First Category...
Best Kid Appeal (Based off my 4 year-old son's favorites)
Beep! Beep! Go to Sleep! - Todd Tarpley and John Rocco
I’m Trying to Love Spiders - Bethany Barton
Samurai Santa - Rubin Pingk
There was an Old Dragon Who Swallowed a Knight - Penny Klostermann and Ben Mantle
I Thought this was a Bear Book - Tara Lazar and Benji Davies
And the winner is...
I Thought this was a Bear Book!!!
Best Illustrators
Joseph Kuefler for “Beyond the Pond”
Brendan Wenzel for “Beastly Babies”
Julie Morstad for “This is Sadie”
Rafael Lopez for “Drum Dream Girl”
Ekua Holmes for “Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hammer”
And the winner is...
Rafael Lopez!!!
Best Male Character
Dewey Bob from “Dewey Bob”
Dragon from “There was an Old Dragon who Swallowed a Knight”
Leo the Ghost from “Leo the Ghost"
Boy from “Wait”
The Little Gardener from “The Little Gardener"
And the Winner is...
Leo the Ghost!!!
Best Female Character
Sadie for “This is Sadie”
Girl in Red Coat for "Sidewalk Flowers"
Mei for “Noodle Magic”
Sonya for “Sonya’s Chickens”
Bernice for “Bernice Gets Carried Away”
And the winner is...
Girl in Red Coat!!!
Best Nonfiction Picture Book
The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth, & Harlem’s Greatest Bookstore - Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and R. Gregory Christie
The Blue Whale - Jenni Desmond
Water is Water - Miranda Paul and Jason Chin
A Nest is Noisy - Dianne Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long
I’m Trying to Love Spiders - Bethany Barton
And the Winner is...
The Blue Whale!!!
And finally...
Best Fiction
Noodle Magic - Roseanne Greenfield Thong and Meilo So
Beastly Babies - Ellen Jackson and Brendan Wenzel
Sidewalk Flowers - Jon Arno Lawson and Sydney Smith
There was an Old Dragon Who Swallowed a Knight - Penny Klostermann and Ben Mantle
Night World - Mordicai Gerstein
And the winner is...
Sidewalk Flowers!!!
Congratulations to all the winners! It's been a fantastic year for picture books. Thanks for joining me.
