March 14, 2005
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Children’s Environmental Publishing respectfully invites you to nominate candidates for inclusion in our upcoming picture book for children, HEROES OF THE ENVIRONMENT. The purpose of the book is to educate children about important contemporary environmental issues and opportunities. The personal stories of environmental heroes will serve to inspire children through examples of leaders from various communities with whom they can identify.
HEROES OF THE ENVIRONMENT will honor fourteen environmental activists working on a diverse set of issues from communities across the United States, using a broad definition of environmentalism that includes environmental health and environmental justice. Sections devoted to each hero will feature engaging short stories by the heroes talking to children about their work; full page, full color mini-murals by outstanding fine artists that honor each hero and provide visual information about the hero’s work; contemporary and childhood photos of the heroes; and a capsule summary of their accomplishments in environmental activism.
Primary audiences for the book will include children in the upper elementary grades, as well as their teachers, families and caregivers. We will be working closely with educators to develop innovative multi-subject curricula responsive to state standards and the requirements of environmental literacy programs.
What kind of heroes are we looking for?
Final candidates will be selected by Children’s Environmental Publishing and our advisors.
We hope that you will join us in this exciting publishing project to benefit our children by helping us to select candidates for HEROES OF THE ENVIRONMENT. A nominating form is included with this letter.
Please submit your nominations by April 8, 2005 (deadline
extended!) by emailing the nomination form (included below or click
here to download a pdf of the nomination form)
to
. For
questions, please also email us or contact our publisher, Harriet Rohmer
at (415)
664-8500 or Ricardo G. Huerta Niño, Research
Consultant, at (415) 577-7358.
Sincerely,
The Project Team
Children’s Environmental Publishing is a new publishing company operating as a fiscally-sponsored project of Intersection for the Arts, a tax-exempt organization. The company was founded in July, 2004 by Harriet Rohmer, Founder and former Publisher and Executive Director of Children’s Book Press, the leading nonprofit publisher of bilingual and multicultural picture books. Under Rohmer’s leadership, Children’s Book Press books won over 100 major awards, including the American Book Award, the Américas Award, the Coretta Scott King Award, the Pura Belpré Award, the Jane Addams Award, and awards from the International Reading Association, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Library of Congress.
We are grateful to the LEF Foundation for initial funding of this project.
Nomination Form - Click Here for PDF version of nomination form
HEROES OF THE ENVIRONMENT
A Multicultural Picture Book for Children
1) Name(s) of candidate(s) and contact information (including website if available).
2) Region of work (New England, Mid-Atlantic, South, Southwest, Midwest and Central U.S., Mountains, California, Northwest, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, other).
3) Field(s) of work (pollution, degradation, food security, community health, transportation, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, restoration, conservation and recycling, other).
4) How long have they worked in this field? What are their major accomplishments?
5) Why should this person be honored as a Hero of the Environment?
6) Describe an inspiring episode with this person that shows their dedication to their community and the environment.
7) What could children, teachers, and families learn from this person?
8) Please list any awards they have received.
9) Please provide citations or URL information on articles related to the nominee or the work.
10) Your name as nominator; Occupation; Affiliation(s); Contact information (including website if available).