Anitra Rowe Schulte wins Christopher Award for "Dancing with Daddy"

Geneva, Ill.- based author Anitra Rowe Schulte and illustrator Ziyue Chen, from Singapore, were honored with #ChristopherAwards for the book Dancing with Daddy, (Two Lions), for children aged 6 and up. It is one of 12 books for adults and young people recognized as the Awards mark their 73rd year. The authors join writers, producers and directors of 10 winning TV/cable and feature films.

Despite the genetic disorder that leaves her non-verbal and requiring a wheelchair, Elsie feels excitement at attending her first father-daughter dance and is bolstered by the love of her family. She picked out the perfect dress and has been practicing swirling and swaying in her wheelchair. Elsie’s heart pirouettes as she prepares for her special night. With gestures, smiles, and words from a book filled with pictures, she shares her excitement with her family. But when a winter storm comes, she wonders if she’ll get the chance to spin and dance her way to a dream come true.

Schulte has worked as a journalist for The Kansas City Star and the Sun-Times News Group, as a staff writer for Chicago Public Schools, and as a publicist. She is the mother of three beautiful girls, one of whom has Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome and is the inspiration for Elsie in this her first picture book.

Ziyue Chen is the deaf illustrator of a number of children’s books, including Mela and the Elephant by Dow Phumiruk, How Women Won the Vote by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, and Rocket-Bye Baby: A Spaceflight Lullaby by Danna Smith.

The celebrated authors, illustrators, writers, producers, and directors, whose works exemplify this Chinese proverb “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness,” also “affirm the highest values of the human spirit,” said Tony Rossi, The Christophers’ Director of Communications. “After the hardships and suffering we’ve witnessed and endured in the last two years, we need stories of hope, light, and unity to lift our spirits and guide us toward a brighter path,” he said.

The Christophers, a nonprofit 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.