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College to Present Eighth Bock Book Award

Neumann will present the eighth Frances and Wesley Bock Book Award for Children’s Literature on Thursday, October 4, at 10:30 a.m. in the college library. The 2007 winner is Brother Juniper, a story by local author Diane Gibfried about the true meaning of generosity.

A committee of scholars and librarians selected Brother Juniper – written by Gibfried and illustrated by Meilo So – from dozens of books submitted for consideration.  The author will be on hand to accept the award at the presentation. After the ceremony, Gibfried will read her story to a group of children in the college library and sign her books for audience members.

The book tells the story of Brother Juniper, the most generous of seven Franciscan friars who live in Assisi with Father Francis. Juniper has been known to give away the robe off his back – literally. When Francis asks Juniper to look after the church while the others are away, all the brothers wonder what they’ll find when they return.

“I wondered what would happen if a person could follow his inclination to give away all that he had,” says Gibfried, who is a McBride Scholar at Bryn Mawr College where she is completing a degree in psychology. The mother of three grown children, she lives in Bala Cynwyd, PA. Brother Juniper is her first book.

Principal criteria for the Bock Book award are a values-oriented text that appeals to the wonder and curiosity in children from ages three to eight; illustrations that instill a reverence and compassion for creation, in all diversity; and the integration of text and illustrations to promote a moral attitude or action. 

The Neumann College Library and the Institute for Franciscan Studies established the award in 2000 in honor of Philadelphians Frances and Wesley Bock, who built a strong business and personal relationship with the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia during more than 50 years.

For more information about the award, call 610-558-5542.

9/28/07