2010 Bank Street book awards; Josette Frank Award, Flora Stieglitz Straus Award, Claudia Lewis Award

According to the Bank Street College of Education website, the school was founded in 1916 by "Lucy Sprague Mitchell as The Bureau of Educational Experiments."  Located in New York City, the college is now an "internationally-recognized leader in early childhood education, a pioneer in improving the quality of classroom education and teacher preparation, and a national advocate for children and families."

Each year the Bank Street Children's Book Committee hands out three awards for children's books; the Josette Frank Award, the Flora Stieglitz Straus Award, and the Claudia Lewis Award.  There were five books honored in 2010.

Josette Frank Award:  This award is given to a "book or books of outstanding literary merit in which children or young people deal in a positive and realistic way with difficulties in their world and grow emotionally and morally."  There were two books honored for this award in 2010, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly and Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly is the story of 12-year-old Callie.  She lives in rural Texas with her family which includes six brothers and no sisters.  The year is 1899 and though Callie's family expects her to learn all the duties of a housewife, she is more interested in reading Darwin's The Origin of Species and conducting her own experiments.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin tells the tale of Minli and her poor peasant family that reside at the base of Fruitless Mountain.  Though the family works hard in the rice fields, they still remain poor.  Spurred on by tales her father has told her, Minli sets off to find the Jade Dragon, the Magistrate Tiger, and the Old Man of the Moon; she hopes her journey will change her family's destiny.

Flora Stieglitz Straus Award:  "This award is given for a nonfiction book that serves as an inspiration to young readers" and was also received by two books in 2010.  Those two books are Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone and Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 written and illustrated by Brian Floca.

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone brings to a new generation the struggles women went through trying to become part of the United States space program during the Space Race years.  From being called names to having their previous accomplishments minimized these women fought hard to make the way easier for women like Sally Ride.

Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 by Brian Floca is a stunning recounting of the space flight that sent men to the moon.  In addition to the story-like quality of the facts, the drawings illustrate each part of the space flight in detail.

Claudia Lewis Award: "Given for the best poetry book of the year for young readers," the 2010 winner of this award is Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski.

Red Sings for Treetops: A Year in Colors was also named a 2010 Caldecott Honor Book.  The poetry tells a story about the various colors of each season and how those colors manifest themselves.  The author also describes the other senses using colors as well.  For example, "crushed berries smell purple" and "white clinks in drinks."

All of the Bank Street award-winning books are available from online retailers like barnesandnoble.com and borders.com.  They are also available from independent retailers like the northern California ones listed here.

Willow Bridge Books
40044 Highway 49
Oakhurst, California 93644-8875
(559) 692-2665

Russian Hill Bookstore
2234 Polk St
San Francisco, California 94109
(415) 929-0997

Northtown Books
957 H Street
Arcata, California 95521-6298
(707) 822-2834

Cheshire Books
345 North Franklin Street
Fort Bragg, California 95437
(707) 964-5918

Copperfield's Books
140 Kentucky Street
Petaluma, California 94952-2304
(707) 762-0563