Schoolchildren award 2008 Nene to 'Lightning Thief' | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Schoolchildren award 2008 Nene to 'Lightning Thief' | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper

Posted on: Friday, May 16, 2008

BOOKS
Schoolchildren award 2008 Nene to 'Lightning Thief'

By Wanda Adams
Advertiser Books Editor

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

A roundup of book news from around the Islands:

Children across the state have designated "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan the winner of the 2008 Nene Award.

The award was presented at the Battleship Missouri Memorial at Pearl Harbor, in a ceremony sponsored by the Hawai'i State Teachers Association.

The Nene Award is presented to the favorite book voted on by Hawai'i children in grades four to six. This year, 6,911 children cast ballots at public or school libraries to choose the winner.

"The Lightning Thief" tells the story of 12-year-old Percy Jackson's dangerous quest to travel across the United States and capture a thief who has stolen Zeus' master bolt.

"The Field Guide: Spiderwick Chronicles, Book 1" by Tony DiTerlizzi is the runner-up and will receive the 2008 Nene Honor Book Award.

The ceremony also honored student winners of the Nene Award essay, poster, digital arts and performing arts contests.

In addition to the book awards presentation, student winners of the Nene Award essay, poster, digital arts, and performing arts contests were honored. Their winning entries were inspired by "A Boy at War: A Novel of Pearl Harbor," by Harry Mazer, the 2007 Nene Award winner.

Essay contest winners:

Grade 4: Jack Diehm, 'Aina Haina Elementary; Honor (runner-up) — Nova Clark, St. John Vianney

Grade 5: Nathaniel Kaneshige, Maryknoll Grade School; Honor — Jessica Tabe, Mililani Ike Elementary

Grade 6: Chrislin Hearn, Pearlridge Elementary; Honor — Shauna Hearn, Pearlridge Elementary

Poster contest winners:

Grade 4: Edric John V. Verona, Maryknoll Grade School; Honor — Ryan Kaku, Maryknoll Grade School

Grade 5: Travis Kim, Mililani 'Ike Elementary; Honor — Hana Ito, Maryknoll Grade School

Grade 6: Sarah Zhang, Maryknoll Grade School; Honor — Haylie Reichner, Kapolei Middle School

Digital Arts contest winners:

Grade 4: Dylan Feeley, Maryknoll Grade School; Honor —Blythe Ballesteros, Mililani 'Ike Elementary

Grade 5: Chassy Anne Inouye, Shay Chow, Maryknoll Grade School; Honor — Taylor Hayashi, Arianne Yago; Maryknoll Grade School

Grade 6: Erin Voss, Le Jardin Academy; Honor — Xavier Imperial, Maryknoll Grade School

Performance contest winners:

Grade 4: Braeden Freitas, Ethan Moon, David Foy, Maryknoll Grade School; Grade 5: Zhane Mejino, Barbers Point Elementary; Grade 6: Briana Grenert, Sara Wilheim, Kailua Elementary.

The work of children's book illustrator Barry Moser will be featured in "The Art of the Book," an exhibit at the Honolulu Academy of Arts' Museum Learning Center, June 16 to Aug. 4 in Gallery 31. The exhibit will display Moser's books, including the 1997 ALA Notable Children's Book, "When Birds Could Talk and Bats Could Sing," as well as components of the bookmaking process. Books will be available for reading in a keiki book area.

The event is in conjunction with "Sharing Memories, Shaping Possibilities," the 14th Biennial Conference on Literature and Hawaii's Children, June 26-28 at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa. A winner of the American Book Award for design and illustration for his version of "Alice in Wonderland," Moser takes a unique approach to his art, designing the entire book, from concept and format to paper and typography, before launching into the artwork, which might include painting, etching or wood engraving.

"The Cheetah Portal," by Maui-based author and business woman Bonnie Nelson, is a Silver Winner in the 2008 Nautilus Book Awards in the category of the World Changing Audio Books. The audio book takes listeners on safari in the East Africa to document the life of the cheetah, and the efforts to save them from extinction (there are but 12,000 of the big cats left, and their habitat is fast shrinking).

Nelson, who has made gifts of the CD books to contributors to cheetah welfare organizations here, will return to East Africa in August to begin work on a companion volume. Nelson is signing books in the Maui Book Publishers Association booth at the Hawaii Book & Music Festival today on the grounds of Hono-lulu Hale. Information: www.nautilusbookawards.com.

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