Welcome to the (Theodor Seuss) Geisel Award home page!
The Geisel Award is given annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished American book for beginning readers published in English in the United States during the preceding year.
2013 Medal Winner
Up, Tall and High!, written and illustrated by Ethan Long is the Seuss Award winner. The book is published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group.
A bevy of birds perform a play in three acts, while teaching the concepts of up, tall and high. The large font, word repetition, occasional rhyming and simple, but clever illustrations support the very beginning reader’s effort to read independently. Children will delight in reading additional words hidden beneath thick flaps.
“Using few words, Ethan Long has created a book that children will enjoy on multiple levels. The humorous drawings and interactive story will have children raising flaps and reading their first words with confidence and delight,” said Geisel Award Committee Chair Carla D. Morris.
2013 Honor Books
Let’s Go for a Drive!, written and illustrated by Mo Willems, and published by Hyperion Books for Children, an imprint of Disney Book Group
In “Let’s Go for a Drive!” good friends Elephant and Piggie, sharing their high spirits through song and dance, prepare for a drive. Best plans go awry when they realize they have no car. Text clues in color-coded speech bubbles, white backgrounds and bold mixed-media illustrations add to the book’s appeal for beginning readers.
Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons written by Eric Litwin, created and illustrated by James Dean and published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers
In a picture book format accessible to beginning readers, a blue mellow-eyed feline keeps losing his groovy buttons in “Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons.” But does he cry? Goodness no! Bold backgrounds and rhyming refrains encourage beginning readers to look for the bright side of every situation. For after all, it’s all good!
Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover, written and illustrated by Cece Bell and published by Candlewick Press.
In “Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover,” Rabbit and Robot disagree on everything on rabbit’s “To Do” list at their sleepover, including Robot’s insistence of pizza toppings of nuts, bolts, and screws. Everything comes to a halt when Robot’s batteries run low. Humorous cartoon-style illustrations accompany four episodes, perfect for readers transitioning to easy chapter books.
The members of the 2013 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Committee are: Chair Carla D. Morris, Provo (Utah) City Library; Deborah P. Green, Iowa City (Iowa) Public Library, retired; Heather Hart, Newport Beach (Calif.) Public Library; Amy Kellman, children’s literature consultant; Sue McCleaf Nespeca, Kid Lit Plus Consulting, Gettysburg, Pa.; Dr. Diane Nielsen, University of Kansas, Lawrence; and Cynthia Williams, Coast Episcopal School, Long Beach, Miss.
