The 2010 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards

Horn Book-Boston Globe 2010 Picture Book winner.

 

The 2010 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards were announced earlier this week, and I was thrilled to see one of my favorites from last year, John Burningham's It's a Secret (reviewed here) win in the Picture Book Category.  Other winners include: The Lion and the Mouse (which has basically swept all the awards circles as I knew it would.) (Note to self, why do I still not own The Lion and the Mouse?  For shame.)  and Laurel Croza's I Know Here, which I have wanted to read since I came across a review of it on kid-lit blog A Year of Reading: I Know Here is illustrated by Matt James, a Canadian painter and illustrator--I will be keeping my eye on his work, because I love it's rough realism.

First and foremost, this is a powerful story of moving and leaving a place that you love--finding ways to hold onto it after you are gone. If I were in the classroom, it would definitely be one I'd use early in the school year to invite kids to try different types of writing. A great writing mentor text. But it can also start conversations about setting or a sense of place in a story. And the illustrations are unique and stunning.

 

I can't find a good picture of this cover!