2016 Writer Award Winner
Don Tate
Like Ezra Jack Keats, Don Tate came to write his own children’s book after a high-profile career as an illustrator. The first book he authored, It Jes’ Happened, earned an EJK Book Award Honor in 2013. His books focus on African-American history, vividly revealed through indelible characters whose stories of resilience and resistance resonate for a wide audience. An Iowa native with an extensive background in publishing and design, Don lives with his family in Austin, Texas.
Photo credit: Sam Bond Photography
Illustrations © 2015 by Don Tate. Permission to reprint granted by Peachtree Publishers
Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton
Peachtree Publishers
Born a slave, George Moses Horton secretly taught himself to read and won acclaim as a poet. The first black writer published in the South, he paid his master for time to write and protested slavery in verse. Fun Facts
Don Tate
Don Tate
From: Des Moines, IA; Now: Austin, TX
6 Word Memoir: In-person introvert. Online extrovert. Text me.
Activities: Swim. Bicep curl. Coffee with tiny pies.
How do you deal with distractions: Complain to my wife.
Other Awards:
- SCBWI Crystal Kite, a Christopher and a Texas Institute of Letters book prize: Poet
Upcoming: William Still’s Freedom Stories: Father of the Underground Railroad: Nov. 2020×2016 Illustrator Award Winner
Phoebe Wahl
Phoebe Wahl’s work is easy to find: She sells her printed designs on Etsy, illustrates magazine covers, and show her paintings and sculptures on her websites. She works primarily in watercolor, collage and textiles—hands-on mediums she uses to explore themes of home and nature in an imaginative, folk art-like style. A graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, Phoebe returned to the Pacific Northwest where she grew up, and lives in Bellingham, Washington. Sonya’s Chickens is her first book.
Photo credit: Kaitlyn Bouchard
Sonya's Chicken
Tundra Books
Sonya cares for the chickens on her family’s farm, until one night, a hen disappears. Her dad explains why a fox would steal her hen, and she learns that all creatures have a role to play in the natural world.
2016 Award Honorees
Writer Award Honoree
Megan Dowd Lambert
A Crow of His Own
Charlesbridge
A new rooster takes over for a farm favorite, and stumbles while trying to impress. Finding his voice will be something to crow about!Fun Facts
Megan Dowd Lambert
From: Bennington, VT; Now: Amherst, MA
6 Word Memoir: Family and books get me through.
Activities: Reading, of course! By myself and with kids.
Distractions: I am an expert at dealing with distractions because I have 7 kids, and my best tool for getting stuff done is my planner, with built-in weekly to-do lists.
Other Awards:
- 17th Annual Massachusetts Book Award Must Read Picture Book/Early Reader and a 2017 Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People: Real Sisters Pretend, illustrated by Nicole Tadgell
Upcoming: April and Mae. 7-book early reader series, 2022×Writer Award Honoree
Julia Sarcone-Roach
The Bear Ate Your Sandwich
Knopf Books for Young Readers
How did the sandwich disappear? It’s a funny story, with a twist you won’t see coming.Fun Facts
Julia Sarcone-Roach
From: Midwest born, Virginia grown; Now: Brooklyn, NY
6 Word Memoir: Painter, sandwich eater, painter of sandwiches
Activities: I love taking a walk, observing nature, and people. It can be inspiring, relaxing, and sometimes there are raccoons!
Procrastination: Sometimes I engage in “useful procrastination” by researching details of a current project. Recently I have been watching videos of squirrels eating ice cream.
Upcoming: A new bear book featuring woodland creatures and an ice cream heist.
×Illustrator Award Honoree
Ryan T. Higgins
Mother Bruce
A grumpy bear finds himself imprinted as the “mother” of four just-hatched baby geese. Now he’s stuck with them for life. Can he help his fledglings fly away?Illustrator Award Honoree
Rowboat Watkins
Rude Cakes
Chronicle Books
Welcome to a topsy-turvy world where cakes have bad manners and monsters have good ones. This tale is bratty, zany and unexpectedly sweet.Fun Facts
Rowboat Watkins
From: Philly; Now: Brooklyn, NY
6 Word Memoir: What I meant to say was
Activities: I love reading under my dog + pretending I know how to garden.
Where do you work?: In a former sweater factory. What? Ask my wife. (sigh...)
Upcoming: Mabel: A Mermaid Fable, March 24, 2020.
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