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Bank Street College of Education Honors Three Top Children’s Books

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

For more information, contact:

Cynthia Weill, Ed.D.
Director, Center for Children’s Literature
Bank Street College of Education
212-875-4652
cweill@bankstreet.edu

New York, NY— March 20, 2018—
The Children’s Book Committee at Bank Street College of Education will host an awards ceremony to celebrate the winners of the Josette Frank Award, the Flora Stieglitz Straus Award, and the Claudia Lewis Award. Presented annually, the three awards recognize outstanding works of children’s literature in the genres of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.

The event will be held on Thursday, April 5th at 9:30 AM at Bank Street College of Education (610 West 112th Street). See below for more information about the awards and the winning titles.

The 2017 Winners

The Josette Frank Award honors a fiction book in which children or young people deal in a positive and realistic way with difficulties in their world and grow emotionally and morally.

Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson

When Jade is nominated by her predominantly white private high school to join a mentoring program for black girls, she seeks support on her own terms.

The Flora Stieglitz Straus Award is presented for a nonfiction work that serves as an inspiration to young people.

Hawk Mother: The Story of a Red-Tailed Hawk Who Hatched Chickens by Kara Hagedorn

A zoologist establishes a longtime relationship with a wounded raptor, even enabling her to experience her maternal instincts. The work contains emotionally evocative full-page photographs.

The Claudia Lewis Award is given for the best poetry book of the year for young readers.

One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes

This work contains fresh contemporary poems to be read alongside classic works from premier artists of the Harlem Renaissance, as well as beautiful illustrations by various artists.

In April, the Children’s Book Committee will release its 2018 Best Children Books of the Year (for books published in 2017), which contains more than 600 annotated titles divided into age ranges and categories. Published every year for more than a century, the list is designed to guide parents, teachers, and librarians in choosing the highest quality literature for children. The Committee is made up of educators, librarians, authors, illustrators, psychologists, and parents and many books are read and reviewed by young children ages 2-18 from across the country.

The complete list of recommended 2017 titles will be available online at bankstreet.edu/best-books-2017. Please email bookcom@bankstreet.edu for the print edition.

About Bank Street College of Education

For one hundred years, Bank Street’s focus has been children: how they learn, what they need, what teachers need to help children learn, and what kind of schools and communities learners of every age need in order to reach their full potential. Learn more about Bank Street’s Children’s Programs, Graduate School of Education, and Division of Innovation, Policy and Research at bankstreet.edu.

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