Correll Book Awards honor a pair of children’s books

Two children’s books are being honored with 2017 Correll Book Awards for Excellence in Early Childhood Informational Text.

The winner in the 4- to 8-year-old age category is “Their Great Gift: Courage, Sacrifice, and Hope in a New Land,” written by John Coy with photos by Wing Huie. The photo essay was selected unanimously by the Correll Committee for its timely celebration of the many contributions immigrant families have shared with the United States.

The winner in the birth to age 3 category is J.A. Barnes’ “Show Me Your Day.” It is the first board book selected by the committee. The diverse representations of children and excellent relationship between the text and photos made “Show Me Your Day” the committee’s top choice.

The winners will be honored at the Correll Early Literacy Conference on Saturday April 29 at Wells Conference Center.

This is the sixth year of the Correll Book Awards, created to bring attention to quality informational texts for young children. Susan Bennett-Armistead, an associate professor of literacy education at the University of Maine, chairs the seven-member Correll Committee, which selects the winners.

Books are honored for being appropriate to each age group, as well as being engaging and accurate sources of information for young children. All of the winning books were published in English in the U.S. during the previous calendar year.