This year, Brigham Young University’s Harold B. Lee Library became the home of the newly opened Dolly Gray Children’s Literature Award Special Collection, which will likely become the most complete collection of children’s books that include individuals with developmental disabilities.
The Dolly Gray Children’s Literature Award will be presented Jan. 19 during the Council for Exceptional Children’s Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities (DADD) international conference in Miami Beach, FL.
The intermediate/young adult award will be presented to Kathryn Erskine, author of Mocking Bird, and Beverley Brenna, author of Waiting for No One. In the picture book category, the awards will go to Rebecca Elliott, author/illustrator of Just Because, and Holly Robinson Peete and Ryan Elizabeth Peete (authors) and Shane W. Evans (illustrator) for My Brother Charlie.
The Dolly Gray Award recognizes high-quality fiction/biographical books for children, adolescents and young adults that authentically portray individuals with developmental disabilities. Special Needs Project, a worldwide leader in the distribution of books related to disabilities, co-sponsors this award.
“We would like to thank our committee members who provided countless hours in locating, acquiring, screening, reading and evaluating the eligible books,” said Tina Dyches of BYU's Department of Counseling Psychology and Special Education, “We would also like to thank our 2012 panelists who spent hundreds of hours reading and evaluating the books for realistic portrayals of individuals with developmental disabilities in high-quality children’s and adolescent literature.”
A list of all books eligible for the award, procedures, and submission guidelines are available on the DADD website: daddcec.org/Awards/DollyGrayAwards.aspx. For additional information, contact Tina Dyches at (801) 422-5045, tina_dyches@byu.edu.
Writer: Charles Krebs
