Tuesday, April 23, 2013

The Big Green Book of the Big Blue Sea Wins the Outstanding Youth Award!



I'm so thrilled that my book about the ocean won this fabulous award from the Canadian Science Writers Association so close to Earth Day.


Here's the Press Release. Congrats to Jay Ingram, who won the Adult Book award, and to all the others on the shortlist. I was told it was a very tough call, as all of the books are terrific. I must say I agree, so feel very lucky indeed.

The Canadian Science Writers’ Association offers two $1000 annual book awards to honour outstanding contributions to science writing 1) intended for and available to children/middle grades ages 8-12 years, and 2) intended for and available to the general public for books that were published in Canada during the 2012 calendar year.


The general audience book winner is Fatal Flaws by Jay Ingram. The youth book winner is The Big Green Book about the Big Blue Sea by Helaine Becker. Entries were judged on the basis of initiative, originality, scientific accuracy, clarity of interpretation and value in promoting a better understanding of science by the public.

The judges appreciated the way Jay Ingram brought excellent plain language story telling to an exceedingly complex topic in Fatal Flaws.

“The structure drove me forward as a reader. Good use of verbal imagery.”

Another judge said, “This book is well written and does not require a scientific background. The flow is good. The book provides a great overview of the status of prion diseases and does not fall into sensationalism.”

Clarity and the ability to engage the audience with a complex topic were also important factors when the judges considered The Big Green Book about the Big Blue Sea by Helaine Becker.

One judge commented that it is, “Clearly written with lots of information and discuses topics about the ocean and what happens in oceans. Well thought out, activities are good and relate well to the content being presented. Great use of experiments and observation. A good book for younger kids.”

The younger judges from grades 4 and 6 agreed, “I liked this book because it had many interesting experiments. I even did one myself.” “I really liked the experiments and it was very informative.”

The winners will be presented with their awards during the CSWA annual conference in Montreal at the gala and awards banquet on June 7.

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