Salisbury University’s Children’s Literature Festival,
featuring the Green Earth Book Award Ceremony

The annual Children’s Literature Festival and Green Earth Book Award Ceremony will be held on April 2 and 3, 2008 on the campus of Salisbury University.  The festival draws teachers, students, community members and the press to campus to celebrate great books, great authors and illustrators who inspire great reading for children and young adults.

This year, the Festival will include author panels and lectures, school visits and the Green Earth Book Award Ceremony.  Jointly sponsored by the Newton Marasco Foundation and Salisbury University, the GEBA awards are bestowed upon selected authors and illustrators whose books contribute to environmental awareness and stewardship for children and young adults.  The ceremony will take place on April 2 at 7:00 PM in the Wicomico Room in the Guerrieri Center.  Prior to the actual ceremony, the Festival will hold a children’s fair which will feature activities and information sponsored by various environmental and educational organizations represented on the Eastern Shore.

This year’s keynote speaker for the Festival is Phillip Hoose, author of Hey, Little Ant, and The Race to Save the Lord God Bird.  Mr. Hoose is currently the Senior Conservation Planner for The Nature Conservancy.

David Wiesner, the only three-time recipient of the Caldecott Award, the most prestigious award for illustrators of children’s books, will be speaking at 1 PM on Wednesday and addressing the Eastern Shore Reading Council at their banquet at 4:45 PM.

Among other authors speaking at the conference are O.R. Melling from Ireland who is the recipient of the GEBA award in the young adult category; Cambria Gordon, the recipient in the non-fiction category; and Jean Okimoto, for her book, Winston of Churchill, the winner in the children’s category.

For complete Festival and author information including the schedule of events, please visit:  http://faculty.salisbury.edu/~elbond/childlitfestival.html or contact the Festival Chair, Dr. Ernie Bond at elbond@salisbury.edu or 410.548.3257.

Green Earth Book Awards

2006 Green Earth Book Award Winners, April 2007 Salisbury University
          

Nic Bishop "Quest for the Tree Kangaroo"	Melissa Stewart "A Place for Butterflies"	Graeme Base and wife Robyn "Uno's Garden"

Salisbury University is honored to host the Green Earth Book Award Ceremony each April. In an era when everyone is conscious of global warming and other environmental issues, what a better way to begin to change the future than through our children. Children's Literature is a solid vehicle to use to educate the future generations about environmental stewardship.

In 2005, the first annual Green Earth Book Award was given to author Lynne Cherry for her book, "The Sea, the Storm and the Mangrove Tangle." Since then, the children's literature award has grown from 1 award in 2005 to  awards in three categories in 2007. Noted international authors/illustrators Kim Toft,  and Graeme Base, both from Australia, are among the group of prestigious winners. The Green Earth Book Award is awarded annually in April at Salisbury University. For more information about the awards ceremony, go to the Children's Literature Conference.

For a complete list of winners and more information, please go to http://www.newtonmarascofoundation.org/programs/a_ge.cfm