Awards and Special Recognitions

One Night

A Few Good Books of the Year, 1995, Book Link
Best Books of 1995 list, Bank Street College

All the king’s Animals

1996 New York Public Library Best Books for the Teen Age list
Skipping Stones Honor Award, Nature and Ecology books, 1996
Parent Council Ltd. Title
CORE Knowledge Resource Guide

Jubela

2002 Peace Corps Writer’s Award for Best Children’s Writing
The ASPCA “Henry Bergh Honor Award” 2001
“Gold Medal Award” Oppenheimer Portfolio 2001
“Pick of the Lists” American Booksellers Spring ’01
Junior Library Guild Selection
Nest Literary Classics Selection
Finalist for the Children’s Choice Picture Book Award, Washington State, for 2003

My Great-Grandmother’s Gourd

“Africana Honor Book Award” African Studies Association, 2001
“Best Books of 2000” Bank Street College“
Lasting Connections” 2000, Book Links
Nest Literary Classic Selection

No Condition is Permanent

“Popular Paperbacks for Teenagers” YALSA List, 2002
“Best Books for Young Adults” ALA 2000
“Lasting Connections 2000” Book Links
“Best Books for the Teen Age” New York Public Libraries, 2000
“Best Books of 2000” Bank Street College

Our Secret, Siri Aang

The ASPCA “Henry Bergh Award” 2004 for Best Young Adult Novel
2005 Notable Books for a Global Society, International Reading Association
“Top Ten Books for Young Readers” 2005 U.S. State Department List
“Top 100 Books of the Year 2005” New York Public Libraries List

The Best Beekeeper of Lalibela

2007 list of Notable Books for a Global Society, awarded by the Children’s Literature and Reading Special Interest Group of the IRA
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People 2007, a cooperative project of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and the Children’s Book Council
Bank Street Children’s List for The Best Children’s Books of the Year, 2007

Trouble in Timbuktu

“Africana Honor Book Award for Older Readers”, Outreach Council of the African Studies Association, 2010

The Children’s Africana Book Awards (CABA) are given under the auspices of the Outreach Council of the African Studies Association, a non-profit corporation founded in 1957 and open to all persons and institutions interested in African affairs. The Outreach Council shares and disseminates resources about Africa; exchanges experiences on best practices in conducting outreach activities; serves the ASA membership in educating the public about Africa; and facilitates the exchange of ideas, information and research findings on Africa.

Hope is Here!

2015 Lumen Award Winner for Literary Excellence in Non-fiction for Young Readers
Selected to receive the Children’s Literary Classics Seal of Approval
Featured holiday book gift from V.I. first lady Cecile de Jongh in 2013

The CLC’s Seal of Approval is reserved for books that uphold the criteria set forth by the Children’s Literary Classics review committee, a team of individuals with backgrounds in publishing, editing, writing, illustration and graphic design.

“Hope Is Here!” is the story of a small migratory bird, a Whimbrel, which is about the size of a duck. Hope was implanted with a solar antenna for the purpose of scientific research. It is the research team’s intent to learn the migratory patterns of these birds to help protect the ecosystem upon which they depend.

The story, as told by a teacher to her students, recounts the incredible journey made by Hope each year from Canada all the way to her breeding grounds on St. Croix. Over a four-year period, Hope provided data that will help ensure that more of her kind will continue to thrive in the many places they call home.