Melissa Iwai awarded 2023 Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor
Wain’s World is thrilled to announce that Gigi and Ojiji, by Melissa Iwai, is a recipient of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Award for 2023!!
The Geisel Award is given to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished American book for beginning readers published in English in the United States during the preceding year. Award winners are recognized for their literary and artistic achievements that demonstrate creativity and imagination to engage children in reading.
We are proud to note that Gigi and Ojiji is included on The Chicago Public Library, The New York Public Library, and Kirkus Review 2022 Best Book Lists!
Gigi and Ojiji is the first book of four in the I Can Read series published by Harper Collins. It chronicles a six-year-old Japanese-American girl and her relationship with her Japanese grandfather, Ojiji. Together they learn about each other’s cultures.
A Starred Review from School Library Journal:
“Gigi crafts her Japanese American identity in this enchanting early reader. The cuteness, inclusivity, and cross-cultural problem-solving represented will have young readers coming back again and again. A must-buy.”
The second book in this series, Gigi and OJiji: What’s In A Name, was named a Junior Library Book Gold Standard Book.
Fun Fact:
The Storytime Read Aloud video of Gigi and Ojiji is now available as in-flight entertainment on all Jet Blue flights!
To view the video on YouTube, click here.