Farewell for Now, Totz!

 

illustration by Lorie Ann Grover

Hello beloved readertotz, first readers, older sibs of totz, parents, and educators!

After fourteen years of posting recommends for the most excellent board books and an occasional exceptional picture book, I believe it is time to end our effort for now. Thankfully, the esteem for and quality of board books has risen in the industry. We still hope that ALA will begin to award the Dorothy Kunhardt Award yearly to the very best in the novelty/board book format.   

Joan and I continue to write our own books. You can follow the links below to keep up on our news and releases if you like. Thanks so much for your interest, encouragement, and support over the years. Yay for the books we have gathered around! I hope you have discovered joy and fun from authors, illustrators, and publishers. 

For now, farewell! May your next snuggled book be a rich delight for you and yours. Love to each,

Lorie Ann Grover 

and Joan Holub 

Celebrations: Margaret Wise Brown Board Book Award

 

It's official! Bank Street College of Education has decided to begin acknowledging and awarding board books! My editor just zipped me the press release as she and I talked about this need in 2010. The award will be named: the Margaret Wise Brown Board Book Award for excellence in literature for very young children. Wonderful!

Here is a press release excerpt: 

The first prize will be awarded in the spring of 2023 for board books published or picture books adapted to board book format in 2021 and 2022. The award will be given every two years to a board book for infants and toddlers (ages 0-3).

“Criteria for selection will include books that promote interplay and engagement, incorporate rich
language, demonstrate a consideration for childhood development, and are constructed to withstand multiple encounters with little hands,” said Dr. Cynthia Weill, Director, Center for Children’s Literature, Bank Street College of Education.

Joan Holub and I, both board book author/illustrators, have been calling for a recognition of the board book format since 2009. Our aim at the readertotz blog has always been to raise the profile of board books for our first readers. We make a call to authors, illustrators, and publishers to create the best possible works as they introduce reading to our youngest ones. 

We have envisioned the American Library Association creating the Dorothy Kunhardt Award for the Outstanding Board or Novelty Book. Click here to see our facebook page. We would love to see Dorothy named as the creator of the beloved, first novelty book still in print: Pat the Bunny. 

Joan and I are thrilled Bank Street College is lifting this important format for all to see! Here's to future award recipients, the wee ones who will hold the works, and Bank Street College for their efforts. Bravo! 

The Best for First Readers

Photo from the Washington Post article

Photo from Washington Post article

Photo from the Washington Post article

Content and quality matter. This is why at readertotz we aim to raise the profile of board books, and we call for the best for our first readers. 

"Recent research has found that both the quality and quantity of shared book-reading in infancy predicted later childhood vocabulary, reading skills and name-writing ability."

Check out the full Washington Post article by Lisa S. Scott, here. Wouldn't an ALA award help this aim? Say, the Dorothy Kunhardt Award? 

~Lorie Ann Grover

Photo Friday: Pat the Bunny Award

Photo from Pinterest

Today's Photo Friday is in support of our new page at Facebook. Click here to like our Call for the Dorothy Kunhardt Award to be established by the American Library Association. The award would recognize the greatest contribution to literature in the board/novelty format.

Thanks for patting the bunny and sharing!

Annual Call for a Youth Media Board Book Award

It was so fun to watch the livestream of the Youth Media Awards this morning. However, Joan and I stop for a moment and once again give the call for a novelty/board book category. Research indicates it takes about $10,000 to fund the start of an award. Joan and I are busy writing to fill the format with quality literature, along with others passionate for the board book. Who will come forward to recognize the best first books for our very youngest readers? We propose The Dorothy Kunhardt Award.

 ~ Lorie Ann Grover and Joan Holub, 2013

In the meantime, here are your Caldecott winners:



Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children:

“This Is Not My Hat,” illustrated and written by Jon Klassen, is the 2013 Caldecott Medal winner. The book is published by Candlewick Press.

Five Caldecott Honor Books also were named: “Creepy Carrots!” illustrated by Peter Brown, written by Aaron Reynolds and published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division; “Extra Yarn,” illustrated by Jon Klassen, written by Mac Barnett and published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of

HarperCollins Publishers; “Green,” illustrated and written by Laura Vaccaro Seeger and published by Neal Porter Books, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press; “One Cool Friend,” illustrated by David Small, written by Toni Buzzeo and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group; “Sleep Like a Tiger,” illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Mary Logue and published by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.