WLA Awards Kevin Henkes Elizabeth Burr/Worzalla Award

The WLA recently named Madison author Kevin Henkes winner of the 2005 Elizabeth Burr/Worzalla Award for Kitten’s First Full Moon, published by Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins in 2004.

Shawn Brommer, chair of the Children’s Book Award Committee of the Youth Services Section of WLA, said the committee selected the book from dozens of contenders written by Wisconsin authors. Committee members were impressed by its simple story told elegantly in black and white charcoal drawings.

WLA will formally present the award, which includes a $1,000 honorarium, to Mr. Henkes at the WLA annual conference in October. Mr. Henkes will also do a book signing and speak at the conference, which attracts approximately 1,100 librarians, staff, and trustees from throughout the state.

Other top contenders for the award were named the Burr/Worzalla Outstanding Books of 2005: With Courage and Cloth: Winning the Fight for a Woman’s Right to Vote, by Ann Bausum, (National Geographic, 2004); Godless, by Pete Hautman (Simon & Schuster, 2004); Blue Jasmine, by Kashmira Sheth (Hyperion, 2004). The 2005 Notable Author is S.D. Schindler, who received the recognition for his body of work.

The Elizabeth Burr/Worzalla Award is made possible by the Worzalla Publishing Company of Stevens Point, through a grant to the Wisconsin Library Association Foundation. Members of the 2005 Children’s Book Award Committee: Shawn Brommer (Chair), South Central Library System; Roxane Bartelt, Kenosha Public Library; Geri Ceci Cupery, Madison Public Library; Marge Loch-Wouters, Elisha D. Smith Public Library - Menasha; Maryann Owen, Racine Public Library; Pam Penn, Milwaukee Public Schools; and Sue Marie Rendall, Portage County Public Library – Stevens Point.