Katie, Mary Ann, Erika

On Saturday, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) hosted its Children’s Book Award Luncheon, at which Mary Ann and Erika, as committee chairs, announced the 2018 Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction (K-8) and the 2018 Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction (K-8).

Last week, SLJ’s “Curriculum Connections” newsletter published “The NCTE Book Awards: Opportunities for Collaboration,” on the history of the Orbis Pictus and Huck Awards. Each award has specific unique criteria. The Orbis Pictus Award, in homage to 17th century minister and educator John Amos Comenius pays careful attention to accuracy and authenticity, among other criteria, but also to the role the nonfiction book can play in the classroom. The Charlotte Huck Award, in homage to the renowned educator Charlotte Huck, honors books that, among other criteria, have the “potential to transform children’s lives.”   

As you prepare for the Thanksgiving break, take a moment to read about our ideas for teaching with Dan Santat’s After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again, winner of the 2018 Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction. 

You will also want to explore our ideas for working with Jason Chin’s Grand Canyon, winner of the 2018 Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction.

Finally, you can also read about teaching with Shelter, a Charlotte Huck Recommended Book, written by Celine Clair and illustrated by Quin Leng. Over the next two weeks, we will blog about teaching with some of the Orbis Pictus and Huck Honor Books and Recommended Books. Stay tuned!

Before the Thanksgiving holiday begins, the four of us here at The Classroom Bookshelf wanted to share the new award lists with our blog readers, and to take a moment to tell you how grateful we are for all that you do to put books in the hands of young people, to teach towards social justice and equity, and provide opportunities for inquiry and imagination in your classrooms and school libraries. It’s a privilege to do this work together.