Calvin Professor's Book Wins Two Awards

June 30, 2005 == MEDIA ADVISORY

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, authored by Calvin College English
professor Gary Schmidt, is the recipient of two regional literary awards: The
Thumbs Up! Award from the Michigan Library Association (MLA) and the Lupine
Award from the Maine State Library Association (MSLA).

The story of an unlikely friendship set against the backdrop of a racial
incident in historical Maine, Schmidt's book was also previously named both a
2005 John Newbery Honor Book and a 2005 Michael L. Printz Honor Book.

For more on the book see
http://www.calvin.edu/news/releases/2004_05/lizzie.htm

The Thumbs Up! Award, given by the MLA's Teen Services Division, was
established in 1986 to recognize the excellence and to celebrate the uniqueness
in young adult literature. Since 2001, Michigan's Thumbs Up! Committee has
added a teen vote to the votes of the librarians for young adults and teens who
decide the award.

"It is really wonderful to have people in your home state who are closest to
you appreciate your book," Schmidt says. "To have it appreciated by the people,
including teens, who know the writers of the state feels good."

The Lupine Award, he says, is equally gratifying, but for different reasons.

Presented annually by the Youth Services Interest Group of the MSLA, the
Lupine is designed to honor a living author or illustrator who is a resident of
Maine, or who has created a work whose focus is Maine, as shown through the
work's characterization, plot or setting.

Schmidt says the Maine honor validates the authenticity of Lizzie Bright and
the Buckminster Boy's historical setting.

"That's really cool," he says, "to think you've gotten it right from the
people who know it best."

Awards are affirming for authors says Schmidt, the author of several books for
young adults.

"You can send a book out and feel like it goes into a black hole," he says.
"This is wonderful because it shows that the book has been read."

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Received on Thu Jun 30 09:37:20 2005