The 2006 Skipping Stones Honor Awards committee is pleased to announce the winners of our 13th Annual Book Awards. Twenty-five honored books, in the following four categories, encourage understanding of world's diverse cultures, nature and ecological richness. They promote cooperation, nonviolence, respect for differing viewpoints, and close relationships in human societies. Together, the honored titles offer a great variety of learning experiences for all ages.

These exceptional, educational and entertaining books and teaching resources for K-12 students and educators (that includes all parents) will also make a great summer reading fun. Reviews of the 2006 award winners appear in the summer issue (Volume 18, no. 3) of Skipping Stones magazine, available in mid-May. The winning titles will also receive honor award certificates for the authors, illustrators and publishers, and an attractive golden honor award seal for decorating the book covers.

An official announcement of the award winners was madeSaturday evening, 22nd of April, at the 2006 Eugene Multicultural Storytelling Festival in Eugene, Oregon featuring three nationally-known storytellers.

Multicultural and International Awareness Books:

The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq
by Jeanette Winter
Picture book
Harcourt; www.harcourtbooks.com

Circles of Hope
by Karen Lynn Williams, illustr. Linda Saport
Picture book
Eerdmans Books; www.eerdmans.com/youngreaders

Of Corn Silk and Black Braids
by Vincent L. Johnson, M.D., illustr. Linda Crockett
Picture book
Marzetta Books; www.marzettabooks.com

Let Them Play
by Margot Theis Raven, illustr. Chris Ellison
Picture book
Sleeping Bear Press; www.sleepingbearpress.com

The Wishing Tree
by Roseanne Thong, illustr. Connie McLennan
Picture book
Shen's Books; www.shens.com

Playing War
by Kathy Beckwith, illustr. Lea Lyon
Picture book
Tilbury House; www.tilburyhouse.com

Going to School in India
by Lisa Heydlauff, photos by Nitin Upadhye
Elem. and middle grades
Shakti for Children/Charlesbridge; www.charlesbridge.com

Double Crossing
by Eve Tal
Middle grades. Novel.
Cinco Puntos Press; www.cincopuntos.com

Under the Persimmon Tree
by Suzanne Fisher Staples
Middle and High School. Novel
Frances Foster Books; www.fsgkidsbooks.com

Keeping Heart on Pine Ridge
by Vic Glover
Upper grades and adults
Native Voices; www.bookpubco.com

Mother Teresa
by Demi
Elem. grades. biography
Simon & Schuster; www.SimonSaysKids.com

Powerful Words: More than 200 Years of Extraordinary Writing by African Americans
Presented by Wade Hudson, illustr. Sean Qualls
Middle and high school grades
Scholastic; www.scholastic.com

Bilingual Spanish/English Books:

Quinito's Neighborhood / El Vecindario de Quinito
by Jose Ramirez, illustr. Ina Cumpiano
Bilingual picture book
Children's Book Press; www.childrensbookpress.org

Trisba & Sula: A Miskitu Folktale from Nicaragua / Una leyenda de los
Miskitos de Nicaragua
by Joan MacCracken, M.D., illustr. Augusto Silva
Bilingual picture book.
Tiffin Press; tiffinpress@aol.com

The Frog and His Friends Save Humanity / La rana y sus amigos salvan a la humanidad
by Victor Villasenor, illustr. Jose Ramirez
Bilingual picture book.
Pinata Books; www.artepublicopress.com

Nature and Ecology Books:

Near One Cattail: Turtles, Logs and Leaping Frogs
by Anthony D. Fredericks, illustr. Jennifer DiRubbio
Picture book.
Dawn Publications; www.dawnpub.com

Hotel Deep
by Kurt Cyrus
Picture book
Harcourt; www.harcourtbooks.com

Little Yellow Pear Tomatoes
by Damian E Yumei, illustr. Nicole Tamarin
Picture Book
Illumination Arts; www.illumin.com

Awesome Ospreys: Fishing Birds of the World
by Donna Love, illustr. Joyce M Turley
Elem. and middle grades
Mountain Press; www.mountain-press.com

Un dia mas y otras historias: Cuentos sobre animales en peligro de extincion
por Edna Iturralde, illustr. Pablo Lara
In Spanish. Middle grades.
Alfaguara Infantil; www.ednaiturralde.com

only the sea keeps: Poetry of the Tsunami
Edited by Judith R. Robinson, Joan E. Bauer, and Sankar Roy
High school to adult
Bayeux; www.bayeux.com

Teaching Resources

A Broken Flute: The Native Experience in Books for Children
Edited by Doris Seale and Beverly Slapin
For parents, teachers and librarians.
Altamira Press and Oyate, www.oyate.org

Evolution of the Insects
by David Grimaldi and Michael Engel
For nature lovers and educators
Cambridge University Press; www.cambridge.org

Strong At The Heart: How it feels to heal from sexual abuse
by Carolyn Lehman
High school grades and adults
Melanie Kroupa Books; www.strongattheheart.com

A Generation at Risk: The Global Impact of HIV/AIDS on Orphans and Vulnerable Children
Edited by Geoff Foster, Carol Levine and John Williamson
For educators and policy makers
Cambridge University Press; www.cambridge.org

For more information, see contact info below.