Emma Clark Library Announces the 5th Annual Helen Stein Shack Picture Book Award Winners

Setauket, NY – March 7, 2019 –

Emma Clark Library has announced the winners for the Helen Stein Shack Picture Book Award, a contest which showcases the young writing and artistic talent in the Three Village Community:

First Prize (Grades 7 – 9 category): Gerald’s Share by Nicole Xiao

First Prize (Grades 10 – 12 category): You Saved the Earth: A Plastic Bottle’s Journey by Juliet Weschke

Second Prize (Grades 7 – 9 category): Lily and Liam’s Summer at the Library by Riley Meckley

Second Prize (Grades 10 – 12 category): Simon’s Day at the Beach by Nicole Freeley

Gerald’s Share by Nicole Xiao (8^th grader at P.J. Gelinas Junior High School) tells the tale of a brown bear who has a hard time learning to share his beloved berries with his friends. You Saved the Earth: A Plastic Bottle’s Journey by Juliet Weschke (10^th grader at Ward Melville High School) takes the young reader on the journey of a plastic bottle that starts out as a piece of litter.

Winning authors will be recognized at a private awards ceremony at Emma Clark Library on Monday, April 8, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.  At the reception, each First Prize award recipient will receive a $400 scholarship, each Second Prize award recipient will receive a $100 scholarship, and bound books for all winning entries will be presented and added to the library’s Local Focus Collection.  Light refreshments will be served at the reception, and desserts are once again being generously donated by The Bite Size Bake Shop, a local Three Village business.

The Helen Stein Shack Book Contest called for teens in grades 7 through 12 who live in the Three Village Central School District to create a children’s picture book.  Each entry could be the work of a single author/illustrator or a collaborative effort of an author and an illustrator.  The contest was divided into two grade categories, grades 7 through 9 and grades 10 through 12, with one First Prize Winner and one Second Prize Winner selected from each group.

This award is given in memory of Helen Stein Shack by her family.  As a teacher, Mrs. Shack was committed to the education of children, and she especially loved literature written for them.  She was a frequent visitor to Emma Clark Library where, even in retirement, she kept current with the latest children’s books.  The library is grateful to the children of the late Mrs. Shack who have established a substantial endowment with the library to cover the cost of the winning scholarships.

At last year’s ceremony, the winners also received certificates from New York State, Suffolk County, and the Town of Brookhaven. Legislator Kara Hahn remarked, “What a great way to encourage teenagers to think about…what’s important to them and how to express that in a way that will resonate with children.”  Emma Clark Library is delighted to once again hold this ceremony honoring these talented and hardworking teens and to add their books to the Library’s collection.

 

The Emma S. Clark Memorial Library, located at 120 Main Street in Setauket and online at www.emmaclark.org, provides public library service to all residents of the Three Village Central School District.

“The Heart of the Three Village Community”