The first round had more than 1600 votes cast and I am now thrilled to reveal the top 3 vote-getters. All of the authors and illustrators nominated are worthy of being the final choice with their impressive creativity and beautiful books. Voting will run for a week and will then be considered as I determine the final choice.
Congratulations to all 3 author/illustrators that are now finalists for Global Read Aloud 2016! The 3 finalists are:
Oliver Jeffers!
Bio:
Oliver Jeffers makes art.
From figurative painting and installation to illustration and picture-book making, Oliver Jeffers’ work takes many forms. His distinctive paintings have been exhibited in multiple cities, including Lazarides Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery in London, the Brooklyn Museum and Spring Break Fair (Armory Week) in New York, and Gestalten Space in Berlin.
Oliver’s picture books — including The Incredible Book Eating Boy, This Moose Belongs to Me, The Day Crayons Quit and its sequel The Day The Crayons Came Home ( both #1 NYTimes Bestsellers) and Once Upon an Alphabet — have been translated into over 30 languages. Working in collaboration with Studio AKA, Oliver’s second book Lost and Found was developed into an animated short film that has received over sixty awards, including a BAFTA for Best Animated Short Film.
Oliver is from Belfast, Northern Ireland, and now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
Lauren Castillo!
Bio:
Lauren studied illustration at the Maryland Institute College of Art and received her MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She has written & illustrated over 14 books for children, including the critically acclaimed Melvin and the Boy, The Reader by Amy Hest,Happy Like Soccer by Maribeth Boelts, Buffalo Music by Tracey Fern and What Happens on Wednesdays by Emily Jenkins. Her most recent book, Nana in the City, was awarded a 2015 Caldecott Honor. She currently draws and dreams in sunny Los Angeles, California.
Bio:
Mem Fox is a retired Associate Professor of Literacy Studies (Flinders University, South Australia), and also Australia’s most highly regarded picture-book author. Her first publication, Possum Magic, is the best selling children’s book in Australia. It is thirty years old this year (2013) and is still available in hard-back. She has written many other internationally best-selling books for children including Time for Bed, Where Is The Green Sheep? and Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes, a copy of which was Australia’s official gift to Prince George, the new royal baby. Mem has also written several non-fiction books for adults, including her renowned book for parents:Reading Magic. Her books have been translated into nineteen languages. She has received many civic honours and awards, and three honorary doctorates. She lives in Adelaide, South Australia, but leaps around a bit as an advocate for literacy and literature.
Happy voting!
The Global Read Aloud 