The Kira Elizabeth Award for excellence in Children's Literature about growing up will be awarded to the author who provides guidance to a child that is going through the trials and tribulations of growing up. In the book "Interpreting Literature with Children" by Shelby Wolf, she borrows the words of author E.B. White saying "...all the children represented here have "got to grow up sometime...". In today's society, children are "growing up" much faster than in the past. Growing up is an inevitable part of life; therefore, we should be encouraging children to grow up 'gracefully'. Children should be able to turn to literature when they want to learn about or take shelter in knowing the social and emotional obstacles that come along with growing up. This award does NOT include books that discuss the physical changes that children go through.
Nominations for this award should include picture books, preferably. The books that are nominated can be of any genre, but must include appropriate facts, reassurances, or guidance on how to deal with the social, emotional, and/or personal changes children ages 5-9 experience growing up such as how to make friends, getting along with classmates, understanding their feelings, etc.
Nominations for this award are due no later than February 19, 2008.