MAKING SENSE OF DEADLY DISEASES, MEDICAL FIASCOES AND DAMAGING HOAXES:

GAIL JARROW WILL RECEIVE THE 2022 CHILDREN’S BOOK GUILD NONFICTION AWARD 

The Children’s Book Guild of Washington, D.C. has selected Gail Jarrow as the 2022 Nonfiction Award winner. The award, given annually since 1977, honors authors and author/illustrators whose body of work has contributed significantly to the quality of nonfiction for children.

In her nonfiction books for young readers, Gail Jarrow has explained challenging topics—including dreadful diseases, medical fiascoes, and damaging hoaxes--with narrative verve, well-researched facts, and fascinating details. Although her books focus on events in the 19th and 20th centuries—including The Poison Eaters:
Fighting Danger and Fraud in Our Food and Drugs, Spooked!: How A Radio
Broadcast and The War of the Worlds Sparked the 1938 Invasion of America, and Blood and Germs: The Civil War Battle Against Wounds and Disease–they nevertheless hold great relevance and wisdom for today’s young readers. Her nonfiction books, the last eleven of which have been published by Calkins Creek, are wonderfully produced, with appealing designs and compelling archival images. Her latest book, Ambushed!: The Assassination Plot Against James Garfield, will be published October 12, 2021.

The Nonfiction Award Committee for this year consists of Abby Nolan, Yukari Matsuyama and Catherine Reef, as well as emeritus member Liane Rosenblatt.

Gail Jarrow will be honored by the Children’s Book Guild on May 19, 2022.  

SPEAKER SERIES

AUTHOR JEWELL PARKER RHODES

Thursday, October 21 @ 1:00pm
 

In the Children’s Book Guild’s October Program, author Dr. Jewell Parker Rhodes will discuss her new book Paradise on Fire, a powerful coming-of-age survival tale exploring issues of race, class, and climate change. Jewell Parker Rhodes will be presenting on Zoom  at 1 pm on Thursday, October 21.
 

Jewell Parker Rhodes is an award-winning and bestselling author and educator for both youth and adults. She is the author of seven books for children including the New York Times bestsellers Black Brother and Ghost Boys, which has won over 30 honors and awards. Her other books include Towers Falling, the celebrated Louisiana Girls Trilogy: Ninth Ward, Sugar, and Bayou Magic.  Her newest book, Paradise on Fire, was published in September 2021.
 

Jewell is the author of six adult novels: Voodoo Dreams, Magic City, Douglass’ Women, Season, Moon, and Hurricane, as well as the memoir Porch Stories: A Grandmother’s Guide to Happiness, and two writing guides, Free Within Ourselves: Fiction Lessons for Black Authors and The African American Guide to Writing and Publishing Non-Fiction.
 

She has won the American Book Award, the Black Caucus of the American Library Award for Literary Excellence, a Coretta Scott King Honor Award, and the Jane Addams Peace Association Book Award.
 

Jewell has visited hundreds of schools across the country and is a regular speaker at colleges and conferences. The driving force behind all of Jewell’s work is to inspire social justice, equity, and environmental stewardship.
 

Jewell is the Founding Artistic Director of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing and Narrative Studies Professor and Virginia G. Piper Endowed Chair at Arizona State University. She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Carnegie-Mellon University. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she currently lives in Seattle.

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Children's Book Guild of Washington, DC: Book Highlights 2021

The following video was presented at the Children's Book Guild's Nonfiction Award Event honoring author Catherine Reef, which took place on May 22, 2021. It features highlights of books published by Guild authors and illustrators within the previous two years.

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by Deborah Taylor

Eloise Greenfield was a trailblazer whose extraordinary books of poetry and prose influenced many and continue to resonate with children today. Her rich body of work will always inspire and enrich readers.

Ms. Greenfield was born in Parmele, North Carolina and was a longtime resident of Washington, D.C. Early in life, she discovered a love of reading and writing and realized there were few books that showed the fullness of African American life. She published her first book in 1972 and went on to write and publish more than 45 books. She was still publishing outstanding work right up through this year. So many were inspired by her work, but she was also a role model for doing the work she loved with dignity and integrity. She was outspoken about making sure that her picture book texts provided opportunities for illustrators of color. Indeed, her book, Grandpa’s Face was the first project of Floyd Cooper, who also recently passed way.

In 2018, she was named the winner of the Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award for her body of work. continue reading

The Children’s Book Guild of Washington, DC, is committed to the fight for racial justice and support for Black lives. Please click on the links above for information on organizations to support, and readings to help educate and inspire positive change.