Plano, Texas Author Nancy Churnin Wins a 2026 Christopher Award

Plano, Texas-based author Nancy Churnin has been honored with a Christopher Award for “A Teddy Bear for Emily – and President Roosevelt, Too,” (Albert Whitman & Company, Preschool and up). The winning illustrator is Bethany Stancliffe. It is one of 10 winning books for adults and young people as the Christopher Awards program marks its 77^th year.

The Awards celebrate authors, illustrators, writers, producers and directors, whose work “affirms the highest values of the human spirit” and reflect the Christopher motto, “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness” which also guides the organization’s publishing and radio programs. Christopher Awards were also given to creators of nine TV/Cable shows and feature films.

According to the website, Rose Katz and Morris Michtom grew up in Russia during a period of persecution against Jewish people. Hoping to find kindness and opportunity in another country, they emigrated to the United States, where they got married and opened a candy shop. In 1902, they read a newspaper article about President Theodore Roosevelt sparing a bear on a hunting trip. To the delight of their daughter, Emily, the Michtoms created a small, stuffed version of the animal and named it Teddy’s Bear. Before long, this cuddly symbol of one man’s act of compassion became a beloved toy that continues to delight children all over the world.

Nancy Churnin is an award-winning children’s book author who writes about people who have made the world a better place and inspire children to be heroes and heroines, too. Her “Dear Mr. Dickens” won the 2021 National Jewish Book Award and 2022 Sydney Taylor Honor and is a Junior Library Guild Selection and National Federation of Press Women 1st Place winner. Additional honors for her books include: the South Asia Book Award; Sydney Taylor Notables, multiple Social Studies Notable Trade Books for Young People; multiple books on the Bank Street College Best Children's Books list; multiple Children and Teen's Choice Book Awards finalists; a Sakura Medal finalist; the Grinspoon Jewish Story Award; a Best Book for a Global Society Notable; starred reviews from School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly; and multiple state book lists. Her books come with free teacher guides, resources and projects on her website.

Tony Rossi, The Christophers’ Director of Communications, said, “Mother Teresa once observed, ‘If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.’ That sense of ‘belonging to each other’ is reflected in our award-winning stories of selflessness, sacrifice, faith, and kindness that can lead us to a better, more peaceful tomorrow.”

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. More information about The Christophers is available at www.christophers.org. Social media: #ChristopherAwards, Facebook: The Christophers / X: @ChristophersInc