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The É«ÖÐÉ« and its library media specialists will celebrate the life of fellow library media specialist Lori Bresnahan during the Bresnahan Book Award ceremony on Wednesday, April 26, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the É«ÖÐÉ« Public Library. At that time, they will present the fifth Bresnahan Book Award winner. 

Students at all eight É«ÖÐÉ« elementary schools recently had the opportunity to read each of this year’s nominated books and select the winner. The 2023 nominees are:  

Ten Beautiful Things 
written by Molly Beth Griffin
and illustrated by Maribel Lechuga

Home is in Between
words by Mitali Perkins
 and illustrated by Lavanya Naidu

I Wish You Knew 
written by Jackie Azúa Kramer
and illustrated by Magdalena Mora

How to Apologize 
written by David LaRochelle 
and illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka

What’s in Your Pocket?
Collecting Nature’s Treasures 
written by Heather L. Montgomery 
and illustrated by Maribel Lechuga

The books were selected because they also are nominated for the 2023 Charlotte Award, which was one of Bresnahan’s favorites. Every other year, the New York State Reading Association presents the Charlotte Award, which recognizes books that represent diversity, demonstrate different genres and formats, and appeal to children as much as they appeal to their teachers. 

The Bresnahan Book Award was established to honor Lori Bresnahan, who passed away in March 2013. The award is presented during a special ceremony featuring LCSD celebrities reading the nominated books.

One of Bresnahan’s great passions was sharing books with children, and the district’s library media specialists decided that there was no better way to keep her love of literature alive than by creating a book award in her honor. 

Penguin and Pinecone, by Salina Yoon, was the inaugural winner in 2014. The Book with No Pictures, by B.J. Novak, was selected the winner in 2016. Winnie: The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired Winnie-the-Pooh, written by Sally M. Walker and illustrated by Jonathan D. Voss, was the winner in 2018, while the 2020 winner was Can I Be Your Dog?, written and illustrated by Troy Cummings.