Blueberry Committee members pose with the Blueberry Award winner, The Black Mambas, and its author and photographer Kelly Crull, second from right. Credit: Heidi Randhava
On Friday, the Evanston Public Library hosted the Blueberry Awards at the Evanston Ecology Center. Created in 2021 by EPL, they are the nation’s only annual children’s literary awards dedicated to nature books that spotlight hands-on action for the planet, fostering stewardship without fear.
This year the winner was The Black Mambas: The World’s First All-Woman Anti-Poaching Unit and its author and photographer Kelly Crull. The book documents the work of South African rangers who protect wildlife and follows their work in Olifants West Nature Reserve, highlighting their dedication to safeguarding rhinos and pangolins.
The awards were founded by Martha Meyer, a library assistant in Evanston Public Library’s Early Learning and Literacy Department. Meyer and fellow library assistant Kim Diebold lead the Blueberry Committee — made up of local librarians, nature educators and environmentalists — in selecting books primarily for children ages 3-10 to receive awards. Of the 35-40 books chosen for awards each year, only one is named the Blueberry Award winner.
Additional award categories include: Changemaker Book Awards, Blueberry Votes children’s choice winners and Blueberry Honor Books.
Library Assistant Abby Dye with Blueberry Award honor books. Credit: Heidi Randhava
A list of winners follows below:
Blueberry Award Winner: The Black Mambas: The World’s First All-Woman Anti-Poaching Unit, by author and photographer Kelly Krull
Blueberry Votes Winner: a children’s choice program in which kindergarten through second graders in Illinois select their favorite Blueberry book among those chosen by the committee. We Are the Wibbly! A Tadpole’s Tale, by Sarah Tagholm; illustrated by Jane McGuinness.
Preschool Blueberry Votes Winner: a children’s choice program in which 3–5 year olds select their favorite Blueberry book of the year. Downpour; Splish! Splash! Ker-splash! by Yūko Ōnari; illustrated by Koshiro Hata.
Changemaker Award Winners: given to the top climate action books selected by city of Evanston Sustainability Manager Cara Pratt and District 65 Sustainability Coordinator Karen Bireta. Safe Crossing by Kari Percival; Climate Is Just the Start by Mikaela Loach; illustrated by Lauri Johnston.
Blueberry Honor Books: selected by the Blueberry Committee for their distinguished achievement.
Fiction Picture Books: Beansprout by Sarah Lynne Reul; Moon Song by Michaela Goade; The Silver Shadow by Mariesa Dulak, illustrated by Alea Marley; A Sky That Sings by Anita Sanchez and George Steele, illustrated by Emily Mendoza; Worm Makes a Sandwich by Brianne Farley.
Nonfiction Picture Books: Akeem Keeps Bees! A Close-Up Look at the Honey Makers and Pollinators of Sankofa Farms by Kamal E. Bell, illustrated by Darnell Johnson; Alberto Salas Plays Paka Paka Con La Papa by Sara Andrea Fajardo, illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal; The Blue Jays That Grew a Forest by Lynn Street, illustrated by Anne Hunter; Families of a Feather: A Celebration of Family Diversity by Fern Wexler, illustrated by Kelsey Buzzell; A Gift of Dust: How Saharan Plumes Feed the Planet by Martha Brockenbrough, illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal; I Am We: How Crows Come Together to Survive by Leslie Barnard Booth, illustrated by Alexandra Finkeldey; Just in Caseby Megan Clendenan, illustrated by Brittany Ciccese; Pearls in the Sand by Beatriz Gutierrez Hernandez; Poo Pile on the Prairie by Amy Hevron; Salmon Run by Annie Chen; Saving Hawai’i’s Honu by Leslie Ann Hayashi, illustrated by Kelly Pousette; Watching and Waiting by Sara Levine.
Early Readers: Lily Lu to the Rescue by Cherilyn Chin, illustrated by Tracy Nishimura Bishop.
Fiction Middle Grade: The Sunshine Project by Krishnaswami, illustrated by Julianna Swaney; Three Blue Hearts by Lynne Kelly; The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner, illustrated by Julie Kuo.
Nonfiction Middle Grade: Bug Snacks by Jess French, illustrated by Zoe Ingram; The Buzz on Wild Bees by Kira Vermond, illustrated by June Steube; Detective Dogs by Alison Pearce Stevens; The Great Narwhal Rescue by Sandra Markle; Kaho’olawe: The True Story of an Island and Her People by Kamalani Hurley, illustrated by Harinani Orme; Scat: The Incredible Science of Wildlife Poop by Anita Sanchez; We Carry the Sun by Tae Keller, illustrated by Rachel Wada.
Folktales: El Niño by Pam Muñoz Ryan, illustrated by Joe Cepeda.
Graphic Novels: Winging It by Megan Wagner Lloyd, illustrated by Michelle Mee Nutte; I’m a Dumbo Octopus by Anne Lambelet; Ultrawild: An Audacious Plan for Rewilding Every City on Earth by Steve Mushin.
Poetry: In the Desert by David Elliott, illustrated by Gordy Wright; Photo Ark 1-2-3 by Debbie Levy, photographed by Joel Sartore.
Blueberry Committee members are: Betsy Bird, Karen Bireta, Ethan Bohn, Kim Diebold, Abby Dye, Laura Florian, Hilda Gonzalez, Ethan Johnson, Sam Lieb, Bessie Mbadugha, Martha Meye, Andrea Perrin, Bridget Petrites, Cara Pratt, Lauren Solarski and Jessica Iverson Wu
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