Ezra Jack Keats Bookmaking Competition
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Update – 2012 Awards
Did you know that over the past 25 years, New York City public schoolchildren have written and illustrated enough books to fill a small library? These are no ordinary books: they are all made by hand and cover a wide range subjects and genres. The best reach heights of artistry and imagination that leave readers awestruck, or laughing, or crying, depending on the author’s intention.
The motive for all this literary and artistic activity is to take part in the Ezra Jack Keats Bookmaking Competition. The program is the result of the longstanding partnership between the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation and the New York City Department of Education. (The New York Public Library has also played a central role, which as of 2012 is taken by the Brooklyn Public Library.) By every measure, it has been a great success.
Students from every public school program and grade level participate. In New York, that means children from virtually every walk of life, every country in the world and every economic level are recognized for their abilities; winners have included students in gifted and special education programs, in traditional classrooms and prison. And for each winner, the supervising teacher or librarian receives an award as well. In that way, the Bookmaking Competition honors those teachers and librarians who fostered Ezra’s artistic talent so many years ago. To find out how to enter the Competition, click here.
If you are interested in having your school system initiate a Ezra Jack Keats Bookmaking Competition, please contact us.
Learn more about the Competition and its benefits from Dr. Lillie Pope, Education Director of the EJK Foundation, who designed and implemented this pioneering program:
The Many Rewards of Bookmaking, By Lillie Pope
“This project is a dramatic demonstration of the effectiveness of an arts-in-education program…The books represent an incredible amount of work by children and educators. Recognizing and rewarding that effort with a medal, an announcement and a check is a well-deserved investment in the future.” Read more
Bookmaking 101
A sampling of links on the art of bookmaking: ideas and inspirations for your own project, at home or in the classroom. Read more
26th Annual Ezra Jack Keats Bookmaking Competition
The winners, the books, the news, the festivities, and more to come!
Press Announcement • Bookmaking Celebration at the Brooklyn Public Library
Real page-turners
Preview the books of the city-wide winners:
From left: Tyler Learns How To Tie His Shoes, by Deidre Darius; Rebirth, New York, by Anne Wang; Detour to 1938, by Shelley Polanco; and Arrows and the Butterfly, by Dyanara Banana
Inspiration
What triggers a creative idea? Absolutely anything! Here’s how some of our winning bookmakers got started:
Shelley Polanco (grade 4)
City-wide winner, Detour to 1938
“My art teacher said that history books don’t have to be boring, so I decided to send the main character in my book (me!) back in the past so readers can meet Martin Luther King in a fun way. I was inspired by Ezra Jack Keats—he took everyday things and made them exciting!”
Christin Karam (grade 7)
Staten Island borough-wide winner, Listen to My Story
“…My best friend [and I] met last year, and it felt like a dream come true…Unfortunately I had to move from Queens to Staten Island, so I could not see her anymore. So, I based this story on ours, but with a little twist at the end.”
Bryan Willamar & Estefano Garcia (grade 5)
Manhattan borough-wide winner, The Exile
“In thinking of the story we wanted to create a folktale with animals. We thought about putting a moral for the story, which for a wolf was to be loyal to their pack.”
James Sandlin (grade 7)
Manhattan borough-wide winner, A Soldier’s Story
“…The more I researched, the more I saw the immune system as an army of specialist soldiers constantly battling invaders, which gave me my story line. My main character, Munch…the phagocyte (a type of white blood cell)…loves to eat bacteria. My favorite video game character, Kirby, inspired my character. Both have a round body and love to eat the bad guys…”
Michael Deluca (grade 5)
Staten Island borough-wide winner, The Adventures of Mac and Cheese
“I came up with the idea for this book because while I was eating macaroni and cheese, my sister was talking about superheroes…”
Sophia Aigotti (grade 12), Staten Island borough-wide winner, The Vivid Town of Dullsville
“…Even an artist like myself can sometimes lose touch of the things that life throws at me. But when I get into my work and get into the colors I’m using, I feel like myself again. Color effects how we see and feel everything. We definitely would be lost without it.”