Two School Library Journal articles took gold and silver prizes at the 2012 annual Eddie Awards, sponsored by FOLIO: magazine and recognizing editorial excellence in magazines and websites. The winners were announced at an awards ceremony in New York on November 14.
“Are Ebooks any Good?” by Lisa Guernsey, published in the June, 2011, issue, received the gold award in the Eddies’ “Business to Business, Government/Public Sector/Education, Single Article” category. Asking the question “Do digital books help young kids learn to read,or are they mostly fun and games?” Guernsey, director of the Early Education Initiative at the New America Foundation and author of Into the Minds of Babes: How Screen Time Affects Children from Birth to Age 5 (Basic Books, 2007) explored the pros and cons of ebook adaptation for early readers, as more and more schools turn to electronic materials for younger students.
The silver prize in the same category went to “The Bully in the Backpack” by former SLJ senior news and features editor Debra Lau Whelan. Subtitled “There’s no limit to the cruelty of bullies. Here’s what you can do,” the article featured individual accounts of cyberbullying, statistics, and suggestions for how to help the 25 to 85 percent of kids who are harassed online.
“We are just thrilled,” said SLJ editor-in-chief Rebecca T. Miller. “Both articles nimbly address challenging issues in changing times. To have the editors acknowledged by peers for what we already feel proud of is pure icing—but we love it!”
