The Association of Booksellers for Children has announced that the recipient of the prestigious 2005 E.B. White Read Aloud Award is Wild About Books (Knopf, 2004), written by Judy Sierra and illustrated by Marc Brown.

The E.B. White Read Aloud Award, established in 2004, honors a book that reflects the universal read aloud standards that were created by the work of author E.B. White in his classic books for children: Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little, and The Trumpet of the Swan. Members of the Association of Booksellers for Children (ABC) select one book a year for this distinction based on its universal appeal as a “terrific” read aloud book for children. This award encompasses both picture books and novels.

Wild About Books is a rollicking rhymed story of Molly the librarian who accidentally drives her bookmobile to the zoo and introduces the birds and beasts to a new something called reading. Molly finds the perfect book for each animal — tall books for giraffes, small books for crickets, joke books for hyenas – and has them going “wild, simply wild, about wonderful books.” Author Judy Sierra combines clever prose with laugh-out-loud book selections for the animals like:

“She even found waterproof books for the otter,

who never went swimming without Harry Potter”

The original nominations originated from the bookstore membership of the ABC. The committee members responsible for selecting the winning book from the submitted nominations include:

Chairperson:

Carol Moyer, Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh, NC;

Committee Members:

Beth Puffer, Bank Street Books, New York, NY;

Cammie Manino, Halfway Down the Stairs, Rochester, MI;

Ellen Mager, Booktenders Secret Garden, Doylestown, PA;

Nicole White, Vroman’s Bookstore, Pasadena, CA.

Award committee member Ellen Mager sings the selection’s praises, “Wild About Books has such a beautiful flow to it. Adults get a kick out of the reading as much as the kids. The illustrations are as bouncy as the text.”

Anne Irish, Executive Director, Association of Booksellers for Children is particularly excited about this year’s announcement. “Last year was the inaugural year for the E.B. White Read Aloud Award and the response was really thrilling. Reading aloud to your children is such an important component to nurturing a love of books when children are very young. Our member booksellers – 150 strong! – received such positive feedback from parents and educators alike that an award of this nature existed. We’re confident this year’s announcement will continue that momentum and further the public’s awareness of the importance of reading to your children.”

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