Winners of the 2003 Jane Addams Children's Book Awards were announced on April 28 by the Jane Addams Peace Association. Organized on that date in 1915, much of the educational work of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom is funded by JAPA.
The Jane Addams Children's Book Awards annually acknowledge books published during the previous year in the U.S. effectively addressing themes or topics promoting peace, social justice, world community, and/or equality of the sexes and all races. The books must also meet conventional standards for literary and artistic excellence.
Coincidentally the two award winning books feature the personal impact of a war in which the United States was involved.
The winner in the Picture Book category is Patrol: An American Soldier in Vietnam, an unrhymed story-poem was written by Vietnam veteran Walter Dean Myers and accompanied by collage artwork created by Ann Grifalconi. “Patrol” was published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, New York City.
The winner in the category of Books for Older Children, Parvana’s Journey, is a novel about an Afghan refugee girl separated from her family by death and war. It was written by Deborah Ellis and published by Groundwood Books / Douglas & McIntyre, Toronto, Canada.
One of two Honor Books in the Picture Book category is ¡Si, Se Puede! Yes, We Can! Janitor Strike in L.A., a story based on actual union organizing in Los Angeles in 2000. Diana Cohn wrote this story about a boy and his mother, who became a leader of the strike. The bilingual story is illustrated with paintings by Francisco Delgado and published by Cinco Puntos Press in El Paso, Texas.
The other honored picture book The Village That Vanished is an original story set in East Africa during the years when people were being captured by slavers. It was written by Ann Grifalconi, illustrated with paintings by Kadir Nelson and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, New York City. This book was written by the artist of the winning book in the same category.
The Same Stuff as Stars by Katherine Paterson and When My Name Was Keoko by Linda Sue Park were named Honor Books in the category of Books for Older Children. Both books were published by Clarion Books of New York City.
As different as these two Honor Books are from the each other, both novels involve a sister and brother attempting to live within extreme circumstances. Paterson’s contemporary story features a girl whose survival depends upon economic and emotional factors. Park’s story is set during the Japanese occupation of Korea during World War II and is alternately narrated by each sibling.
The 2003 Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards will be presented on October in New York City.
Details about securing award and honor book seals and about the award event are available from the Jane Addams Peace Association. Contact JAPA Executive Director Linda B. Belle, 777 United Nations Plaza, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10017-3521; phone 212-682-8830; e-mail japa@igc.org
For additional information about the Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards and a complete list of books honored since 1953 see http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/addams/list.htm
Members of the 2003 Jane Addams Children's Book Awards Committee are Donna Barkman (Ossining, New York); Marilyn Hurley Bimstein (Seattle, Washington); Eliza T. Dresang (Tallahassee, Florida); Ginny Moore Kruse, Chair (Madison, Wisconsin); Cathie Reed (New Market, Maryland); Suzanne Martell (Harwich, Massachusetts); Serena Murray (San Jose, California); Judith Volc (Boulder, Colorado); and Pat Wiser (Sewanee, Tennessee). Regional reading and discussion groups participated with many of the committee members throughout the jury’s evaluation and selection process.
In addition to the Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards and its many other educational projects, JAPA houses the U.N. office of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom in New York City. JAPA owns the Jane Addams House in Philadelphia where the U. S. section of WILPF is located. more information about the Jane Addams Peace Association, visit www.janeaddamspeace.org. For information about WILPF during its 88th year, visit www.wilpf.int.ch/
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Ginny Moore Kruse has chaired the national committee to select the Jane Addams Children's Book Awards since 1998. Between 1976 and 2002 she was director of the Cooperative Children's Book Center. At this children's & young adult literature library at the University of Wisconsin-Madison she founded the CCBC Intellectual Freedom Information Services. With CCBC colleagues she developed the electronic book discussion "CCBC-Net," CCBC Book Discussion Guidelines, publications about Multicultural Literature, and the annual publication "CCBC Choices." Ginny chaired the ALA/ALSC 2003 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award committee. Among other professional projects, she currently chairs a committee of the U.S. Board on Books for Young People to select nominees for the 2004 Hans Christian Andersen Awards and Honour List. This year she will again serve on the staff of the Children's Literature New England institute to be held during this particular August at Cambridge University, England.
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