did you know that there is such a thing as the Montana Book Award?there is indeed, and the Montana Book Award is an annual award that recognizes literary and/or artistic excellence in a book published during the award year. Eligible titles will be set in Montana, deal with Montana themes or issues, or be written, edited, or illustrated by a Montana author or artist.
i have just returned from the Montana Library Conference in Kalispell and brought with me a whole list of books that are inspired by the beautiful state of Montana, and i wanted to share the winners as well as some of the noteworthy titles*:
2008 winnerFULL-COURT QUEST by Linda Peavy and Ursula Smith
...the story of the women's basketball team at an isolated Indian boarding school at Fort Shaw, Montana at the turn of the 20th century. The team eventually brought its champion skills in the fledgling game to the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. The authors profile the 10 team members who represented seven different tribes and supplement the surviving oral history of the team's success with photographs, records, and archives from the school and other institutions.
honor books
FREEMAN WALKER by David Allen Cates
At the age of seven a mulatto slave boy, Jimmy Gates, is freed by his owner-father, separated from his mother, and sent to England for an education. So begins this adventure story of one man's quest to understand the true meaning of moral freedom.
FREEMAN WALKER by David Allen Cates
At the age of seven a mulatto slave boy, Jimmy Gates, is freed by his owner-father, separated from his mother, and sent to England for an education. So begins this adventure story of one man's quest to understand the true meaning of moral freedom.
MONTANA: Stories of the Land by Krys Holmes
More than 12,000 years of Montana history come to life in Montana: Stories of the Land. This new book, created for use in teaching Montana history, offers a panorama of the past beginning with Montana's first people and ending with life in the twenty-first century. Incorporating Indian perspectives, Montana: Stories of the Land is the first truly multicultural history of the state. It features hundreds of historical photographs, unique artifacts, maps, and paintings largely drawn from the Society's extensive collections. Sidebar quotations bring the stories of ordinary people to life while providing diverse perspectives on important historical events.
REQUIEM FOR LOCUSTS by Wendy Parciak
This is the story of how people react when confronted by someone whose life is more out of control than their own. It is a story of love, misunderstanding, suspense and heartbreak. It is one that is familiar to us, as we wonder about our neighbors, experience the painfulness of self-doubt, or witness the confusion and fright of mental illness. It is the story of all who are forced to confront the chaos in their own lives.
SAVING HOMEWATERS by Gordon Sullivan
Charting the transformation of Montana's streams and rivers from polluted waterways in the late 1800s to championed areas by conservationists, this book tells the story of how they became protected by policies set between 1900 and 1940 as well as problems with industry and restoration efforts thereafter. The second half of the book details individual rivers and their advocates. Sullivan, a Montana native, is a professional photographer and author.
**we don't have all of these in the library, but we're working on getting them just as soon as we can FOR YOU!
see you in the library!
