I’m slightly late helping to spread the news, but as the Chair of the 2007 E. B. White Read Aloud Awards committee, I am THRILLED to share with you the winners of the 2007 E. B. White Read Aloud Awards, announced on Monday by the Association of Booksellers for Children.

The winner of the 2007 E. B. White Read Aloud Award for Picture Books is Houndsley and Catina by James Howe, illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay (Candlewick).

The winner of the 2007 E. B. White Read Aloud Award for Older Readers is: Alabama Moon by Watt Key (Farrar, Straus & Giroux).

The books selected for this award are granted the honor of a shiny gold seal sporting the Charlotte-esque expression “TERRIFIC BOOK.” (I happen to think it’s about the coolest-looking seal a book could ever hope to wear.) The winners will officially receive their awards at the ABC Annual Secret Garden Silent Auction & Evening with Children’s Booksellers on Friday, June 1st during BEA.

If you’re not already familiar with these awards, then read on as I quote from our official press release:

The Association of Booksellers for Children (ABC), founded in 1984, is a national organization made up of independent children’s booksellers and other individuals that support independent bookselling. The E. B. White Read Aloud Award, established in 2004, honors a book that reflects the universal read aloud standards that were established by the work of the beloved author E. B. White in his classic books for children: Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little, and The Trumpet of the Swan. Each year members nominate a list of new books that they believe most embody this ideal, and a committee of booksellers determines the winner. The award is announced annually on the first Monday in April. In 2006, in recognition of the fact that reading aloud is a pleasure to be enjoyed by readers of all ages, the award was expanded to include two categories, The E. B. White Read Aloud Award for Picture Books, and the E. B. White Read Aloud Award for Older Readers. ABC members chose books for distinction based on their universal appeal as a “terrific” book to read aloud.

Previous Winners of the E. B. White Read Aloud Award:
2004: Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner
2005: Wild About Books by Judy Sierra, illustrated by Marc Brown
2006: Picture Book: If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen
Older Readers: Each Little Bird That Sings by DeborahWiles

This year’s awards committee was comprised of booksellers from three independent bookstores in three different regions of the country: Ellen Richmond of The Children’s Book Cellar in Waterville, Maine; Margaret Poppe of Books & Books in Coral Gables, Florida; Kimberly Diehm of The Neverending Story in Las Vegas, Nevada. As the Chair of the committee, I was more than ably assisted by fellow ABC Board member Linda Higham of The Storyteller in Lafayette, California. Linda and I helped facilitate and lead the lively discussion of this year’s winners, with wonderful results! And, no, I did not try to steer the committee in the direction of my favorite books (which I mention for the benefit of those of you who’ve read my blog entry about Alabama Moon). It is true that I am tremendously fond of both books selected for this year’s awards, but so are the members of this year’s awards committee. So are most of the booksellers I’ve spoken with. And so I hope are you! Find a child (or book-loving adult) to read aloud to and give these (award-winning!) books a try.