Gwen Frostic Award

In 2006 the Michigan Reading Association established a Board Award that would honor a Michigan author and/or illustrator. The candidate must have strongly influenced literacy in Michigan in any dimension of literacy: which may include but is not limited to: children's fiction/nonfiction, young adult fiction/nonfiction, adult fiction/nonfiction, drama, song, poetry, newspaper, magazine or multimedia. The past recipients of the Gwen Frostic Award are listed below:

 2006 – Gloria Whalen, poet, short story writer and novelist

 2007 – Wendy Anderson Halperin – author and illustrator.

 2008 – Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen – illustrator and naturalist

 2009 – Shirley Nietzel -children's author

 2010 - Patricia Polacco - author and illustrator

2011 - Margaret Willey - children's author, folklorist, and novelist

2012 - Ryan Hipp - author and illustrator 

*Nominations must come from an MRA  Board Member by December 20th.

The Gwen Frostic Award is presented each year at the MRA Past Presidents Dinner during our Annual Conference.

 Bio of past two recipients

2012  Ryan Hipp   Grand Rapids, Michigan

This year’s recipient of the Gwen Frostic Award cares about animals, loves comic books, science fiction and fantasy, collects toys, plays video games, and skateboards. Ryan Hipp states he is a “kid at heart” and this comes out in his whimsical drawings. One of Ryan’s books, A Curious Glimpse of Michigan, which he co-illustrated with Kevin Kammeraad, was nominated for the 2005 Michigan Reading Association's Great Lakes Great Books Award. His art has appeared on the cover of On the Town Magazine.  In 2009 Ryan held top ranking in the inaugural Grand Rapids ArtPrize. The six wonderful paintings submitted titled Museum depicts his favorite museum exhibits from his youth. The paintings are now part of the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s permanent collection and are on display in the museum's café. Ryan strongly believes drawing and writing should be obtainable for kids everywhere, and is dedicated to helping kids achieve this goal. Comics, being one of his passions, have helped him develop workshops for teens, teachers and media specialists. Sharing his artwork and books with students help them understand that he is really no different than they are, and that every student has the power to make their dreams come true.

2011 Margaret M. Willey Grand Haven, Michigan

The Bigger Book of Lydia, Clever Beatrice, and A Summer of Silk Moths are just a few of the books by a Michigan author who has touched the hearts of children, teenagers and adults. Speaking of her Michigan childhood, Margaret Willey says, "As the eldest daughter in a family of eleven children, I was prematurely adult, very much involved in taking care of younger children—watching them, listening to them and in some ways identifying with them. This was my boot camp for writing, especially writing about teenagers."

Her first published young adult novel, The Bigger Book of Lydia, received critical acclaim. Margaret wrote more acclaimed young adult novels, before starting to write folktales, and the award-winning Beatrice series was created. All of Margaret's books are set in Michigan and the Beatrice books celebrate the unique history and geography of the Upper Peninsula. Her latest book, A Summer of Silk Moths, is a tribute to a novel Margaret loved as a girl, A Girl of the Limberlast, by Gene Stratton Porter. This novel, set in Buchanan on the St. Joseph River, reflects Margaret's long-standing belief that damaged children can find emotional healing in the natural world. Gwen Frostic would be pleased that Margaret Willey is receiving the award.