Conn-Based Author Susan Hood Honored by a Christopher Award for "Ada's Violin"

Southport Conn-based author Susan Hood and illustrator Sally Wern Comport from Annapolis, Md. have won a Christopher Award for “Ada's Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay," (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers/ Simon & Schuster). Written for children aged 8 and up, it is one of 12 books for adults and young people by 16 authors and illustrators to be celebrated, along with the writers, producers and directors of 10 feature films and TV/Cable programs, on May 16,2017 at the 68^th annual Christopher Awards in New York.

This is a true story. Ada Rios grew up in Cateura, Paraguay, a small town built on a landfill. She dreamed of playing the violin, but with little money for anything but the bare essentials, it was never an option...until a music teacher named Favio Chávez arrived. He wanted to give the children of Cateura something special, so he made them instruments out of materials found in the trash. It was a crazy idea, but one that would leave Ada—and her town—forever changed. Now, the Recycled Orchestra plays venues around the world, spreading their message of hope and innovation.
Susan Hood has written more than 200 picture books and has received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Booklist. "Ada's Violin" won Bank Street's Flora Steiglitz Straus Award for 2017, given annually for "a distinguished work of nonfiction that serves as an inspiration for young people." Her book “Spike, The Mixed-Up Monster” won the 2013 International Latino Award and was selected for the Charlotte Zolotow Highly Commended List. “The Tooth Mouse” was named a 2013 Best Book of the Year by Bank Street and the Cooperative Children’s Book Center. Prior to becoming an author, Susan was a children’s magazine editor at Scholastic and Instructor Magazine, a book editor at Sesame Workshop, and the Children’s Content Director of Nick Jr. Magazine.

Sally Wern Comport has been making pictures professionally since the age of sixteen. Her images have been seen in the editorial, advertising, and publishing markets worldwide, and her work includes the picture book “Brave Margaret: An Irish Adventure,” by Robert D. San Souci. She lives in Annapolis, Maryland, with her studio partner-husband and their two daughters, Taylor and Olivia, and she recently completed her graduate education at Syracuse University to further her passion for the art of illustration.

The Christopher Awards were created in 1949 to celebrate authors, illustrators, writers, producers and directors whose work “affirms the highest values of the human spirit.” The Christophers, a nonprofit organization founded in 1945 by Maryknoll Father James Keller, is rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition of service to God and humanity. The ancient Chinese proverb—“It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness”— guides its publishing, radio, and awards programs. More information about The Christophers is available at www.christophers.org.

Photo of Susan Hood by Stan Godlewski