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Page 34 Vol. 75, No. 1, Spring 2012 Mississippi Libraries
– Submitted by Lyle Tate, Special Projects
Coordinator, Mississippi State University
Libraries
Ezra Jack Keats Foundation and the
de Grummond Children’s Literature
Collection at The University of
Southern Mississippi to Present
Awards at Fay B. Kaigler Children’s
Book Festival on April 12th
The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation in partnership
with the de Grummond Children’s
Literature Collection at The University of
Southern Mississippi Libraries announced
today the winners of the 26th Annual Ezra
Jack Keats New Writer and New Illustrator
Book Awards. The 2012 awards ceremony
will be held on April 12th in conjunction
with The University of Southern Mississippi’s
Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book
Festival. Margery Cuyler, an award-winning
children’s book author and publisher
at Marshall Cavendish Children’s Books,
will be guest presenter.
“Fifty years ago, Ezra’s book The
Snowy Day, which featured an African
American child, broke the color barrier in
mainstream children’s book publishing
when it was embraced by families across
racial, economic and ethnic lines,” said
Deborah Pope, Executive Director of the
Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. “Like Ezra,
this year’s Book Award winners have, in
their own way, celebrated the similarities –
and differences – of people whose life
experiences are dramatically varied.”
Since 1985, the Ezra Jack Keats Book
Award has been awarded annually to an
outstanding new writer and new illustrator
of picture books for children (age 9 and
under) by the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation,
a non-profit organization founded by the
late Keats and dedicated to enhancing the
love of reading and learning in all children.
The Book Awards come to the de Grummond
for the first time this year from the
New York Public Library.
“We are thrilled to be presenting the
Book Awards with The Ezra Jack Keats
Foundation,” said Ellen Ruffin, Curator of
the de Grummond Children’s Literature
Collection. “The success of Ezra’s first
book, which earned the coveted Caldecott
medal, gave him the encouragement to
create many more children’s books. It is
our hope that this recognition will have the
same impact on this year’s winners. Who
knows – one day their books might join
Ezra’s in the de Grummond collection.”
The Book Award was created to
acknowledge and encourage budding children’s
book authors and illustrators who
impart Ezra Jack Keats’ values – the universal
qualities of childhood, a strong and
supportive family and the multicultural
nature of our world.
The 2012 Ezra Jack Keats New
Writer Award Winner Is:
• Meg Medina for Tia Isa Wants a Car
• Publisher: Candlewick Press
In Tia Isa Wants a Car, first-time picture
book author Meg Medina tells the story of
Tia Isa, who dreams of buying a car, and
the niece who helps her save. As hard as
they work, money is tight – especially
since everything goes into two piles: one
for here and one for family members far
away so that they too can come to the U.S.
one day.
Medina’s idea for the book began with
memories of her family’s first car. “My
aunt’s car was a light-blue Wildcat that
stalled everywhere and was awful to park
on crowded streets,” she said. “But that
car could take us anywhere we wanted in
this new country; it was freedom.”
The 2012 Ezra Jack Keats New
Illustrator Award Winner (and
New Writer Honor) Is:
• Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw for Same,
Same but Different
• Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books,
Henry Holt and Company, LLC
Through vivid illustrations and an inviting
point-of-view, Kostecki-Shaw introduces
readers to two pen pals – Elliot, who lives in
America, and Kailash, who lives in India. By
exchanging letters and pictures, the boys
learn that they both love to climb trees, have
pets, and ride a school bus. Their worlds
might look different, but they are actually
similar. Same, same but different!
In addition, for the first time in the history
of the Ezra Jack Keats Book Awards,
honorable mentions were awarded:
2012 New Writer Honor
• Nicola Winstanley for Cinnamon
Baby
• Publisher: Kids Can Press, Ltd.
2012 New Writer and New Illustrator
Honor
• Anna Witte (writer), Micha Archer
(illustrator) for Lola’s Fandango
• Publisher: Barefoot Books;
Rei/Com edition
2012 New Illustrator Honor
• David Ercolini for Not Inside this
House!
• Publisher: Orchard Books, an
imprint of Scholastic
The Ezra Jack Keats Book Award
Criteria
To be eligible for the 2012 Ezra Jack
Keats Book Award, writers and illustrators
must have published no more than three
books. Entries must have a 2011 copyright
date, and have been submitted to the Ezra
Jack Keats Foundation by December 30,
2011. The winners receive a gold medallion
as well as an honorarium of $1,000.
The selection committee is comprised of
early childhood education specialists,
librarians, illustrators and experts in children’s
literature.
For a complete list of Ezra Jack Keats
Book Award winners, visit http://www.
ezra-jack-keats.org/news/ezra-jack-keatsaward-winners/
For information about submissions,
visit: http://www.lib.usm.edu/~degrum/
html/keats_illus.shtml