Congratulations to the winners and participants in the eighth annual Ezra Jack Keats (EJK) Bookmaking Project! This partnership program by The Contemporary Jewish Museum (The CJM), the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL), and the EJK Foundation showcases the talent, imagination, and determination of the young authors and illustrators in our city.
This year, students from San Francisco Public Schools in grades K–12 submitted eighty-five books from twenty schools, filled with creativity, drama, humor, and thoughtfulness. Our panel of judges—Rachelle Resnick, Supervisor Emeritus, SFUSD Library Services; Isabelle Smeall, Design Director, The CJM; Lyn Davidson, Assistant Manager, Fisher Children’s Center, SFPL; Andrea Guskin, Education Programs Manager: Family and Studio Arts, The CJM; and C.K. Itamura, artist, bookmaker and founder of The Book Arts Roadshow—had a hard time selecting just a few for special recognition.
Designed to motivate children to strengthen their reading, writing, and creative art skills, the EJK Bookmaking Project extends the legacy of Ezra Jack Keats, one of America’s greatest authors/illustrators of children’s literature. Keats was motivated to pursue a career as an author/illustrator after receiving an art achievement award while attending public school in Brooklyn, New York.
Inspired by the incredible work from the 2020 EJK Bookmaking Project? Artist C.K. Itamura of the Book Arts Roadshow outlines how you can craft books with materials you have at home.
What do you do with a Body Like This? Second Grade, Rooftop
Night Creatures, First Grade, Miraloma
Heroes que cambian el mundo, Second Grade, Buena Vista Horace Mann
Nuestros Heroes, Second Grade, Buena Vista Horace Mann
Can You Guess our Continent? First Grade, Commodore Sloat
Mis Amigos en el Mundo / Me Encanta mi Amigo, First Grade, Dolores Huerta
This is not a Rectangle. This is not a Square. This is not a Circle. First Grade, McKinley
Oops, First Grade, San Francisco Community
Grands, Second Grade, Miraloma
Mr. Gnome and the Mystery Seed, Hugo Shum and Jack Stoddard, Fifth Grade, San Francisco Public Montessori
Look at Me: A Collection of Animal Poems, Violet Franklin, Fifth Grade, Rooftop
We Did it! Ayumi Stohr, Fifth Grade, Grattan
All About Me, Kenia Barrera, Third Grade, Mission Education Center
What is Round, Addy Chivvis, First Grade, Grattan
The Three Little Teslas, Caitlin Higham, Fourth Grade, Jefferson
The Adventures of Professor Benjemen, Alexis Louie and Bird Honan, Third Grade, Lakeshore
Bees on the Roof, Liam Chivvis, Fifth Grade, Grattan
Bubble, Lia Roth and Finley Caulfield, Seventh Grade, Aptos
Places Like None Other, Richelle Hammon, Seventh Grade, Aptos
Amira Imam, Isabella Ting and Hayden Caulfield, Seventh Grade, Aptos
Finally Me, Lia Waldman, Eighth Grade, Everett
The Firefly Forest, Amanda Ung, Eighth Grade, Rooftop
Tropical Climate, Nikki Ma and Natasha Lin, Sixth Grade, Aptos
This Nightmare, Malcolm Barry-Kao, Sixth Grade, Aptos
Z–A Elements, Natasha Marminoff and Ceanne Nichols, Seventh Grade, Aptos
Fraternal Standards, Jada Woodberry, Tenth Grade, Burton
The Power of Nate, Lotoumba Vawters, Eleventh Grade, Downtown
Fighting the Fennel Invasion, Kobe Saepan, Twelfth Grade, Downtown
Support for the Ezra Jack Keats Bookmaking Competition is provided by The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, The Ullendorff Memorial Foundation, and Blick Art Materials and is presented in partnership with the San Francisco Unified School District and the San Francisco Public Library.
School and Teacher Programs are made possible by generous support from The Bavar Family Foundation, California Arts Council, and Toole Family Charitable Foundation.