Blueberry Award Winners Announced

Evanston Public Library names the winners of America's most prominent award for children’s books that strengthen young people's connection with nature and fosters action for the planet. 

Two books, How to Bird and The Gift of Mnoomin/ Mnoomin Maan’gowing, have been named as the joint winners of the third annual Blueberry Awards. 

How to Bird by Rasha Hamid introduces birding to children through vivid photographs of children seeking out bird species in urban neighbourhoods. The Gift of Mnoomin/Mnoomin Maan’gowing, is a bilingual book by Brittany Luby about mnoomin, the keystone species grain of the upper Great Lakes, richly illustrated by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley and translated into Ojibwe by Mary Ann Corbiere. 

The 2023 Blueberry Awards were announced Thursday 14 March, at a live event at the Robert Crown Community Center, attended by Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, Library Director Yolande Wilburn, directors of several local libraries, and staff from the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Morton Arboretum along with a crowd of children’s nature book lovers. Special guest Claudia Martinez, Chicago-based author also made an appearance. 

Her picture book, Not a Monster, about the axolotl in Mexico City, was named among this year’s 29 Blueberry Honour Award winners. Four Blueberry Changemaker Awards were also named, celebrating books that support and encourage kids’ actions for the planet.

More information about the Blueberry, including past winners, submission criteria, and resources for incorporating Blueberry books into classrooms, is included at epl.org/blueberry.