2015 Writer Award Winner
Chieri Uegaki
Like her heroine, Chieri Uegaki is very persistent. The Japanese-Canadian author, who learned English as a second language, parlayed her childhood love of writing into a university degree in creative writing. Years later, she reworked a story from her school days to submit to writing contests. It caught a publisher’s eye and became her first book. Her stories feature lively girls whose independent spirit is inflected with their Japanese heritage. Chieri lives in British Columbia.
Photo credit: Paul Mears
Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin
Kids Can Press
Inspired by her grandfather, a violinist, Hana signs up for a talent show–even though she’s a beginner. Despite her doubts and stage fright, hard work and
imagination save
the day!
Fun Facts
Chieri Uegaki
From: Canada; Now: Sunshine Coast, BC
6 Word Memoir: Immigrant parents, two cultures, teachers, books.
Activities: I love to bake which helps me with mindfulness--distraction leads to baking failures. I also read as much as I can, whatever looks interesting--books, articles, news, blogs, song lyrics. You never know what you might learn, even if it's just a new word you might want to use in a story one day.
Distractions: Looking up stuff while researching something or by using up an ingredient in the fridge to make or bake something.
Other Awards:
- Children's Book Award Notable Book (International Reading Association): Suki's Kimono
- Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association's Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature (Picture Book): Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin
- Junior Library Guild's Gold Standard Selection Award: Ojiichan's Gift
Upcoming: Manuscripts in development
×2015 Illustrator Award Winner
Chris Haughton
An Irish illustrator and designer now living in London, Chris Haughton comes by his desire to tell stories visually from teaching young children in Asia without a shared language. Containing few but well-chosen words, his three award-winning books have been widely translated. In Shh! We Have a Plan, Chris’s masterful use of elements like color, rhythm and slapstick humor will delight children in any language.
Photo credit: Courtesy Walker Books, London
Shh! We Have a Plan
Candlewick Press
Four friends want to capture a colorful bird. They have a plan–which fails comically. They try again, and again, until the littlest friend–the one who gets shh’d–shows that his gentler way works best.
Fun Facts
Chris Haughton
From: Dublin, Ireland; Now: London, UK
6 Word Memoir: designer who's trying to make stories
Activities: Activities: Read and draw
Distraction: I answer questionnaires when I am supposed to be working!
Other Awards:
- Dutch Picture Book of the Year
- Irish Children’s Book of the Year
- Anderson Book of the Year (Italy)
Next Book: 'Maybe' and a climate change animation×
2015 Award Honorees
Writer Award Honoree
Adam Auerbach
Edda: A Little Valkyrie’s First Day of School
Christy Ottaviano Books
On the first day of kindergarten, a Valkyrie from Aasgard has trouble adjusting to human rules. Can she learn to make friends? Fun Facts
Adam Auerbach
From and Now: Brooklyn, NY
6 Word Memoir: Will learn to drive some day.
Activities: I love to relax by playing music. Sometimes I try out instruments I can barely play, such as the piano or my daughter's cello.
Neat or Messy: I am quite messy, and unfortunately have no great strategies for dealing with distractions.
Other Awards:
- So far, the EJK honor is the only award I've received for my children's books. Lucky for me, It's a great one! I hope to get another award soon. Maybe for my cello playing.
Upcoming: Legendary Creatures, 2022.×Writer Award Honoree
Alan Rabinowitz
A Boy and a Jaguar
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
How struggling with a stutter helped an animal-loving boy find his voice as a wildlife conservationist.Writer Award Honoree
Misty Copeland
Firebird
G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Poetically, a prima ballerina shows young dancers how to take on, and be transformed by, great ballet roles.Fun Facts
Misty Copeland
Born: Kansas City, MO, raised in San Pedro, CA. Now: NYC
6 Word Memoir: My trauma has built my voice.
Activities: Cooking and traveling gives me so much inspiration because it's never the same. You always discover new things when cooking a meal or traveling somewhere. Both awaken your senses and your spirit.
Distractions/Neat or Messy: I try to stay as present as I can whether I’m on stage or in life. The people around me, like my mentors, family and friends are really good at keeping me focused and away from negativity. As a Virgo, I tend to be pretty neat and organized.
×Illustrator Award Honoree
Evan Turk
Grandfather Gandhi
Atheneum
The 12-year-old grandson of a hero to millions fears that he can't measure up.Fun Facts
Evan Turk
From: Colorado Now: New York's Hudson Valley
6 Word Memoir: Always looking over the next mountain.
Activities: I love to travel and draw outside, spending time in nature
Distraction: I find that the best way to deal with distractions is to not have my phone with me! Whenever I'm drawing, and I'm away from my phone or computer, I find that I am much more present.
Other Awards:
- 2017 New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Books List: Muddy: The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters
- 2017 Children's Africana Book Award: The Storyteller
- Lee Bennet Hopkins Poetry Honor: You Are Home: An Ode to the National Parks
Upcoming: A Thousand Glass Flowers: Marietta Barovier and the Invention of the Rosetta Bead, August 2020. The People’s Painter: Ben Shahn’s Artful Stories of Life in America, by Cynthia Levinson, 2021.
×Illustrator Award Honoree
Mike Curato
Little Elliot, Big City
Henry Holt)
The adventures of Elliot, a small, polka-dotted elephant—from Brooklyn!Fun Facts
Mike Curato
From: New York; Now: Massachusetts
6 Word Memoir: Dessert and Art, but mostly Dessert.
Activities: Travel and film
Neat or messy: I am messily neat aka organized chaos
Other Awards:
- Society of Illustrators Founder's Award for Little Elliot, Big City
Upcoming: The Power of One, written by Trudy Ludwig, August 2020; Flamer, debut YA graphic novel, September 2020; and The Sharey Godmother, written by Samantha Berger, April 2021×
