The first one shows a group of first graders reading Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator by Sarah Campbell. The second one shows a first grader reading Dr. Seuss's beloved The Cat in the Hat.
Today, Wolfsnail won the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Award for distinguished children's book for beginning readers. "Dr. Seuss " is the pen name for Theodor Geisel. The author of Wolfsnail, Sarah Campbell, visited third through sixth graders in the fall of 2008 and lives in Jackson, Mississippi. We have her book in our library. It is autographed by her and wishes St. Therese students the joy of discovering God's natural world around them.
This is a HUGE honor for Sarah Campbell. Out of all of the children's books published in 2008 (thousands and thousands), only a handful won honors like this today. Knowing Sarah and listening to her talk about her book, I know much time, hard work, imagination, and dedication went into creating it.
Wolfsnail is art. With simple words and detailed, close-up photography, she reveals to the reader small moments in this enormous universe that might otherwise go overlooked.
It is hard work learning how to read. It is also hard work to write a book that engages children (and adults) and tempts us to read and learn more. What an honor for Sarah Campbell. What a joy that she shared the lives of these amazing creatures with us.
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