Ezra Jack Keats Award Winners and Honors for 2024 Announced
Mon, 02/26/2024 - 10:53am
(EJK Foundation), in partnership with the (USM), recently announced the winners of the (EJK Award), as well as four honor books and four finalists. The annual EJK Award celebrates exceptional early career authors and illustrators for portraying the multicultural nature of our world in the spirit of Ezra Jack Keats.
The award ceremony will be held Thursday, April 11 at 12:30 p.m. ET, during the Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival at USM’s Hattiesburg campus. The ceremony will be livestreamed beginning at 1 p.m. ET – .
The 2024 Ezra Jack Keats Award Winner for Writer is:
for Nell Plants a Tree; illustrated by Daniel Miyares; published by Balzer & Bray/ Harper Collins
The 2024 Ezra Jack Keats Award Winner for Illustrator is:
for The Only Way to Make Bread; written by Cristina Quintero; published by Tundra/Penguin Random House Canada
The 2024 Ezra Jack Keats Award Honors are:
Writer Honors:
for Just Like Grandma; illustrated by Julie Flett; published by Heartdrum/HarperCollins
for Sora’s Seashells; illustrated by Stella Lim; published by Candlewick Press
Illustrator Honors:
for Dancing Hands; written by Joanna Que & Charina Marquez; published by Chronicle Books
for Benito Juárez Fights for Justice; published by Godwin/Henry Holt
Writer Finalists:
& Michelle Pereira for The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name; published by Abrams/Abrams Books for Young Readers
for When You Can Swim; published by Orchard Books/Scholastic
Illustration Finalists:
for Remembering; published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
for Lucky Me; published by Orca Books
Deborah Pope, executive director of the EJK Foundation, said, “The 2024 EJK Award and Honor books are filled with the same joy and sense of recognition that have made EJK’s books beloved classics. This year the stories we celebrate include the deft resolution of tensions that often come with cultural differences, reflect children’s concern with conservation and highlight precious intergenerational connections, all through the lens of diversity, kindness, and humor. These books are bound to delight children for decades!”
Karlie Herndon, curator of the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection and the Ezra Jack Keats Papers at USM, said, “The EJK Award supports so much more than good books: it recognizes the bravery, integrity, and creativity of new writers and illustrators working today to show up for the child readers who need their stories. I am so proud to be a part of an award that uplifts these creators while continuing to impart the Keats spirit in the world of picture book publishing.”
On winning the Writer Award, Anne Wynter said, “Thank you to the committee for consistently celebrating diversity and recognizing how vital it is for children to see themselves in – not just a single book – but in many books! I’m so grateful to be a part of Ezra Jack Keats’ extraordinary and enduring legacy.”
On winning the Illustrator Award, Sarah Gonzales said, “The EJK Award illuminates human uniqueness and togetherness, the traits of Keats’ work that inspire me. In my resilient immigrant family, we were strong, as individuals and as a group. With Cristina’s beautiful words I hoped to represent the strength of sharing as a community, the warmth of childhood memories and the happiness of baking bread.”
About the Ezra Jack Keats Award
Since its inception, the EJK Award has celebrated over 100 for portraying the multicultural nature of our world, the universal experience of
childhood and the importance of family and community. Past winners include now renowned
bookmakers Oge Mora, Meg Medina, Christian Robinson, Bryan Collier, and Sophie Blackall.
The Ezra Jack Keats Award is co-produced by the EJK Foundation and the de Grummond Collection. A of children’s literature and early childhood education specialists, librarians, authors, and illustrators review the entries and announce the winners and honorees.
About the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation
The has fostered children’s creativity and love of reading since 1964. The Foundation
administers the EJK Bookmaking Competition, for grades 3-12, in the nation’s largest
school system; and with the EJK Award, encourages exceptional early career authors
and illustrators to create children’s books that reflect our diverse culture. The
30 minute documentary, , made by the EJK Foundation to bring attention to the giants who have and continue
to work to address the need for inclusive children’s books, has been used in over
120 libraries and universities across the country for training and as part of course
curriculum. The EJK Foundation is proud to protect and promote the work of Ezra Jack
Keats.
About Ezra Jack Keats and the Impact of The Snowy Day
(1916-1983) is considered one of America’s greatest children’s book illustrators
and authors. The first book he both wrote and illustrated was which was published in 1962 and awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1963. He went on to
write and illustrate over 20 now classic books including Peter’s Chair, Whistle for Willie and A Letter to Amy. Keats wanted no child to be an outsider and his books reflect his desire for a better
world for all children, “If we are to invest in the future, it must be by really concerning
ourselves with what goes inside our kids.”
The Snowy Day broke the color barrier in mainstream children’s publishing by being embraced across social and ethnic lines. The vivid illustrations and text, beloved by generations of readers, have earned it a place in the pantheon of great children’s literature. The Library of Congress identifies it as a book that has shaped America.
About the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection
Theis one of North America’s leading children’s literature research centers. Founded
in 1966 by Dr. Lena Y. de Grummond, the Collection holds the original manuscripts
and illustrations of more than 1,400 authors and illustrators, as well as 200,000+
published books dating from 1530 to the present. The collection contains the works
of many notable authors and illustrators including Randolph Caldecott, John Newbery,
Kate Greenaway, and H.A. and Margret Rey, as well as the papers of the young adult
author, John Green, and the Ezra Jack Keats Papers. Researchers from across the United
States and around the world visit the collection on a regular basis to study its extensive
holdings.