Illustrator Amy June Bates Honored with a Christopher Award

Carlisle, Pa.-based illustrator Amy June Bates received a Christopher Award for Gittel's Journey: An Ellis Island Story (Abrams Books for Young Readers). Written for ages six and up by Lesléa Newman of Holyoke-Mass. the book is one of 11 for adults and young people by 16 authors and illustrators honored as the Awards mark their 71st year. They join the creators of nine winning TV/Cable and feature films also being honored.

The Christophers' motto, “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness,” is particularly apt in 2020 said Tony Rossi, The Christophers’ Director of Communications. The celebrated authors, illustrators, writers, producers, and directors whose works exemplify this Chinese proverb also “affirm the highest values of the human spirit,” he said.

In "Gittel's Journey" Gittel must travel to Ellis Island alone when a health inspector determines that her mother isn't well enough. Can a young child cross the ocean alone to begin a new life on her own? How does she find her cousins when she lands? There's a true story behind Gittel’s passage to America inspired by the journey taken by Newman’s grandmother, a family friend and many others.

Bates has loved to draw and read since childhood. She is also the illustrator of "Bear in the Air," "Minette’s Feast," and "The Dog Who Belonged to No One." She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and three children.

Newman is the author of 70 books for adults and children. She has received many literary awards, including the Association of Jewish Libraries Sydney Taylor Award, the Massachusetts Book Award, and a Poetry Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. She writes in many different forms: picture books, poems, short stories and novels.

The Christophers, a nonprofit founded in 1945 by Maryknoll Father James Keller, is rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition of service to God and humanity. The ancient Chinese proverb—“It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness”— guides its publishing, radio, and awards programs. More information about The Christophers is available at www.christophers.org