Myers, Dowell Win Christopher Award
RSSBy SLJ Staff -- School Library Journal, 04/17/2009
An examination of contemporary war, a third-grader who adores her teacher, and the influence of Kentucky’s pack-horse librarians are among the winners of this year’s Christopher Awards, which salute media that “reminds audiences of their power to make a difference.”
This year’s winners in the young readers category are: Sunrise Over Fallujah (Scholastic) by Walter Dean Myers, which takes young adult readers to war-torn Iraq; Shooting the Moon (Atheneum) by Frances O’Roark Dowell, a book for readers ages 10 to 12 that addresses the Vietnam War; Clementine’s Letter (Hyperion) by Sara Pennypacker, illustrated by Marla Frazee, about a third-grader who wants her favorite teacher to return from sabbatical; That Book Woman (Atheneum)by Heather Henson, illustrated by David Small,
which celebrates the influence of pack-horse librarians; and in the pre-school category, Kimiko Kajikawa’s Close to You: How Animals Bond (Holt).
The winning authors and illustrators will receive their honor on April 16 at a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the awards.
“The artistic contributions recognized by the Christopher Awards present views of reality which heighten inspiration, and engage, value and peer into the human soul,” says Father Dennis W. Cleary, the new director of the Christophers.
Founded in 1945, the mission of the Christophers is to encourage people “to use their God-given talents to make a positive difference in the world.
