Easy Reader Cork and Fuzz: The Babysitters Wins 2011 Burr/Worzalla Award

The 2011 Elizabeth Burr/Worzalla Award winner is the sixth book from the popular and loveable easy reader series, Cork and Fuzz: The Babysitters, written by Wisconsin native Dori Chaconas and published by the Viking Group. The Children’s Book Award Committee of the Wisconsin Library Association’s Youth Services Section annually awards the Burr/Worzalla to the most distinguished work in literature for children written and/or illustrated by a Wisconsin book creator.

In Cork and Fuzz: The Babysitters, Dori Chaconas tells another chapter in the lives of her characters Cork and Fuzz, the muskrat and possum duo. Dori tells a charming and amusing story, weaving in lots of humor and fun, with a good lesson to be learned as Cork and Fuzz learn the responsibilities of babysitting and the importance of helping others.

The Children’s Book Award Committee also named Barbara Joosse the 2011 Notable Wisconsin Author/Illustrator for her contribution to the world of children’s literature. To also recognize nominated books the Committee thought noteworthy, 5 titles were selected for Outstanding Achievement in Children’s Literature, written and/or illustrated by Wisconsin book creators:
My Garden by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow Books)
Shark vs. Train illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld (Little Brown and Co.)
Art and Max by David Wiesner (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
The Boys by Jeff Newman (Simon & Schuster)
The Reinvention of Edison Thomas by Jacqueline Houtman (Front Street)

The Elizabeth Burr/Worzalla Award is made possible by the Worzalla Publishing Company, Stevens Point, through a grant to the WLA Foundation.

The 2011 Children’s Book Award Committee members consist of Linda Jerome, La Crosse Public Library, Chair; Barbara Huntington, retired, DPI-DLTCL; Ruhama Kordatzky; Jennifer McNaughton, Greendale Public Library; Jeni Schomber, Beloit Public Library; Elizabeth Timmins, Muehl Public Library; Dawn Wacek, Rice Lake Public Library.