A children's book written by a Brigham Young University faculty member was recently awarded the 2004 Book of the Year Award in the children/youth category by the Utah Center for the Book.
"Wishing Moon" is one of 10 youth books authored by Michael Tunnell, who teaches children's literature courses in the Department of Teacher Education. It is a fantasy novel based in Arabia in the ninth century.
All Utah authors who published books during 2004 were eligible to enter. Categories included fiction, nonfiction, poetry and children/youth.
The Center for the Book was organized at the national level in 1977 and uses the resources and prestige of the Library of Congress to promote books, reading, libraries and literacy. Utah's chapter is housed in the City Library in downtown Salt Lake City.
Tunnel has also published five professional books. He is currently working with fellow BYU faculty member Jim Jacobs on the fourth edition of "Children's Literature Briefly," a fully annotated index of more than 19,000 children's books.
