The Moonbeam Children's Book Awards are intended to bring increased recognition to exemplary children’s books and their creators, and to celebrate children’s books and life-long reading. Each year's entries are judged by expert panels of youth educators, librarians, booksellers, and book reviewers of all ages.

Award recipients receive gold, silver and bronze medals and stickers depicting a mother and child reading and silhouetted by a full moon. This year's awards attracted over 800 entries from throughout North America and the English-speaking world. Medals will go to a diverse group of authors, illustrators and publishers from 34 U.S. states, 5 Canadian provinces, and 2 countries overseas.

Many of our award-winning books encourage children to be generous and compassionate, to stand up to bullies, and to believe in fulfilling their dreams. The diversity of the winning publishers proves that promoting childhood literacy knows no boundaries, as medal-winners came not only from long-established publishers and university presses, but from small presses, foundations, and self-published entrepreneurs.

“This year’s Moonbeam award winners confirm that books can change children’s lives,” says Moonbeam Awards founder Jerrold Jenkins, father of four children ranging in ages 8 to 18. “They’ve already had a big impact on the judges and the kids that read them, so we know these books were created to enrich childrens’ lives. The Moonbeams are all about rewarding these books and bringing them to the attention of parents, booksellers, librarians – and to the kids themselves.”

This year's Moonbeam Awards medal ceremony was held in conjunction with the first annual Traverse City Children's Book Festival. The festival featured children’s book authors, illustrators and storybook characters, games and activities meant to inspire children’s interest in books.

To learn more about the Traverse City Children’s Book Festival, visit www.TCChildrensBookFestival.com or become a fan on Facebook, www.facebook.com/tccbf.

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Feature

2010 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards Medalist Results

Announcing the results of our 4th annual awards

Here are the 2010 Moonbeam Awards results, listed by category. These are the best children's books of the year, determined by our Moonbeam judges from the nominated titles. Congratulations to our gold, silver and bronze medalists in all 37 Moonbeam Awards categories, plus the Moonbeam Spirit Award winners. Creating books that inspire our children to read, to learn, and to dream is an extremely important task, and these awards were conceived to reward those efforts. Congratulations to all!

(Click here to visit the Moonbeam Medalist Press page.)

2010 Moonbeam Childrens Book Awards

1. Board Book/Cloth Book
Gold: Duck Goes Potty, by Michael Dahl; illustrated by Oriol Vidal (Capstone Publishers)
Silver: Good Night World, by Adam Gamble; illustrated by Cooper Kelly (Our World of Books)
Bronze: My Purple Toes, by Blair Hahn; illustrated by Tate Nation (My Purple Toes, LLC)

2. Alphabet/Counting Book
Gold: Apples, Apples, 1 2 3, See If You Can Count With Me, by Annette Payne; illustrated by Megan Payne (Me+Math=Magic)
Silver: We're All in the Same Boat, by Zachary Shapiro; illustrated by Jack E. Davis (G.P. Putnam's Sons)
Bronze: Sea Turtles A-Z: Loggy, Greeny & Leather, by Mara Uman Hixon; illustrated by Mark T. Howard (Bluenote Publications)

3. Pop-up/Cut-out
Gold: Animal Babies, by Pascale Hédelin and Stéphanie Herrbach (Owlkids Books)
Silver: Mo Smells Christmas, by Margaret Hyde; illustrations inspired by Amanda Giacomini (Mo's Nose, LLC)
Bronze: ABC's Around the World, by Derek Deselms (Wheelbooks)

4. Activity Book 1 - Games, Arts & Crafts, etc.
Gold: My Beastly Book of Monsters, by Arnaud Boutin (Owlkids Books)
Silver: Art with Anything, by MaryAnn F. Kohl (Gryphon House Books)
Bronze: The Anti-Pirate Potato Cannon and 101 Other Things for Young Mariners to Build, Try & Do on the Water, by David Seidman & Jeff Hemmel (McGraw-Hill)

5. Activity Book 2 - Educational, Science, History, etc.
Gold: A Kid's Guide to Native American History, by Yvonne Wakim Dennis and Arlene Hirschfelder (Chicago Review Press)
Silver: Amazing Africa Projects You Can Build Yourself, by Carla Mooney; illustrated by Megan Stearns (Nomad Press)
Bronze: Language Smarts Level D, by Kathy Erickson and Stephanie Stevens (The Critical Thinking Co.)

6. Book with Music/Theatrical
Gold: Jazz Fly 2, The Jungle Pachanga, by Matthew Gollub; illustrated by Karen Hanke (Tortuga Press)
Silver: Who's That Man? by Marny Duncan-Cary; illustrated by Megan Mansbridge (Your Nickel's Worth Publishing)
Bronze: Fun With Composers "Just for Kids" Volume II, by Deborah Lyn Ziolkoski (Fun with Composers, Inc.)

7. Picture Book - Preschool
Gold: Fur and Feathers, by Janet Halfmann; illustrated by Laurie Allen Klein (Sylvan Dell Publishing)
Silver: We Love the Company: A Story About Table Manners, by Angela Russ-Ayon; illustrated by Irina A. Mirskaya (Our Rainbow Press)
Bronze: Willie Whale: Where Are You?, by Annette Payne; illustrated by Megan Payne (Me+Math=Magic)

8. Picture Book - 4-8 Year Old
Gold: Grandma's Pear Tree, by Suzanne Santillan; illustrated by Atilio Pernisco (Raven Tree Press)
Silver (tie): Sneaky Sheep, by Chris Monroe (Carolrhoda) and My Grandpa's Coaching Third, by Janet Mary Sinke; illustrated by Craig Pennington (My Grandma and Me Publishers)
Bronze: More Bears! by Kenn Nesbitt; illustrated by Troy Cummings (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky)

9. Picture Book - All Ages
Gold: The Fish House Door, by Robert F. Baldwin; illustrated by Astrid Sheckels (Islandport Press)
Silver: The Scariest Dream Ever, by Maria T. DiVencenzo; illustrated by Alixandra Martin (Winterlake Press)
Bronze (tie): Zelda, Esmeralda, and the Big Blue Sea, by Susan Elizabeth Ross; illustrated by Bonnie Bews (Yellow Toadstool Press) and In the Indian Night Sky, by Reshma Sapre; illustrated by Jayme Robinson (Hathi Chiti Books for Kids)

10. Juvenile Fiction - Early Reader/1st Chapter books
Gold: Runt Farm: Under New Management, by Amanda Lorenzo; illustrated by Mark Evan Walker (BooktiMookti Press)
Silver (tie): Herman, by Tyler Roberson (Annotation Press) and Katie Woo: The Best Season Ever, by Fran Manushkin; illustrated by Tammie Lyon (Picture Window Books)
Bronze: Mitzvah the Mutt, by Sylvia Rouss; illustrated by Martha Rast (Yaldah Publishing)

11. Pre-Teen Fiction - General
Gold: I, Emma Freke, by Elizabeth Atkinson (Carolrhoda)
Silver (tie): Follow the Elephant, by Beryl Young (Ronsdale Press) and Searching for Hannerester, by Marion Page (Radiant Hen Publishing)
Bronze: The Model President, by Brian Tacang (HarperCollins)

12. Pre-Teen Fiction - Fantasy
Gold (tie): Wrush: The Secret Worlds of Tabetha Bright, by The Karakul (Emerald Book Co.) and Merlin's Dragon: Doomraga's Revenge, by T.A. Barron (Philomel/Penguin Group USA)
Silver: Year of the Golden Dragon, by B.L. Sauder (Coteau Books)
Bronze: Hunter Brown and the Consuming Fire, by the Miller Brothers (Warner Press)

13. Pre-Teen Fiction - Historical/Cultural
Gold: Boy of the Border, by Arna Bontemps and Langston Hughes (Sweet Earth Flying Press)
Silver: The Kulak's Daughter, by Gabriele Goldstone (Tire Swing Books)
Bronze: George Brunt: Young Pioneer of Eagle Rock, by Connie B. Otteson

13a. Pre-Teen Fiction - Mystery
Gold: Missing Grace: A Kit Mystery, by Elizabeth McDavid Jones (American Girl) Silver: The River Rats: Riddle Me a Mystery, by Hank Racer (High Pitched Hum Publishing)
Bronze: The Secret of the Sacred Scarab, by Fiona Ingram (iUniverse)

14. Young Adult Fiction - General
Gold: The Freak Observer, by Blythe Woolston (Carolrhoda Lab)
Silver: Runaway Storm, by D.E. Knobbe (Emerald Book Co.)
Bronze (tie): Desta and King Solomon's Coin of Magic and Fortune, by Getty Ambau (Falcon Press International) and Survivor's Leave, by Robert Sutherland (Ronsdale Press)

15. Young Adult Fiction - Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Gold: Dreamfire, by Nicole Luiken (Great Plains Teen Fiction)
Silver (tie): The Purloined Boy, by Mortimus Clay (Finster Press) and The Dragon of Two Hearts, by Donald Samson (Awsna Publications)
Bronze: Kestrel's Midnight Song, by J.R. Parker (Flaming Pen Press)

16. Young Adult Fiction - Horror/Mystery
Gold: Picture the Dead, by Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown (Sourcebooks Fire)
Silver: FreeK Camp, by Steve Burt (Burt Creations)
Bronze: The Ghosts of Lone Jack, by Lance Lee Noel (Spinning Moon Press)

17. Young Adult Fiction - Historical/Cultural
Gold: Hellie Jondoe, by Randall Platt (Texas Tech University Press)
Silver: Once There Was and Will Never Be Again, by Gloria Siers (Autumnberry Hill)
Bronze: There Are No Words, by Mary Calhoun Brown (Lucky Press)

18. Young Adult Fiction - Religion/Spirituality
Gold: Summer Sanctuary, by Laurie Gray (Luminis Books)
Silver: Golden's Rule, by C.E. Edmonson (Pleasant Word)
Bronze: Spring's Gift of Hope, by Monique Niemaszyk (By Way of the Family Press)

 

19. Young Adult Fiction - Mature Issues
Gold: Van Diemen at 17, by Jeania Kimbrough (Smoke Signal Press)
Silver: Face Off, by Maureen Ulrich (Coteau Books for Teens)
Bronze: Cutters Don't Cry, by Christine Dzidrums (Creative Media Publishing)

20. Children's Poetry
Gold: Poetry Speaks Who I Am, Edited by Elise Paschen (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky)
Silver: A Fork in the Road, by Mozz (Goofy Guru Publishing)
Bronze (tie): Tim and Sally's Year in Poems, by Grady Thrasher (Jonquil Books) and Ivy in Bloom: the Poetry of Spring, by Vanita Oelschlager (VanitaBooks)

21. Non-Fiction - Picture Book
Gold (tie): A Child's Introduction to the World: Geography, Cultures and People, by Heather Alexander (Black Dog & Leventhal) and Going Home: The Mystery of Animal Migration, by Marianne Berkes; illustrated by Jennifer DiRubbio (Dawn Publications)
Silver: Ripley's Believe It or Not: Oceans, by Camilla de la Bedoyere (Ripley Publishing)
Bronze: The Boy Who Conquered Everest: The Jordan Romero Story, by Katherine Blanc with Jordan Romero (Balboa Press)

22. Non-Fiction - Young Adult
Gold: Frank Lloyd Wright and his New American Architecture, by Bob Kahn (Wisconsin Historical Society Press)
Silver (tie): Ripley's Believe It or Not: Enter If You Dare, by Geoff Tibballs (Ripley Publishing) and Birmingham Sunday, by Larry Dane Brimner (Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills Press)
Bronze: Frozen Secrets: Antarctica Revealed, by Sally M. Walker (Carolrhoda Books)

23. Multicultural - Picture Book
Gold: Benno and the Night of Broken Glass, by Meg Wiviott; illustrated by Josée Bisaillon (Kar-Ben Publishing)
Silver: For a Girl Becoming, by Joy Harjo; illustrated by Mercedes McDonald (University of Arizona Press)
Bronze: Mohala Mai ‛O Hau (How Hau Became Hau‛ula), by Robert Lono ‛Ikuwā; illustrated by Matthew Kāwika Ortiz (Kamehameha Publishing)

24. Multicultural Non-Fiction - Young Adult
Gold: Bonyo Bonyo: The True Story of a Brave Boy from Kenya, by Vanita Oelschlager; illustrated by Kristin Blackwood and Mike Blanc (VanitaBooks) Silver: The Story of the American Indian, written and illustrated by Sydney E. Fletcher (Axios for Young People)
Bronze: Native Musicians: In the Groove, by Vincent Schilling (7th Generation)

25. Comic/Graphic Novel
Gold: The Tall Tale of Paul Bunyan, by Martin Powell; illustrated by Aaron Blecha (Stone Arch/Capstone)
Silver: Flabbergast: Science Friction, by Mark Mariano (My Pal Mark)
Bronze: Yellowstone's Hot Legends and Cool Myths, by Robert Rath (Farcountry Press) 26. Religion/Spirituality

Gold: Today I Found God, by Greg Long; illustrated by Nathan Wondrak (Halo Publishing) Silver: St. Cecilia's Orchestra, by Michael O'Neill McGrath and Alan J. Hommerding (World Library Publications) Bronze: The Little Manger Mouse, by Phyllis Didleau; illustrated by Gretchen Gackstatter (Mother's House Publishing)

27. Holiday
Gold: The Princess and the Kiss: The Three Gifts of Christmas, by Jennie Bishop; illustrated by Preston McDaniels (Warner Press)
Silver: Native American Night Before Christmas, adapted & written by Gary Robinson; illustrated by Jesse T. Hummingbird (Clear Light Publishers)
Bronze: Marsipity, by Barbie McConnell; illustrated by Rusty Gregory (Olive Leaf Press)

28. Book with Merchandise (plush toy, etc.)
Gold: A Light in the Night, by Sandy Harsanyi Murphy (CCA and B)
Silver: Life is a Bowl of Cherry Pits, by Tanya Sousa; illustrated by Katie Flindall (Radiant Hen Publishing)
Bronze: Sophie's Tales: Learning to Listen, by Melanie Paticoff (Sophie's Tales, LLC)

29. Spanish Language Book
Gold: Katie del Desierto Sonorense (Katie of the Sonoran Desert), by Kate Jackson; illustrated by Natalie Rowe (Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Press)
Silver: Teo va al Circo (Teo Goes to the Circus), by Adam Del Rio; illustrated by Noel Ill (Lectura Books)
Bronze: Cuando Tu Camión Escolar Se Va a México (When Your School Bus Goes to Mexico), by M.S. Holm; illustrated by Hermelinda Vargas (Sentry Books/Great West Publishing)

30. Environmental Issues
Gold (tie): Not Your Typical Book About the Environment, by Elin Kelsey; illustrated by Clayton Hanmer (Owlkids Books) amd Hannah and the Talking Tree, by Elke Weiss (Free Focus Publishing)
Silver: Bear-ly There, by Rebekah Raye (Tilbury House Publishers)
Bronze: You Can Be a Nature Detective, by Peggy Kochanoff (Mountain Press)

31. Health Issues
Gold: The Little King and his Marshmallow Kingdom, by Louis Rotella III; illustrated by Mark Chickinelli (Ata-Boy Productions)
Silver (tie): My Big Fat Secret, by Lynn R. Schecter; illustrated by Jason Chin (Magination Press) and The One and Only Sam, by Aileen Stalker; illustrated by Bob Spencer (Jessica Kingsley Publishers)
Bronze: Your Treasure Hunt: Disabilities and Finding Your Gold, by Katherine Schneider, PhD (Beaver's Pond Press)

32. Mind-Body-Spirit/Self-Esteem
Gold: What Does It Mean To Be Present? by Rana DiOrio; illustrated by Eliza Wheeler (Little Pickle Press) Silver (tie): Beyoutiful! by Julie Marie Carrier (Positive Role Model Press) and Dolltopia, by Abby Denson (Green Candy Press) Bronze: The Little Hope Book, by Leah Alagna; illustrated by Josh Hunter (Ecliptic Visions)

33. Reading Skills/Literacy
Gold: Magic Letters: The Keys to the World of Words, by Julie Rebboah; illustrated by Loryn Brantz (Lightning Bug Learning Press)
Silver (tie): Attack of the Chicken Nugget Man, by Kumar Sathy; illustrated by Franfou Studio (Student Solutions) and The Do-It-Yourself Storytelling Flip-Over Picture Book, by Jehan Clements
Bronze: Happy Rhymes 2, by Jenny Dooley and Virginia Evans (Express Publishing)

34. Best First Book - Picture Book
Gold: Harvey the Child Mime, by Loryn Brantz (Hometown 520)
Silver: Moonlight Memoirs: Remembering that Family and Friends are Forever, by Maggie Mei Lewis; illustrated by Melody Lea Lamb (Good Times Press)
Bronze (tie): Chippy Chipmunk Parties in the Garden, by Kathy M. Miller (Celtic Sunrise) and Little Chief and Mighty Gopher: The Pemmican Frenzy, by Victor Lethbridge; illustrated by Ben Crane (Tatanka Productions)

35. Best First Book - Chapter Book
Gold: Runaway Storm, by D.E. Knobbe (Emerald Book Co.)
Silver: Travels with Gannon and Wyatt: Botswana, by Patti Wheeler and Keith Hemstreet (Claimstake Publishing)
Bronze: The Big Red Bike, by E. J. Tims (Jettster Publishing)

36. Best Illustrator
Gold: Wendy Edelson, for Bartholomew's Gift, by Diane Dignan (Ferne Press)
Silver: Jenniffer Julich, for Hilda: A Very Loyal Goat, by Jennifer Liu Bryan (Next Chapter Press)
Bronze (tie): Aaron Kawai‛ae‛a, for Kohala Kuamo‛o: Nae‛ole's Race to Save a King, by Kakauleleanae‛ole Kawai‛ae‛a (Kamehameha Publishing) and Virginia McCoy, for The Rabbits' Race, by Deborah L. Delaronde (Theytus Books)

 

Moonbeam Spirit Awards - For dedication to children’s literacy and inspired writing, illustrating and publishing. All recipients receive gold medals.

Original Storytelling: Fishtailing, by Wendy Phillips (Coteau Books)

Family Values: Skunk Tales: Making Sense of Scents, by Lynn Marie Hurtado (New Lineage)

Patriotism: Klinger: A Story of Honor and Hope, by Betsy Beard; illustrated by Shelley Johannes (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors)

American Heritage: Songs of Freedom: A Journey on the Underground Railroad, by Bryan Marshall & David Marshall; illustrated by Wil Clay (Blue Sky Project)

Native Folklore: Dancing in My Bones, by Wilfred Burton and Anne Patton; illustrated by Sherry Farrell Racette; translated by Norman Fleury (Gabriel Dumont Institute)

* * * * *

This was our first year holding the Moonbeam Awards medal presentation ceremony in our hometown of Traverse City, Michigan, during the first Traverse City Children’s Book Festival: www.TCChildrensBookFestival.com.

See the entire collection of 285 photos from the festival and awards ceremony at www.pictage.com/957273.


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