For Immediate Release
Contact: Mary Russell, 603-271-2866
December 8, 2010

2010 Ladybug Picture Book Award Winner Announced

New Hampshire children, from preschoolers to third graders, selected Princess Hyacinth (the Surprising Story of a Girl Who Floated) as the winner of the 2010 Ladybug Picture Book Award.

Princess Hyacinth received 2,941 votes from the 18,193 cast by children across the state. It was written by Florence Parry Heide and illustrated by Lane Smith, and is published by Schwartz & Wade, an imprint of Random House Children's Books.

Sponsored by the Center for the Book at the New Hampshire State Library, the Ladybug Picture Book Award was established to promote early literacy and honor the best in recent children's picture books. Previous winners have included  Kate & Jim McMullen's I Stink!, Judy Schachner's Skippyjon Jones, Keiko Kasza's My Lucky Day, and Waking Beauty written by Leah Wilcox and illustrated by Lydia Monks.

Earlier in 2010, a committee of children's librarians from around New Hampshire selected ten picture book titles to as nominees for the award. Throughout the summer and fall librarians and teachers shared the books with children at storytimes, developed colorful displays of the titles and encouraged families to borrow and read the books at home.

During November, to coincide with elections, New Hampshire preschools, elementary schools and public libraries invited children to vote to select the award winner. More than 100 schools, libraries and day care centers around the state sent in votes by the December 1st deadline.

The Ladybug Picture Book Award Committee has begun working on its nominations for the 2011 Award. To be considered for nomination, a picture book must meet the following criteria: be published within the last three years; be in print; have an author and illustrator from the United States; possess strong child appeal; and have artistic quality with text that supports the illustrations. No titles that have previously been selected as nominees will be considered.

Nominations are accepted from New Hampshire libraries, including school libraries. For more information about the award, please visit the website of the Center for the Book at the NH State Library at: http://nhbookcenter.org

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