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| Photo from Penguin Random House |
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| Photo credit: Sam Bond |
Tessa Michaelson Schmidt
Director of the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) | she/her
401 Teacher Education Building | 225 N. Mills St. | Madison, WI 53706
tessa.schmidt@wisc.edu | (608) 263-3721 | ccbc.education.wisc.edu
Hot off the presses from the CCBC:
Just Like Grandma, written by Kim Rogers and illustrated by Julie Flett, is the winner of the 2024 Charlotte Zolotow Award for outstanding writing in a picture book.
The award is given by the Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC), a library of the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Just Like Grandma was edited by
Rosemary Brosnan and published in the United States in 2023 by Heartdrum, an
imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Three honor books and ten highly
commended titles were also named.
Mutual admiration and respect abound between a contemporary Wichita girl and her talented grandmother, each of whom generously shares her skills with the other in this quietly touching story of family love. “On the steps of a house at the end of the street, / Becca watches / Grandma bead and bead / buckskin moccasins. / More than anything, / Becca wants to be / just like Grandma.”
Whether her grandma is skillfully stitching, painting at her easel, or dancing Fancy Shawl either at the powwow or “barefoot near the garden,” Becca repeatedly entreats her, “‘Let me try.’” Grandma willingly obliges, and “[t]ogether they bead,” dance, “flutter like the most beautiful butterflies,” and “paint the most spectacular sunrise,” enjoying their shared activity “until the sun dips below the tree line / and Grandpa calls them in” for dinner.
A delightful reversal to the pattern comes when Grandma joins Becca
in shooting hoops on the basketball court. “More than anything, / Grandma wants
to be / just like Becca.” After Becca’s successful basketball team tryouts, she
and her grandparents enjoy a celebratory pizza out. As the story comes to a
close, Becca reflects on the myriad skills that she and Grandma share. “Becca
knows that / she is just like Grandma. … And Grandma knows that / she is just
like Becca.” The affection between grandmother and granddaughter is palpable in
this wonderfully paced and lyrically written story.
2024 Zolotow Award Honor Books:
All the Faces of Me, written by Laura Alary,
illustrated by Salini Perera, edited by Ella Russell and Jennifer Stokes, and
published by Owlkids Books, 2023, celebrates the range of emotions
contained within one child in a story brimming with humor and child appeal. As
she studies her grandmother’s set of nesting dolls—“all those tiny people
wrapped up in one”—the girl decides to “fix” their uniform smiles with a
marker. Nana is not so pleased by this, but the girl explains, “If those dolls
were me … they would not all be the same…” They would have layers, different
emotions, and even a part that “is still becoming.” After considering, Nana
agrees and gives her granddaughter a hug that “is big enough to hold all of
me.”
Finding Family: The Duckling Raised by Loons, written
by Laura Purdie Salas, illustrated by Alexandria Neonakis, edited by Carol
Hinz, and published by Millbrook Press, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group,
2023, chronicles the fascinating, real-life phenomenon of an orphaned
mallard duckling being raised by two adult loons in a Wisconsin lake. Awash in
engaging details, sensory language, and subtle humor, the narrative is poetic
and informative in equal measure. It is also unafraid to acknowledge scientific
unknowns. For these three unusual birds, “[t]he future is / a perfect mystery /
of possibilities, / like an unhatched egg.”
My Baba’s Garden, written by Jordan Scott,
illustrated by Sydney Smith, edited by Neal Porter, and published by Neal
Porter Books, an imprint of Holiday House, 2023, recalls the warm
relationship between a boy and his singular grandmother. Before and after
school the boy joins Baba—who lived through a time when food was scarce—at her
home, “a chicken coop beside a highway.” The two do not share a language but
express their devotion through actions: Baba, whose “house is crammed with
food” she has grown herself, lovingly prepares meals for her grandson; together
they collect worms for her expansive garden. When Baba later moves in with him,
her grandson thoughtfully returns the tender care she has shown him in this
gentle, exquisitely written story.
2024 Zolotow Award Highly Commended titles:
Established in 1998, the Charlotte Zolotow Award honors the
work of Charlotte Zolotow, a distinguished children's book editor for 38 years
with Harper Junior Books, and author of more than 70 picture books, including
such classic works as Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present (Harper, 1962) and
William's Doll (Harper, 1972). Ms. Zolotow attended the University of Wisconsin
in Madison on a writing scholarship from 1933 to 1936, where she studied with
Professor Helen C. White. Ms. Zolotow died in November, 2013, at the age of 98.
The annual award is given for outstanding writing in a
picture book for children in the birth-through-seven age range published in the
United States or Canada. This is the twenty-fifth time the award has been
given. The 2024 award will be presented at an award ceremony in Madison at a
date to be determined.
Members of the 2024 Zolotow Award committee were: Madeline
Tyner, chair (Librarian, Cooperative Children’s Book Center, Madison,
Wisconsin); Marissa Gehrke (Community Engagement Librarian, Verona Public
Library, Verona, Wisconsin); Maegan Heindel (Library Services Coordinator,
Madison Metropolitan School District, Madison, Wisconsin); Madeline Oleson
(Library Media Technology Specialist, Lapham Elementary School, Madison,
Wisconsin); and Paula Zipperer (Director, Eagle’s Wing Child Care and Education
Programs, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin).
The Cooperative Children's Book Center is a noncirculating
library for adults with a professional, career or academic interest in
children's and young adult literature. The Friends of the CCBC, Inc., cosponsor
of the award event, is a nonprofit organization offering lectures, book sales
and other benefits for members, in addition to supporting the work of the
Cooperative Children’s Book Center.
For further information contact: Madeline Tyner
Cooperative Children's Book Center 225 N. Mills Street, Room 401 Madison, WI
53706 608-890-0258 madeline.tyner@wisc.edu https://ccbc.education.w
Please join us for the 2023 Charlotte Zolotow Award presentation to author Michelle Edwards for her picture book Me and the Boss: A Story about Mending and Love.
Saturday, May 6th, 2-4 p.m.
Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC)
Elizabeth Burr Conference Room
401 Teacher Education, 225 N. Mills Street, Madison
The Honor Books and Highly Commended titles will also be recognized.
A Room of One's Own will be selling books on site. There will be a reception and book signing following the award presentation. This event is in-person only; remote access is not available.
RSVP required (seating is limited).
We hope to see you there!
Merri Lindgren
Chair, 2023 Charlotte Zolotow Award Committee
Merri Lindgren
Librarian // she, her
Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison
401 Teacher Education
225 N Mills Street
Madison, WI 53706
608.263.3930
A message from Merri Lindgren, Chair, 2021-2022 Charlotte Zolotow Award Committee
I'm pleased to announce that the winner of the 2021-2022 Charlotte Zolotow Award is Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away written by Meg Medina, illustrated by Sonia Sánchez, and published by Candlewick Press in 2020.
The committee named five Honor Books:
Ten Highly Commended titles were cited:
Visit the CCBC website for the Charlotte Zolotow Award announcement and press release
We are planning for a Charlotte Zolotow Award event later this spring. The date and venue (in-person or virtual) have yet to be determined, but we'll share those details as soon as we can.
This annual award was extended to a two-year term in response to the challenges posed by the pandemic. Thank you to the members of the 2021-22 Charlotte Zolotow Award committee for taking on an extra year of hard work with their ever-thoughtful reading and careful evaluation, an openness to all opinions, and unfailing good humor through even more Zoom meetings: Shannon Furman (School Librarian, Lake View Elementary School, Madison, Wisconsin); Brooke Newberry (Early Literacy Librarian, La Crosse Public Library, La Crosse, Wisconsin); Bridget Nolan (Second Grade Teacher, Paul J. Olson Elementary School, Verona, Wisconsin); and Jeni Schomber (Head of Library Services, Beloit Public Library, Beloit, Wisconsin).
Merri Lindgren, Librarian
Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC)
School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison
401 Teacher Education
225 North Mills Street
Madison, WI 53706
608.263.3930
