SCHOOL LIBRARY The late Caldecott award-winning children’s book author Ezra Jack Keats is remembered today as a pioneer who broke barriers and introduced more diversity in mainstream children’s literature. Continuing his work, his foundation each year recognizes a children’s book writer and an illustrator for their exceptional work that reflect the experience of childhood in our diverse culture. And so it is our pleasure to feature the 31st annual Ezra Jack Keats Book Award winners for new writer and new illustrator, as well as the three honor winners in this special edition of our book reviews. For lesson plans related to the works of Ezra Jack Keats, visit http://www. ezra-jack-keats.org/lesson-plans/lesson-plans/
K-12 New Writer Award
New Illustrator Award
“A PIECE OF HOME” Jeri Watts Publisher: Candlewick Press
“DANIEL FINDS A POEM” Micha Archer Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books (Penguin Random House)
When Hee Jun moves with his family to West Virginia from Korea, it’s hard to adjust. In Korea he was a “regular” boy; now he is different. In fact, everything is different. His sister has tantrums in school; his grandmother seems older. Eventually, Hee Jun learns to speak English and makes friends. Invited to a schoolmate’s house, he spots a familiar flower from his grandmother’s garden in Korea. He brings a shoot to his grandmother, and they plant “a piece of home.” The subtle illustrations by Hyewon Yum record the gradual changes in Hee Jun as he gains confidence.
This book beautifully conveys the idea that poetry is all around us, wherever we can see it or just feel it. On Monday, Daniel sees that there will be a poetry recital in the park next Sunday, and he wants to participate. Everyday he encounters a different creature in the park—a spider, a squirrel and so on—and asks what each one thinks poetry is. Of course, each species has a different answer, and their input in invaluable because by Sunday, Daniel is ready with a poem. The rich, colorful illustrations leave Daniel’s ethnicity open to the reader’s interpretation.
New Writer Honor
New Illustrator Honor
New Writer Honor & New Illustrator Honor
“EXCELLENT ED” Stacy McAnulty Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
“THE GIRL WITH THE PARROT ON HER HEAD” Daisy Hirst Publisher: Candlewick Press
“THE JOURNEY” Francesca Sanna Publisher: Flying Eye Books
Ed is the dog in a family full of super-talented kids, but Ed feels excluded from certain family activities, like eating at the table, going on trips and using the bathroom. But why can’t he? Could it be because he doesn’t have any special talents? Ed tries and fails to copy the family’s talents but finally discovers that he has his own—like gobbling up food dropped on the floor—and he is definitely appreciated. While any and all dog-loving children will enjoy Ed’s quest for excellence, the lively illustrations by Julia SarconeRoach reveal that his human companions are African-American.
30 • April 2017
When her best friend moves away, Isabel is lonely. Fortunately, the parrot on her head helps her deal with loneliness, fear and making new friends. And Isabel has a system: she’ll sort everything from wolves to the dark itself into boxes and push them into the corner of her room. That will work, right? The child’s perspective is clear in the witty illustrations and the blending of real life and make-believe, which leaves ample room for children’s questions and an adults’ reassurances. The kids in the book are illustrated to have rich brown skin with which readers of various ethnicities can identify.
A boy recounts his family’s travels from their war-torn home, which is a city close to the sea that is never named, to someplace that will take them in after everything he knows is plunged into chaos. Their world has been completely upended by overwhelming and mysterious forces. By illuminating that world through the eyes of a child, this book makes these experiences more accessible and bearable, if still frightening, to young readers. Yet sensitive storytelling and beautiful illustrations still leave room for hope, even without the reassurance of the typical storybook happy ending. “The Journey” has been endorsed by Amnesty International.