SUMMERVILLE S.C. AUTHOR KATIE STAGLIANO, A HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR, TO RECEIVE A CHRISTOPHER AWARD FOR "KATIE'S CABBAGE," MAY 19

High school junior Katie Stagliano, from Summerville, S.C., will be honored with a Christopher Award for her book Katie’s Cabbage (ages 8 and up, Young Palmetto Books/University of South Carolina Press). The book, written with Michelle H. Martin, Columbia, SC, is illustrated by Karen Heid, Augusta, Ga. It is one of 12 books for adults and young people by 21 authors and illustrators to be celebrated, along with the writers, producers and directors of nine winning feature films and TV/Cable programs, on May 19, 2016 at the 67th annual Christopher Awards in New York.

About the true story Tony Rossi, director of communications at The Christophers, wrote: “A third-grader donates the 40-pound cabbage she grew in her backyard to a local soup kitchen, and launches a national youth movement, called Katie’s Krops, to end hunger one vegetable garden at a time.” Katie’s Cabbage reminds readers of how small things can grow and thrive when nurtured with tender loving care and of how one young person with the support of family, friends, and community, can help make a powerful difference in the lives of so many.

In addition to founding the nonprofit Katie’s Krops, Stagliano, who attends Pinewood Preparatory School in Summerville, is the youngest recipient of the Clinton Global Citizen Award for Leadership in Civil Society, presented to her by Matt Damon in 2012. She is also a Global Teen Leader for Three Dot Dash, a Hasbro Community Action Hero, a Build-A-Bear Huggable Hero, was named a top ten youth volunteer of 2014 by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, and completed a three-year-term as a member of the Youth Advisory Board for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. Katie tours the country, speaking about Katie's Krops and the power of youth service. She has written gardening blog posts for Lowe's Creative Ideas and is a contributor to State of the Heart: South Carolina Writers on the Places They Love, Volume 2. A competitive swimmer since the age of seven, Katie swims on her high school team.

Karen Heid, Ph.D., is the Associate Director in The Office of Faculty Development & Teaching Excellence and Associate Professor of Art at Augusta University.

Michelle H. Martin, Ph.D., has been the inaugural Augusta Baker Endowed Chair in Childhood Literacy at the University of South Carolina in the School of Library and Information Science since August 2011, where she teaches courses in children’s and young adult literature to undergraduate students in the education department and graduate students in the School of Library and Information Science.

Created in 1949, The Christopher Awards are presented to authors and illustrators as well as writers, producers and directors whose work “affirms the highest values of the human spirit.” Rossi says, “The world around us can seem like a dark place but the stories we honor with Christopher Awards remind us that we can illuminate the darkness by choosing to practice faith, love, compassion, courage, teamwork, and determination.”

The Christophers, a nonprofit organization 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.