I’m a very lucky lady to have Lita Judge illustrate my book, S IS FOR S’MORES: A CAMPING ALPHABET. I admire her work, and wanted to mention ONE THOUSAND TRACINGS: HEALING THE WOUNDS OF WORLD WAR II.
Lita was inspired to write this story when she discovered hundreds of tracings of feet in her grandparents’ attic. After World War II, they sent packages of food, clothing, and shoes to Germany offering help. Tracings of shoes began arriving at their home and they enlisted their friends to help meet the needs of Europeans.
The illustrations are a combination “of paintings and collages of original photographs and foot tracings.” This is a fascinating story and one that make each of us think, “What can I do?”
It has definitely been an award magnet:
ONE THOUSAND TRACINGS Awards and Recognition!
• 2008 Winner of the IRA Children's Book Award
• 2008 ALA Notable Children's Book
• 2008 Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Honor
• NCTE Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts
• Bank Street Best Books of the Year 2008
• 2008 Michigan Notable Book
• CCBC Choices 2008
• IRA Teachers' Choices for 2008
• IRA Notable Book for a Global Society
• New York Public Library 100 Books for Reading and Sharing (2007)
• 2007 Society of School Librarians (SSLI)
• NAPPA Gold Award
• 2008 Storytelling World Resource Award
• 2007 Cybil Award Finalist
• Book Links Lasting Connection of 2007
You’ll want to visit her website to learn more about her and her work at www.litajudge.com. The November 2007 issue of BookLInks features the on the cover and there is a great article also.
I’ll say it again—I was so lucky to have her be the illustrator of S’MORES!
