And the Winner Is…

New book award: The recipients of the first annual South Asia Book Award, administered by the South Asia National Outreach Consortium (SANOC), have been announced. The award recognizes outstanding recently published works of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or folklore, from preschool through high school reading levels that portray South Asia or South Asians living abroad. Judging criteria include the quality of the story, its cultural authenticity, and the book’s potential for classroom use.

The 2012 winners are Same, Same but Different (Holt, 2011) by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw and Island’s End (Putnam, 2011) by Padma Venkatraman. The four Honor Books are: Sita’s Ramayana (Groundwood, 2011) by Samhita Ami, Following My Paint Brush (Tara Books, 2010) by Dulari Davi and Gita Wolf, No Ordinary Day (Groundwood Books, 2011) by Deborah Ellis, and Small Acts of Amazing Courage (S & S, 2011) by Gloria Whelan. Five Highly Commended Books were also named. For a complete list of winners, visit the following website.

The titles will be honored at a ceremony to be held at the Overture Center in Madison, WI, on October 13.

Freebies

Hot off the press: Filled with important information and lots of humor, Shmoop, a digital curriculum and test prep company, has launched its free DMV Guide. Customized for each state, teens who have reached the legal driving age can get lots of facts about the tests they will need to pass to get their license, rules of the road, road signs, traffic lights and signals, driving in bad weather, seat belt laws, and lots more. The information is solid and there’s enough humor to hold the attention of the intended age group.

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