The National Council of Teachers of English Announces Winners of Prestigious Literary Awards

CHAMPAIGN, Ill., Nov. 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) has announced the winners of the 2021 Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children, Charlotte Huck Award® for Outstanding Fiction for Children, and Orbis Pictus Award® for Nonfiction for Children.

"The books and poet selected for this year's NCTE awards speak to the pressing issues of our time. Tapping poetry and books to teach empathy, compassion, and understanding can indeed transform lives and our world. The winners of the Orbis Pictus and Charlotte Huck Awards deserve to be taught and shared broadly with children, families, and adults," NCTE Executive Director Emily Kirkpatrick said.

Janet S. Wong is the winner of the 2021 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children.

NCTE established the Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children in 1977 to honor a living American poet for their aggregate work for children ages 3–13.

NCTE has also published its 2021 list of Notable Poetry Books and Verse Novels.

I Am Every Good Thing (Nancy Paulsen Books), written by Derrick Barnes and illustrated by Gordon C. James, is the winner of the 2021 NCTE Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children. The award was established in 2014 to promote and recognize fiction that has the potential to transform children's lives by inviting compassion, imagination, and wonder.

Above the Rim: How Elgin Baylor Changed Basketball (Harry N. Abrams), written by Jen Bryant and illustrated by Frank Morrison, is the winner of the 2021 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award. The award, established in 1989, is the oldest children's book award for nonfiction. It pays homage to John Amos Comenius's Orbis Pictus—The World in Pictures (1657), considered to be the first book planned for children.

Learn more about the Charlotte Huck Award here. Learn more about the Orbis Pictus Award here.

About NCTE

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is devoted to improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education. For more than 100 years, NCTE has worked with its members to offer journals, publications, and resources; to further the voice and expertise of educators as advocates for their students at the local and federal levels; and to share lesson ideas, research, and teaching strategies through its Annual Convention and other professional learning events. Learn more at ncte.org.

Contact: Abby Heverin, NCTE Communications Manager

aheverin@ncte.org

315-408-2759  

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SOURCE National Council of Teachers of English