Lee & Low Books
Encyclopedia
History
Lee & Low was founded in 1991 by Chinese Americans Tom Low and Philip Lee as a children's book publisher specializing in books featuring people of color and one of the few minority-owned publishing companies in the United States. Low says, "There was a void in children's books. Most of the books were targeted to Caucasians or contained animals or fairy tales. There was nothing dealing with contemporary issues and people of color.". Lee & Low published its first list in 1993 and immediately gained attention when its first book, Baseball Saved Us was given a full-page review in The New York Times Book ReviewThe New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to The New York Times in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The offices are located near Times Square in New York...
.
In 1997, founder Tom Low's sons, Jason Low and Craig Low, joined Lee & Low, and in 2004, founder Philip Lee retired.
Lee & Low Books publishes primarily picture books, but in recent years has also published a small number of middle grade and young adult titles.
Arcoiris: Books in Spanish
In 1994, Lee & Low began to publish Spanish/English bilingual books and Spanish translations of many of their English titles. The name Arcoiris, Spanish for rainbowRainbow
A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on to droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc...
, was chosen to reflect the diversity of the books and subject matter.
Bebop Books
Founded in 2000, Bebop Books is an educational imprint of Lee & Low. Bebop Books prints leveled books for early readers in English and Spanish.Tu Books
Tu Books is an imprint of Lee & Low. Tu Books will publish middle grade and young adult science fiction, fantasy, and mystery featuring people of color or set in worlds inspired by non-Western folklore or culture.Tu Books was originally founded as Tu Publishing in 2009 by Stacy Whitman, a freelance children's book editor. In March 2010, Whitman joined Lee & Low as editorial director of the new imprint.
New Voices Award
In 2000, Lee & Low Books established the New Voices Award to encourage writers of color. The award is open to any United State resident of color who has not had a children's picture bookPicture book
A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. The images in picture books use a range of media such as oil paints, acrylics, watercolor and pencil.Two of the earliest books with something like the format picture books still retain now...
published previously. A winner receives $1000 and a standard publication contract, while an Honor Award winner receives $500. While Honor Award winners are not guaranteed publication, several honor books have been published.
New Voices Award Recipients
| Year | Author | Book | Citation | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Little Fish | Honor | ||
| 2008 | Honor | |||
| 2007 | Winner | 2012 | ||
| 2007 | Edwin's Lucky Thirteen | Honor | ||
| 2006 | Love Twelve Miles Long | Winner | 2011 | |
| 2006 | Seaside Dream | Honor | 2010 | |
| 2005 | It Jes' Happened: When Bill Traylor Taught Himself to Draw | Honor | 2011 | |
| 2005 | Bird | Honor | 2008 | |
| 2004 | Fit Like Frankie | Honor | ||
| 2003 | Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story | Winner | 2005 | |
| 2003 | My Feet are Laughing | Honor | 2006 (Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger W. Straus, Jr. and John C. Farrar. Known primarily as Farrar, Straus in its first decade of existence, the company was renamed several times, including Farrar, Straus and Young and Farrar, Straus and Cudahy... ) |
|
| 2002 | Dance, Nishi, Dance | Honor | ||
| 2001 | Janna and the Kings | Winner | 2003 | |
| 2001 | Superhombre | Honor | ||
| 2000 | Winner | 2002 | ||
| 2000 | Ghosts for Breakfast | Honor | 2002 | |
| 2000 | Raymond's Perfect Present | Honor | 2002 |
Major Awards
Books published by Lee & Low have received several major awards, including some given by the American Library AssociationAmerican Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
, the International Reading Association (IRA)
International Reading Association
The International Reading Association is an international professional organization that was created in 1956 to improve reading instruction, facilitate dialogue about research on reading, and encourage the habit of reading....
, and the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
.
Major Awards Won by Lee & Low Books
| Award | Citation | Year | Creator | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coretta Scott King Author Honor Award Coretta Scott King Award The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association... |
Winner | 2011 | Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty is an acclaimed graphic novel by G. Neri with art by Randy Duburke, published by Lee and Low Books in August, 2010 . The story is about Robert “Yummy” Sandifer, who was eleven years old in 1994 when he became a fugitive from justice after accidentally... |
|
| Coretta Scott King Author Award Coretta Scott King Award The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association... |
Winner | 1974 | Ray Charles | |
| Coretta Scott King Author Award Coretta Scott King Award The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association... |
Honor | 1976 | Paul Robeson | |
| Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Coretta Scott King Award The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association... |
Winner | 1998 | In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers | |
| Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Coretta Scott King Award The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association... |
Winner | 1974 | Ray Charles | |
| Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Coretta Scott King Award The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association... |
Honor | 1997 | ||
| Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Coretta Scott King Award The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association... |
Honor | 2006 | Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan | |
| Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Illustrator Award Coretta Scott King Award The Coretta Scott King Award is an annual award presented by the Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table, part of the American Library Association... |
Winner | 2009 | Bird | |
| Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award | Winner | 2009 | Bird | |
| Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award | Winner | 1999 | Elizabeti's Doll | |
| IRA Children's Book Award | Winner | 2008 | Louis Sockalexis: Native American Baseball Pioneer | |
| IRA Children's Book Award | Winner | 2003 | The Pot that Juan Built | |
| IRA Children's Book Award | Notable | 2006 | Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan | |
| IRA Children's Book Award | Notable | 2006 | Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story | |
| IRA Children's Book Award | Notable | 2005 | Rattlesnake Mesa | |
| IRA Children's Book Award | Notable | 2005 | Sweet Music in Harlem | |
| IRA Children's Book Award | Notable | 2004 | Janna and the Kings | |
| Pura Belpré Illustrator Award Belpre Medal The Pura Belpré Award is a recognition presented to a Latino or Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays the Latino cultural experience in a work of literature for children or youth. It was established in 1996. It has been given every other year since 1996... |
Honor | 2010 | Gracias • Thanks | |
| Pura Belpré Illustrator Award Belpre Medal The Pura Belpré Award is a recognition presented to a Latino or Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays the Latino cultural experience in a work of literature for children or youth. It was established in 1996. It has been given every other year since 1996... |
Honor | 2006 | Arrorró, mi niño: Latino Lullabies and Gentle Games | |
| Pura Belpré Illustrator Award Belpre Medal The Pura Belpré Award is a recognition presented to a Latino or Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays the Latino cultural experience in a work of literature for children or youth. It was established in 1996. It has been given every other year since 1996... |
Honor | 2004 | First Day in Grapes | |
| Pura Belpré Illustrator Award Belpre Medal The Pura Belpré Award is a recognition presented to a Latino or Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays the Latino cultural experience in a work of literature for children or youth. It was established in 1996. It has been given every other year since 1996... |
Honor | 2004 | The Pot that Juan Built |
Notable Authors and Illustrators
Authors and illustrators with work published by Lee & Low Books include:- Lulu DelacreLulu DelacreLulu Delacre is the author/illustrator of many award winning children's books. Some of her most famous works include Arroz con leche: Popular Songs and Rhymes from Latin America, Vejigante Masquerader, and The Bossy Gallito...
- Ted LewinTed lewinTed Lewin is an author/illustrator of children's books. Lewin and his wife Betsy Reilly drew on their travels to exotic places such as the Amazon River, Botswana, Egypt, Lapland, the Sahara Desert, and India when collaborating on their many books...
- Betsy LewinBetsy LewinBetsy Reilly Lewin is an American illustrator from Clearfield, Pennsylvania. She studied illustration at Pratt Institute. After graduation, she began designing business cards. She began writing and illustrating stories for children's magazines and eventually children's books...
- Joseph BruchacJoseph BruchacJoseph Bruchac is a writer of books relating to the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, with a particular focus on northeastern Native American and Anglo-American lives and folklore. He has published works of poetry, novels, and short stories. He is from Saratoga Springs, New York, and is of...
- Ed YoungEd Young (illustrator)Ed Young is a Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator and author of picture books.-Biography:...
- Rosa ParksRosa ParksRosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement"....
- Carole Boston WeatherfordCarole Boston WeatherfordCarole Boston Weatherford is an African American author and critic, now living in North Carolina, United States. She writes children's literature and some historical books, as well as poetry and commentaries.- Biography :...
- Pat MoraPat MoraPat Mora is a Chicana author known primarily for her poetry and children's books.- Writer's Life and Work:Pat Mora is a writer and cultural preservationist who seeks to document the lives of Mexican Americans and U.S. Latinas and Latinos through varying genres such as children's books, poetry, and...
- David Diaz
- George AnconaGeorge AnconaGeorge Ancona is an American award-winning photo essayist, author and illustrator of children's books. He was born in New York, and currently lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In 2002, Ancona received the Washington Post Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award.-External links:*...
- John CoyJohn CoyJohn Richard Coy is an American children's book author. He is best-known for his books on basketball, Strong to the Hoop, Around the World, and Box Out, as well as Night Driving and his coming-of-age novel about sports and decisions, Crackback.-Early life:Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, John Coy...
- Lynne BaraschLynne BaraschLynne Barasch was born in New York City and grew up in Woodmere, New York. She studied at Rhode Island School of Design, and holds a BFA from Parsons School of Design. She is the author/illustrator of several picture books...
- Benny AndrewsBenny AndrewsBenny Andrews was an American painter, print-maker, creator of collages and educator. He was born November 13, 1930 in Plainview, Georgia and died November 10, 2006 in Brooklyn, New York....
- Jim HaskinsJames HaskinsJames Haskins was a prolific and award-winning author with more than one hundred books for both adults and children. Many of his books highlight the achievements of African Americans and cover the history and culture of Africa and the African American experience...
- Chris SoentpietChris SoentpietChris Soentpiet is a Korean American children's book illustrator and author. He was born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1970. At age 8, he moved to Hawaii to live with his adoptive family. A year later, the Soentpiets relocated to Portland, Oregon...
- Greg NeriGreg NeriGreg Neri is an American author who goes by the pen name G. Neri, and is known for his work in young-adult fiction. He has written in free-verse , novelistic prose , and for graphic novels...
See also
- Media of New York CityMedia of New York CityThe media of New York City are internationally influential, and include some of the most important newspapers, largest publishing houses, most prolific television studios, and biggest record companies in the world...
- List of publishers of children's books