Massachusetts Book Awards

I've just learned that Priscilla and the Hollyhocks made the Recommended Reading list from the 9th Annual Massachusetts Book Awards. Hurray! Here is the full list in the Picture Book category:

As Good as Anybody by Richard Michelson. (Knopf) Lessons from the parallel upbringings of Martin Luther King and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel culminate in their 1965 march together against discrimination, from Selma to Montgomery.

One Hen by Kate Smith Milway. (Kids Can Press) The true story of Kojo, a young boy from West Africa, who realizes that one small loan will result in a successful venture. An inspirational story about a little help, i.e., a micro-loan, that makes a real difference.

Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai by Claire A Nivola. (Frances Foster/FSG) The story of 2004 Nobel-Peace-Prize-winner Wangari Maathai who launched the Green Belt Movement in Kenya and changed her homeland one seed at a time.

Priscilla and the Hollyhocks by Anne Broyles. (Charlesbridge) With a backdrop of the Trail of Tears, the true story of a young slave, Priscilla, separated from her mother, who is sold away, and connected to her past through hollyhock seeds she eventually gains the freedom to plant.

Sisters of Scituate Light by Stephen Krensky. (Dutton Children’s Books/Penguin) During the War of 1812, two sisters trick the British soldiers into retreating from Scituate Harbor, by playing the flute & drum. Based on a true story.