Julie Gribble and Rocco Staino Receive Reader to Reader's Norton Juster Award

Congratulations to Julie Gribble and Rocco Staino of KidLit TV, who are this year’s recipients of Reader to Reader’s annual Norton Juster Award for Devotion to Literacy.

The award was presented November 12th at the 28th Annual Children’s Illustration Celebration at the R. Michelson Galleries in Northampton, MA.

Julie Gribble created (and Rocco Staino hosts) the first talk show that explore the world of children's books for kids and their grown-ups!

“A talk show about children’s literature is such a brilliant idea,” said Reader to Reader founder David Mazor. “And nobody can read a story aloud to children better than Rocco! We are so pleased to recognize them for their outstanding contributions to literacy.”

Since 2008, Reader to Reader, a nonprofit organization based in Amherst, Massachusetts that has donated over $50 million of books, computers and school supplies world-wide, has been honoring those that have devoted their lives to literacy.

Past winners are an illustrious group of authors, illustrators, and enthusiastic advocates for the special magic contained in books.

Winners include:  Norton Juster. Julius Lester, Jane Yolen, Wendell Minor, Anita Silvey, Leonard Marcus, H. Nichols B. Clark, Jerry J. Mallett, and Susannah Richards.

Author Julius Lester Receives Norton Juster Award

Congratulations to acclaimed author Julius Lester, this year’s recipient of Reader to Reader’s Norton Juster Award for Devotion to Literacy.

Julius Lester has been a powerful force in children's literature since his 1968 To Be a Slave won a Newberry Honor and acclaim from Smithsonian Magazine, the New York Times, and the American Library Association for its compelling stories, told through the letters and testimony of slaves themselves. Since then, his works have continued to garner accolades, and as an educator and author, he has been recognized by his peers with numerous awards in both fields.

The Norton Juster Award for Devotion to Literacy is given annually to a person who has played a prominent role in encouraging literacy and reading enjoyment. Their lifetime devotion to literacy is a shining example of the impact an individual can have on this vital issue.

(photo credit: Seth Kaye Photography)

Congratulations to Leonard Marcus

We were honored to present our annual Norton Juster Award for Devotion to Literacy Award to Leonard Marcus on Sunday at the Michelson Gallery's 24th Annual Children's Illustration Exhibit kick-off. 

A celebrated historian of children's literature, who has written 25 books and thousands of book reviews, and is the curator of the New York Public Library's landmark exhibition "The ABC of It: Why Children's Books Matter," Leonard Marcus has done so much to legitimize the study of children's literature and to expand our understanding of it.

Thank you for your lifelong commitment to children's literacy, Leonard!

Anita Silvey Receives Norton Juster Award for Devotion to Literacy

Reader to Reader is pleased to announce that Anita Silvey is the 2012 recipient of the Norton Juster Award for Devotion to Literacy.

The award is given out annually by Reader to Reader to honor people that have had a significant impact on literacy.

Past award winners include Norton Juster, Jane Yolen, Wendell Minor and Roger Sutton.

The award was presented at the opening reception for the 23rd Annual Children's Illustration Exhibit, which was held on November 11 at the R. Michelson Galleries in Northampton, Massachusetts.

The award was presented by author Norton Juster (whom the award was renamed in honor of in 2009) and Reader to Reader founder David Mazor.

The author of 100 Best Books for Children and 500 Great Books for Teens, Anita Silvey has devoted 40 years to promoting books that will turn the young—and families—into readers. To do this she has appeared frequently on NPR, The Today Show, 60 Minutes, and radio programs in the United States and Canada to talk about books for children and teenagers. As Publisher's Weekly has said "It would be hard to find a more authoritative voice than Anita Silvey."

As publisher of children’s books for Houghton Mifflin Company from 1995-2001, she oversaw all the children’s book and young adult publishing for both the Houghton and Clarion lists, including such well-known authors and illustrators as H. A. and Margret Rey, Virginia Lee Burton, David Macaulay, Lois Lowry, Allen Say, David Wiesner, Karen Cushman, Linda Sue Park, and Chris Van Allsburg.

In a unique career in the children’s book field, Ms. Silvey has divided her time equally between publishing and evaluating children’s books. But her lifelong conviction that “only the very best of anything can be good enough for the young” forms the cornerstone of all of her work. Prior to her role as publisher, Ms. Silvey served for eleven years as Editor-in-Chief of The Horn Book Magazine, a publication many call “the Bible of children’s literature.” As Editor of Horn Book, she read several thousand books a year, hunting for those of exceptional quality that children return to again and again.

”We are very pleased to recognize Anita Silvey’s passion for children’s literature and the key role she has played in helping others identify books worth giving and reading to their children,” David Mazor said.

Roger Sutton Receives Norton Juster Award

Reader to Reader is pleased to announce that the Horn Book editor in chief Roger Sutton is the recipient of the 2011 Norton Juster Award for Devotion to Literacy.

The award is given annually by Reader to Reader to a person who has played a
prominent role in encouraging literacy and reading enjoyment.

The award was created in 2008 and the first recipient was The Phantom Tollbooth author Norton Juster.

The award was renamed in his honor the following year.

Subsequent recipients were authors Jane Yolen in 2009 and Wendell Minor in 2010.

This year's award was presented to Roger Sutton before the hundreds of people attending the opening reception at the 22nd Annual Children's Book Illustration Exhibition.

“We are so pleased to honor Roger Sutton,” Reader to Reader founder David Mazor said. “He has played such an important role in helping people distinguish good children’s literature from bad. It is so important, because young reader’s get hooked on reading when they discover high quality storytelling and exceptional illustration.”

About this year’s recipient:

As the editor in chief of the Horn Book, Roger Sutton is only the seventh editor in chief since the magazine was founded in 1924. The Horn Book Magazine was created to “blow the horn for fine books for boys and girls.” And that is something it has done extraordinarily well. With an MA in library science from the University of Chicago, Sutton worked as a children's librarian for eight years before becoming a full-time book review editor. He has served as a judge for every major children's book award, and frequently teaches and speaks about children's books. His most recent book is A Family of Readers: The Book Lover's Guide to Children's and Young Adult Literature, which he co-edited with Martha Parravano.

Join Us November 6 for an Amazing, Fun, Free Event!

Join us Sunday, November 6 at the Michelson Galleries in Northampton, MA, as Reader to Reader presents our annual Norton Juster Award for Devotion to Literacy to Roger Sutton, editor of the Horn Book.

The award will presented at the opening reception for the 22nd Annual Children's Book Illustration Exhibition.

This free event features 50 of the world’s most famous illustrators, including Mo Willems, Jane Dyer, Diane DeGroat, Barry Moser and Wendell Minor.

Don’t miss special guest Jules Feiffer on the 50th anniversary of his classic The Phantom Tollbooth.

Reception 4:30-6:30pm.
Ceremony and entertainment begins at 5:30.

R. MICHELSON GALLERIES
132 Main Street
Northampton, MA

Still not convinced? Here's 22 reasons to come to the 22nd Annual Illustration Exhibition.

Jane Yolen Receives Norton Juster Award

Hailed as "America's Hans Christian Andersen,” writer Jane Yolen is the 2009 receipient of Reader To Reader’s “Norton Juster Award for Devotion to Literacy.”

The award was presented November 8th at the 20th Annual Children’s Illustration Show at the R. Michelson Galleries in Northampton, MA.

Yolen has written over 300 books, won numerous awards, and been given six honorary doctorates in literature. Her writing spans diverse genres, including folklore, fantasy, science fiction, and children's literature.

Yolen has been a generous donor to Reader To Reader, including donating hundreds of books for the children that were affected by Hurricane Katrina.

We are pleased to recognize her for her outstanding contribution to literacy.