Previous Winners of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Award

2007 Winner and Honorees

The 2007 Lee Bennett Hopkins Award was once again presented to Walter Dean Myers, this time for his musical poetry collection, Jazz. Judges' comments include "Jazz is a joyful, sensual celebration of creativity and the human spirit.  His poems resonate with musicality and heart as they bring to life the diverse sounds and rhythms of jazz musicians making music.  This book warms the soul."

Honor awards were presented to Jack Prelutsky for Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant and Other Poems (Greenwillow), Helen Frost for The Braid (Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux), and Diane Siebert for Tour America (Chronicle Books).

2007 Judges

2006 Winner and Honorees

The 2006 Lee Bennett Hopkins Award was given to Joyce Sidman for Song of the Water Boatman & Other Pond Poems. This delightful collection inspired judges to comment "Upon first read one is struck by the perfect marriage of the poetic art and science of nature that embodies Song of the Water Boatman. Each poem delights the reader of any age with its ability to capture the details of pond-life inhabitants" and "The combination of exquisite poetic images, solid science, and lush and lovely woodcuts speaks to young nature lovers and awakens their curiosity about the world around them."

Joyce Sidman accepts the Hopkins award and reads one of the poems from Song of the Water Boatman

Honor awards were presented to Naomi Shihab Nye for A Maze Me (Greenwillow) and Marilyn Nelson for A Wreath for Emmett Till (Houghton Mifflin).

2006 Judges

2005 Winner and Honorees

The award in 2005 was presented to Walter Dean Myers for his book, Here in Harlem. The judges praised this as a "collection of diverse and outstanding poems (which) draw the reader into a community where one feels as if s/he has lived there amongst these people" and "a rich tapestry of characters that come to life on the page." A poem from this collection, "Gerry Jones, 14, Student," was also featured on a Public Poetry Project poster this year. Click here to view the poster.

Additionally, judges gave honor awards to Naomi Shihab Nye for Is This Forever, or What?: Poems and Paintings from Texas (Greenwillow) and Marilyn Singer for Creature Carnival, illustrated by Gris Grimly (Hyperion).

2005 Judges

Stephen Mitchell acceptance speech

2004 Winner and Honorees

The 2004 winner was Stephen Mitchell for The Wishing Bone and Other Poems, illustrated by Tom Pohrt (Candlewick). One judge described The Wishing Bone as “vastly entertaining and utterly accessible to children” and “thought provoking.” “It is destined to become a children's classic,” said another judge. The award and a $500 prize was presented to Mitchell on May 7, 2004, at the Children's Literature Matters Conference at Penn State.

Judges also gave honor awards to Diane Ackerman for Animal Sense, illustrated by Peter Sís (Knopf); Walter Dean Myers for Blues Journey, illustrated by Christopher Myers (Holiday House); Samuel Jay Keyser for The Pond God and Other Stories, illustrated by Robert Shetterly (Front Street); and Hope Anita Smith for The Way A Door Closes, illustrated by Shane W. Evans (Henry Holt).

2004 Judges

2003 Winner and Honorees

The winner in 2003 was Constance Levy for Splash! Poems of Our Watery World, illustrated by David Soman (Orchard Books). One judge called Levy's poems “highly original, imaginative—they wake us up, make us see water in new ways such as an iceberg as 'a glacier's child.'” Another judge described the poems as “beautifully crafted with imagery that perfectly reflected the topic of the book, and while the crafting was sophisticated, the poems were very accessible to children.” The award and a $500 prize were presented to Levy on April 11, 2003, at the Children's Literature Matters Conference at Penn State.

Constance Levy signs copies of her award-winning book.

Additionally, judges gave honor awards to April Halprin Wayland's Girl Coming in for a Landing-A Novel in Poems, illustrated by Elaine Clayton (Alfred A. Knopf); Maria Testa's Becoming Joe DiMaggio (Candlewick Press); and Jaime Adoff's The Song Shoots Out of My Mouth, illustrated by Martin French (Dutton Children's Books).

The 2003 Winners pictured from left to right: April Halprin, Maria Testa, Constance Levy and Jaime Adoff

2003 Judges

2002 Winner and Honorees

The 2002 winner was Anna Grossnickle Hines for Pieces: A Year in Poems and Quilts (Greenwillow Books). Along with the award, Grossnickle received a $500 prize. The award was presented on April 5, 2002 at the Children's Literature Matters Conference at Penn State University.

Pictured from left to right: Paul Janeczko, Bev Gallagher, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Anna Grossnickle Hines and Linda Oatman High.

Additionally, judges gave honor awards to Linda Oatman High for A Humble Life: Plain Poems, illustrated by Bill Farnsworth (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.); Paul Janeczko for A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems, illustrated by Chris Raschka (Candlewick Press); and Charles R. Smith Jr. for Short Takes: Fast-break Basketball Poetry (Dutton Books).

2002 Judges

2001 Winner and Honorees

The 2001 winner was Liz Rosenberg for the anthology Light-Gathering Poems (Henry Holt & Company, Inc.), a collection featuring authors such as Dickinson, Frost, Stafford and Keats. Rosenberg arranged the poems alphabetically and included biographical notes for those who wish to learn more about a poet or poem in the anthology.

The judges explained their selection of Light-Gathering Poems with the words “expansive, beautiful, classical, great choices, accessible—just the kind of poems to turn children on to the music and sound of the words.” One judge remarked, “This is the kind of book I could see a young person keeping and cherishing and returning to over and over again.”

Judges also selected Paul B. Janeczko to receive an honor award for Stone Bench in an Empty Park (Orchard Books)—a collection of haiku poems that celebrate city life, illustrated with black-and-white photos by Henri Silberman.

“I love the clean lines and open spaces of this book, and the subtlety of the haiku and the pristine black and white photos of mostly city scenes. I like the premise of discovering poetry in the ordinary things around us,” wrote one judge about Stone Beach in an Empty Park.

2001 Judges

2000 Winner and Honorees
	What Have You Lost? selected by Naomi Shihab Nye photographs by Michael Nye New York : Greenwillow Books, c1999.
	An Old Shell: Poems of the Galapagos by Tony Johnston pictures by Tom Pohrt New York : Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1999.
	The Rainbow Hand: Poems about Mothers and Children by Janet S. Wong illustrated by Jennifer Hewitson New York : M.K. McElderry Books, c1999.
1999 Winner
	The Other Side by Angela Johnson New York : Orchard Books, 1998.
1998 Winner
	The Great Frog Race and Other Poems by Kristine O'Connell George Pictures by Kate Kiesler New York : Clarion Books, c1997.
1997 Winner
	Voices from the Wild by David Bouchard paintings by Ron Parker San Francisco : Chronicle Books, 1996.
1996 Winner
	Dance With Me by Barbara Juster Esbensen illustrated by Megan Lloyd New York, NY : HarperCollins Publishers, c1995.
1995 Winner
	Beast Feast by Douglas Florian paintings by Douglas Florian San Diego : Harcourt Brace, c1994.
1994 Winner
	Spirit Walker by Nancy Wood paintings by Frank Howell New York : Doubleday Books for Young Readers, c1993
1993 Winner
	Sing to the Sun by Ashley Bryan pictures by Ashley Bryan New York: HarperCollins, c1992.
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