RELEASE
Tuesday, May 3, 2011 (Updated July 20, 2011)
EMPORIA, KAN. – Two books about young boys making extraordinary decisions have been judged the best by Kansas schoolchildren.
“Eleven” by Patricia Reilly Giff and “The Boy Who Dared: A Novel Based on the True Story of Hitler Youth” by Susan Campbell Bartoletti are the recipients of the 2011 William Allen White Children’s Book Awards.
The William Allen White Children’s Book Award program was founded in 1952 by Ruth Garver Gagliardo, a specialist in children’s literature for Emporia State University. One of the few literary awards that asks young readers to choose the winners, the program is directed by Emporia State University and supported in part by the Trusler Foundation.
Both authors have been invited to the awards celebration, set for Saturday, Sept. 24, in Emporia.
During the September awards celebration, schoolchildren from across the state of Kansas travel to Emporia for special events including lock-ins, author readings and book signings along with a parade through downtown Emporia to the awards ceremony itself. Many teachers use travel to the book awards as incentives in their school reading programs.
