Last Sunday I attended the
Once Upon a World Award ceremony at the
Simon Wiesenthal Center/Museum of Tolerance. This award is funded by Sonia and Lloyd Levitin and presented through the Museum of Tolerance to promote literature for children and teens that exemplify courage, tolerance, and understanding. This year the two award winners were
Gretchen Woelfle for her biography
Jeanette Rankin:Political Pioneer and
Ellie Crowe for her picture book
Surfer of the Century: Duke Kahanamoku On Monday, fourth grade students from two local elementary schools participated in a video conference with the author and a school in Hawaii to talk about
Duke . On Tuesday, two high school classes video-conferenced with the author and a school in Missoula, Montana where Jeanette Rankin was from. What a great experience for all!
It seemed especially appropriate to be discussing
Jeanette Rankin, the first woman to be elected to Congress (even before women were granted the right to vote in the greater United States) on a day when the first African American was elected President.
B'shalom,
Susan Dubin, President
Association of Jewish Libraries