Lori Bresnahan loved children’s books. It was a love she sought to instill in all of her students as an elementary school librarian for the Liverpool Central School District. So it was only fitting that the district should honor Bresnahan with a children’s book award in her name. The district presented the inaugural Bresnahan Book Award at a ceremony May 2 at Barnes and Noble in Clay. The award was selected by kindergarten through sixth-grade students districtwide from a collection of nominees for the Charlotte Award, a children’s book award whose winner is selected by students throughout the state. “Two years ago, we had the opportunity to participate in judging for the Charlotte Award,” said Soule Road Elementary librarian Kay Budmen, who helped organize the competition and event. “Lori loved it because it allowed children to choose the winners. Normally, when you’re giving an award for children’s literature, it’s adults that pick the awards. With this one, children get to pick it, and Lori loved that.” The Charlotte Award is given every other year by the New York State Reading Association to the best children’s book as selected by students statewide. Named for the main character in E.B. White’s “Charlotte’s Web,” the award aims to encourage students to read outstanding literature and ultimately become life-long readers. Additionally, the award recognizes the authors and illustrators of such literature. The award is given in four categories: Primary (pre-K through second grade), Intermediate (grades three through five), middle school (grades six through eight) and high school (grades nine through 12). Winners were announced May 1. And the nominees are…
The district chose 10 of this year’s nominees as contestants for the inaugural Bresnahan Book Award. Nominees in the contest, all of which were in the Primary category, were: “Around One Log: Chipmunks, Spiders and Creepy Insiders,” written by Anthony D. Fredericks and illustrated by Jennifer DiRubbio, published in 2011 by Dawn Publications. “Because Amelia Smiled,” written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein, published in 2012 by Candlewick Press. “Cloudette,” written and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld, published in 2011 by Henry Holt.
“Friends: True Stories of Extraordinary Animal Friendships,” written by Catherine Thimmesh, published in 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. “Goldilocks and Just One Bear,” written by Leigh Hodgkinson, published in 2012 by Nosy Crow. “I Need My Own Country,” written by Rick Walton and illustrated by Wes Hargis, published in 2012 by Bloomsbury. “Jangles: A Big Fish Story,” written by David Shannon, published in 2012 by Blue Sky Press. “Penguin and Pinecone,” written and illustrated by Salina Yoon, published in 2012 by Walker. “Spike the Mixed Up Monster,” written by Susan Hood and illustrated by Melissa Sweet, published in 2012 by Simon & Schuster. “Who Has This Tail,” written by Laura Hulbert and illustrated by Erik Brooks, published in 2012 by Henry Holt. “It really starts and it really ends with the librarians,” said Steve Garraffo, executive director for elementary education in the district. “The conversation started, unfortunately, while we were all sitting together in a group in a room on a very, very sad day a little more than a year ago. This, we decided, was the best way to honor Lori Bresnahan. What she treasured about the books and especially the winner was that students voted on them and decided. In that room that day, we decided this was what we would do for Lori. Instead of having the Charlotte Award winner, we would have the Lori Bresnahan Book Award winner. We would do this to honor Lori and keep her love of great literature alive.” Keeping kids involved
According to Barnes and Noble manager Dan Griffin, the idea for the award came from Bresnahan herself. “This is a tradition Lori herself started,” Griffin said. “Lori was passionate about picture books, and she was eager to share that passion with her students, her colleagues and the community. When the Charlotte nominees were chosen, Lori was always the first phone call the next morning to place an order for those books. She would have her students read and vote for their favorite Charlotte Award nominee.” Seventh-grader Sarah Wong designed the winning label.
“The bottom is Charlotte’s Web, the spiderweb,” Wong said. “I thought it would be neat to incorporate some of the Charlotte Award into my design.” Wong said she was honored that her design was selected.
“I didn’t expect for mine to be chosen,” she said. “I was very flattered.”
She said she felt it was necessary to enter the competition after learning more about Bresnahan.
“When my librarian came into my art club at my school, she gave us a portfolio about who Mrs. Bresnahan was and what kind of person she was,” Wong said. “It inspired me to put in what I could to honor her.” In addition to asking elementary school students to vote on the books, the district asked middle school students to design the logo for the award, which will be made into a sticker and affixed to the award-winning books. Students at the high school designed and maintained the website through which voting was carried out. Seventh-grader Sarah Wong designed the winning label.
“The bottom is Charlotte’s Web, the spiderweb,” Wong said. “I thought it would be neat to incorporate some of the Charlotte Award into my design.” Wong said she was honored that her design was selected.
“I didn’t expect for mine to be chosen,” she said. “I was very flattered.”
She said she felt it was necessary to enter the competition after learning more about Bresnahan.
“When my librarian came into my art club at my school, she gave us a portfolio about who Mrs. Bresnahan was and what kind of person she was,” Wong said. “It inspired me to put in what I could to honor her.” Budmen said it was important to include students in the process.
“That was Lori,” she said. “She was always looking for ways to engage students in reading and literature.” Lori’s Bookshelf
Copies of the winning book will be placed on newly constructed bookshelves, all painted teal — Bresnahan’s favorite color — in every elementary and middle school library in the district. The books will be affixed with a sticker featuring Wong’s design, designating them as winners of the Bresnahan Book Award. Each shelf will include a plaque explaining who Bresnahan was and where the award came from. Every other year, the district will hold a ceremony to induct another book onto the shelf, and those books will join this year’s winner. This year’s winner was “Penguin and Pinecone,” by Salina Yoon. Though she couldn’t attend the ceremony, she sent an email to Garraffo thanking the district for choosing her book. “Before I wrote my acceptance note, I decided to look up the Bresnahan Award because I was its first winner and I was curious about its creation,” Yoon wrote. “I was shocked and I was saddened to learn about Lori. This award is such a wonderful way to keep her memory and her spirit alive. I was speechless when I saw and I read what happened and deeply honored that my book was selected. Even if it wasn’t, I’d be just as honored to be a part of this beautiful act on behalf of Ms. Bresnahan. Know that this note comes from my heart, and I send my deepest condolences for losing such a remarkable woman in your community.” Yoon specifically asked that Garraffo read the following to those gathered at the ceremony.
“Thank you, first and foremost, to the readers who nominated and read all of the winners and for casting their votes to make this possible,” she wrote. “Thank you to all of the dedicated librarians who shared the books with the children and passed on their passion for love and literature. Thank you for all that came together to create a meaningful legacy to honor Lori Bresnahan. I am deeply moved and honored to be the first winner of this award. I hope ‘Penguin and Pinecone’ is a book that Ms. Bresnahan herself would have read and would have enjoyed, and I hope she would have smiled to know that most of my picture books were written in the children’s section of my local library in Carlsbad, Calif. It is my favorite place to read, to write, to sketch and to think. It is a place I often see children laughing, discovering, learning and growing. It’s a place of wonder, and there is no better home for a book.” Garraffo said planning and executing the event has helped the district to move forward from their tragic loss. “I think this is the place that we start [healing],” he said. “The district is healing because, as you walk the halls, kids are talking about these books, and it’s really special.” Garraffo said he suspected Bresnahan would have balked at all of the attention, but she’d be “thrilled” to see such dedication to children’s literature. “We probably didn’t know the Charlotte Award as much a year ago, and now it’s become synonymous with Lori and the good books that are out there,” he said. And the best way to continue that healing and carry on Bresnhan’s legacy?
“Read a children’s book,” Budmen said. “Read it every day and think of Lori when you do.”