For Immediate Release
Contact: Headline Books, 1-800-570-5951 / 304-789-3001 email: cathy@headlinebooks.com
TERRA ALTA – Franklin Elementary Center and Rainelle Elementary student authors were honored today when USABookNews.com, the premiere online magazine and review website for mainstream and independent publishing houses, announced the winners and finalists of THE NATIONAL “BEST BOOKS” 2008 AWARDS (NBBA). Over 500 winners and finalists were announced in over 140 categories covering print and audio books. Awards were presented for titles published in 2008 and late 2007.
Jeff Keen, President and CEO of USABookNews.com, said this year’s contest yielded an unprecedented number of entries, which were then narrowed down to over 500 winners and finalists.
Both books were co-authored with well known children’s book authors, Martin & Delia Bowman Wach and were both named Finalists in Best Children’s Picture Book, Hardcover Non-Fiction. The Wachs worked closely with students and teachers as part of the Collaboration Book Program with Headline Kids and this award means so much to everyone involved in both book projects.
Franklin’s book, The Cat Has Class, was definitely a labor of love involving the whole school. “It takes special teachers and students to pull together a book the way this school did,” said Martin Wach. “They have nearly a year of work in their title.” The book was conceived by the Wachs and students during a school visit. Fourth grade teacher Monica Davis, Elizabeth Ellis, second grade teacher, and Kathy Bargeloh, Library/Media Specialist, spearheaded the awesome task of keeping the students on track with their stories and on deadline for their publisher. The Wachs worked with the students to pull together their ideas into coherent stories. Artist and illustrator, Delia Bowman Wach, taught the children how to illustrate their story so the final book looked cohesive. “The students caught on quickly,” said Delia, “They had fantastic ideas and never gave up through all the editing and proofing processes.”
Veterans Reign in Their Own Parade, by 5th Graders at Rainelle Elementary was conceived by the Wachs during a visit to their school the week of Memorial Day and is the first collaboration book in the series. Run for Wall, Rolling Thunder, and Task Force Omega ride into Rainelle every Memorial Day to commemorate the POW/MIA of foreign wars. The Wachs were witness to the family atmosphere and warm welcome the students and towns people gave to the bikers that came from all over the U.S.A. to Rainelle, WV. The bikers have embraced and adopted the school, donating funds for a new playground and making life long friends. The veterans bring their war experiences and life stories into this small town and the support for them is overwhelming. With the Wachs guidance and instruction, the students have written and illustrated a book about what these bikers and their cause mean to them personally. Fifth grade teacher Carmella Shires and her aide spearheaded the awesome task of keeping the students on track with their stories and on deadline for their publisher. Principal John Lewis and Secretary Rita Wood were also instrumental in making the project come together.
“It’s wonderful to compete with the larger publishing houses in a major competition like this,” says Headline Books president, Cathy Teets. “These students and teachers can be very proud of their accomplishment.” Headline Books, Inc. was a major winner with seven of its titles named Award-Winning Finalists in this year’s competition.
Keen says of the awards, now in their fifth year, “The 2008 results represent a phenomenal mix of books from a wide array of publishers throughout the United States.
As an executive in the publishing PR and marketing industry and president and CEO of JPX Media, I wanted to create an awards competition that recognized books in their publication year rather than months after the original launch window. With a full publicity and marketing campaign promoting the results of NBBA, this year’s winners and finalists will gain additional media coverage for the upcoming holiday retail season.”
Winners and finalists traversed the publishing landscape: Simon & Schuster, Tarcher/Penguin, HarperCollins, Hyperion, St. Martin’s Press, McGraw-Hill, John Wiley & Sons, Headline Books, Inc. & hundreds of independent titles contributed to this year’s outstanding NBBA competition. Keen adds, “NBBA’s success begins with the enthusiastic participation of publishers and continues with our distinguished panel of industry judges who bring to the table their extensive editorial, PR, marketing, and design expertise.”
A complete list of the winners and finalists of the USABookNews.com National Best Books 2008 Awards are available online at USABookNews.com.
[ return to top ]
© 2012 Headline Kids