LCSD, LPL to Present Bresnahan Book Award

  • Posted March 6, 2025
Portrait of Lori Bresnahan

The 黑料正能量 and its library media specialists, along with the Liverpool Public Library, will celebrate the life of fellow library media specialist Lori Bresnahan during the Bresnahan Book Award ceremony on Wednesday, April 9, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Liverpool Public Library. At that time, they will present the sixth Bresnahan Book Award winner.

Students at all eight Liverpool elementary schools recently had the opportunity to read each of this year’s nominated books and select the winner.

This year’s nominees are:

  • Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider - by Jessica Lanan
  • A is for Axolotl: An Unsual Animal ABC - by Catherine Macorol
  • Watch Out for the Lion! - by by Brooke Hartman (Author) and Anna Süßbauer (Illustrator)
  • Enough is... - by Jessica Whipple (Author) and Nicole Wong (Illustrator)
  • Just Snow Already! - by Howard McWilliam

The books were selected because they also are nominated for the 2025 Charlotte Award, which was one of Bresnahan’s favorites. Every other year, the New York State Reading Association presents the Charlotte Award, which recognizes books that represent diversity, demonstrate different genres and formats, and appeal to children as much as they appeal to their teachers.

The Bresnahan Book Award was established to honor Lori Bresnahan, who passed away in March 2013. The award is presented during a special ceremony featuring LCSD celebrities reading the nominated books.

One of Bresnahan’s great passions was sharing books with children, and the district’s library media specialists decided that there was no better way to keep her love of literature alive than by creating a book award in her honor.

Penguin and Pinecone, by Salina Yoon, was the inaugural winner in 2014. The Book with No Pictures, by B.J. Novak, was selected the winner in 2016. Winnie: The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired Winnie-the-Pooh, written by Sally M. Walker and illustrated by Jonathan D. Voss, was the winner in 2018, while the 2020 winner was Can I Be Your Dog?, written and illustrated by Troy Cummings. The 2023 winner was How to Apologize, written by David LaRochelle and illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka.