awards ceremony.
Joyce Sidman, author, and Pamela Zagarenski, illustrator, with their book, Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors, which won the 2010 Poetry Award.
Author Tanya Lee Stone, co-winner of the 2010 Non-Fiction Award, with her book, Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream.
