Emporia State University has announced the winner of its Bill Martin Jr. Picture Book Award winner.
“Every Little Letter” is written by Deborah Underwood, a Caldecott Honor winner and New York Times bestselling author, and illustrated by Joy Hwang Ruiz — her first illustrated picture book. It “reflects the influence of our youth’s curiousity and wonder,” according to committee chair Dr. Heather Caswell.
The award was established in 1996 by the Kansas Reading Association and became a statewide award presented by Emporia State in 2018. It’s named for Kansas native Bill Martin Jr., an American teacher and writer of better than 300 children’s books.
