Moonbeam Award!
I am back! After a long hiatus from posting on my blog. (I was working very hard on my next picture book).
But more importantly, I have some fantastic news to share! My Five Hungry Mice picture book was recently awarded a Silver Moonbeam award for excellence in pre-school picture books. What an honor!
The Moonbeam Award was founded by Jenkins Publishing in 2007 to encourage children to fall in love with reading - because a child with good reading skills will become a better communicator and problem solver, and be generally more successful in life.
Launched in 2007, the awards are intended to bring increased recognition to exemplary children's books and their creators, and to celebrate children's books and life-long reading. From alphabet books for toddlers to young adult books about gender and race, the Moonbeam Awards recognize excellence in categories for children of every age and developmental stage. This year's 157 medal-winning books, were chosen from 1,150 entries.
If you would like to see all the winning entries you can check out the link here.
My mother and I travel to Traverse City, MI to attend the awards ceremony and be a part of the Traverse City Children's Book Festival. We met so many incredible people and had such a good time sharing our love of books, illustration and children with the many authors and illustrators that were in attendance. The Traverse City Children's Book Festival was a special event and we loved hanging out with the children who stopped by our table. At the end of the evening was the Moonbeam Awards ceremony. Man did Jim Barnes make us feel special as he called each one to stage to receive their award. There was lots of laughter and tears as each author and illustrator shared the story and inspiration behind their books and the personal ties they had to the stories. It was really touching to see traditions preserved, voices being heard, faith being shared, and laughter everywhere! I wanted to buy every book that was there! But more importantly, there was the feeling of being part of something that is bigger than yourself - the impact that reading and stories have on young children. There is no better feeling than to touch so many people so positively. It was truly magical!
If you want to discover some magical books for yourself check out a few links from some of my new friends.
The Rag Doll Gift
By Karen Richards Toothaker
Illustrated by Valentina Jaskins
The Spill
By Jacqueline Leigh
Illustrated by Erika Wilson
Be sure to check out all the Moonbeam winners at the link above. I can't speak highly enough of this wonderful honor and the incredible people at the Jenkins Group whose passion for children and the love of reading make it happen every year:)
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