It's official! Bank Street College of Education has decided to begin acknowledging and awarding board books! My editor just zipped me the press release as she and I talked about this need in 2010. The award will be named: the Margaret Wise Brown Board Book Award for excellence in literature for very young children. Wonderful!
Here is a press release excerpt:
“Criteria for selection will include books that promote interplay and engagement, incorporate rich
language, demonstrate a consideration for childhood development, and are constructed to withstand multiple encounters with little hands,” said Dr. Cynthia Weill, Director, Center for Children’s Literature, Bank Street College of Education.
Joan Holub and I, both board book author/illustrators, have been calling for a recognition of the board book format since 2009. Our aim at the readertotz blog has always been to raise the profile of board books for our first readers. We make a call to authors, illustrators, and publishers to create the best possible works as they introduce reading to our youngest ones.
We have envisioned the American Library Association creating the Dorothy Kunhardt Award for the Outstanding Board or Novelty Book. Click here to see our facebook page. We would love to see Dorothy named as the creator of the beloved, first novelty book still in print: Pat the Bunny.
Joan and I are thrilled Bank Street College is lifting this important format for all to see! Here's to future award recipients, the wee ones who will hold the works, and Bank Street College for their efforts. Bravo!
Hi Lori! I just stumbled across Firstborn at my local bookshop and felt compelled to pick it up. I just finished it. Masterful story telling! I loved the characters you created, the world they live in, and the thought provoking issues of faith and gender that Tia struggles through. It’s a great read and is a book I would especially recommend to all young women hashing out their femininity in a world where even feminism glorifies male traits. I am a mother of teens and women’s ministry leader, and I loved Firstborn. I can tell you intended a series, and would like to encourage you to publish the rest of the story. It’s a valuable one. Your writing itself is very compelling and much higher quality than most teen fiction. Give us a real heroine we can give to our daughters and their friends without reservation, who doesn’t just bring down a tyrannical government but actually develops into a strong, whole, beautiful person herself. There’s nothing quite like Firstborn out there and there’s no one besides you who can finish Tia’s story.
ReplyDeleteMay God bless you and strengthen your body, give peace to your soul, and hope to your spirit. Heather
Thank you so much, Heather! Your words are such an encouragement! Thank you for sharing each thought. I do have the sequel complete but am stuck in a publishing conundrum. I think my only option is to self publish the 2 remaining. I am working towards that currently. Your note is incredibly inspiring to keep going. Thank you! And goodness to you and yours!
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