Hawai'i children elect 'Eragon' Nene winner
Advertiser Staff
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The 2006 Nene Award winner, chosen as the favorite book in a vote by Hawai'i children grades 4 through 6, is "Eragon," by Christopher Paolini. Paolini's book is the first in a "Lord of the Rings"-style fantasy series about a boy, a dragon and a quest, praised by The New York Times as "an authentic work of great talent." The 23-year-old author lives in Montana. He self-published the book in 2002 and spent two years promoting it himself until it came to the attention of Alfred A. Knopf, which snapped it up. Book two of the series, "Eldest," was released in 2005. Paolini is at work on a third book.
The award was announced last week in a presentation ceremony at Kaimuki High School by last year's Nene Award winner, Kate DiCamillo, author of "Because of Winn-Dixie," the novel about a girl and her dog that became a popular motion picture.
Find out more about "Eragon," its author and its world, "Alagaesia," at www.alagaesia.com.
LITERATURE CONFERENCE FOR KIDS, ADULTS
The 13th Biennial Conference on Literature and Hawai'i's Children is planned for June 15-17, with special guests Karen Hesse, a Newbery Award-winning writer, and children's book illustrator Jerry Pinkney, a multiple Caldecott Award-winner.
Workshops and a teen track for younger participants are also planned.
Karen Hesse is the author of "Letters from Rifka" (which won the National Jewish Book Award), "Out of the Dust" (which won the Newbery Award and Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction), "The Music of Dolphins," "Come On, Rain!," "Cats in Krasinski Square" and "Just Juice."
Pinkney's illustrations appear in "The Nightingale," "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" and more than 100 other children's books. He has won five Caldecott Honor Medals, eight Coretta Scott King Awards and four gold and four silver medals from the Society of Illustrators in New York. He has had some 30 solo exhibits and numerous group shows.
Pinkney's work will be featured in a show at the Honolulu Academy of Arts presented in conjunction with the Conference on Literature, from June 6 to April 13 in the Education Gallery. On June 18, a new interactive gallery for families, including a children's reading room and activity space, will be opened and Pinkney will make an appearance at the free event, titled "Talk Story." For more on the Academy events: 532-8700.
To find out more about the Conference on Literature, go to www.english.hawaii.edu/CLH/2006.html.
Correction: "Eragon" by Christopher Paolini won the 2006 Nene Award. The year of the award was incorrect in an earlier version of this story.
