2018 Charlotte Zolotow Awards
The Charlotte Zolotow Award is given annually to the author of the best picture book text published in the United States in the preceding year. Established in 1998, the award is named to honor the work of Charlotte Zolotow, a distinguished children's book editor for 38 years with Harper Junior Books, and author of more than 70 picture books, including such classic works as Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present (Harper, 1962) and William's Doll(Harper, 1972). Ms. Zolotow attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison on a writing scholarship from 1933-36 where she studied with Professor Helen C. White.
The award is administered by the Cooperative Children's Book Center, a children's literature library of the School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Each year a committee of children's literature experts selects the winner from the books published in the preceding year. The winner is announced in January each year. A bronze medallion is formally presented to the winning author in the spring during an annual public event that honors the career of Charlotte Zolotow
About A Different Pond:
A Different Pond is an unforgettable story about a simple event―a long-ago fishing trip. Graphic novelist Thi Bui and acclaimed poet Bao Phi deliver a powerful, honest glimpse into a relationship between father and son―and between cultures, old and new. As a young boy, Bao and his father awoke early, hours before his father's long workday began, to fish on the shores of a small pond in Minneapolis. Unlike many other anglers, Bao and his father fished for food, not recreation. A successful catch meant a fed family. Between hope-filled casts, Bao's father told him about a different pond in their homeland of Vietnam. Thi Bui's striking, evocative art paired with Phi's expertly crafted prose has earned this powerful picture books six starred reviews and numerous awards.
Bao Phi
Bao Phi has been a performance poet since 1991. A two-time Minnesota Grand Slam champion and a National Poetry Slam finalist, he has performed as a featured artist all over the United States, has appeared on HBO Presents Russell Simmons Def Poetry, and a poem of his appeared in the 2006 Best American Poetry anthology. He has essays included in A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota as well as Octavia's Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements. He has poems appearing in many anthologies and publications including Screaming Monkeys and Spoken Word Revolution Redux. He has been a City Pages and Star Tribune Artist of the Year. He is currently Program Director at the Loft Literary Center, where he started as a receptionist 15 years ago. His first collection of poems, Sông I Sing, was published by Coffee House Press in 2011. His second collection of poems, Thousand Star Hotel, will be published in summer of 2017, also by Coffee House, for which he was selected by Minnesota Monthly as Author of the Year. His first children's book, A Different Pond, was illustrated by Thi Bui and was published by Capstone Press in the fall of 2017.