Illustrator Nancy Whitesides Won Christopher Award for Children’s Book

LA County illustrator Nancy Whitesides –who said she illustrated the book in Long Beach—was honored with Christopher Awards for “Small Things Mended,” (Rocky Pond Books/Penguin Young Readers). The author is Casey W. Robinson, Maynard, Mass. The winning book for children in kindergarten and up is one of 12 for adults and young people as the Christopher Awards program marks its 76th year.

The Awards celebrate writers, producers, directors, authors, and illustrators 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.”

The healing power of community is tenderly expressed in this picture book which tells the story of Cecil, who has a broken heart, and mends it by fixing the broken valuables of the neighborhood kids. This gentle, kindhearted story brings the generations of a community together to sustain and enrich one another. It showcases the value of fixing things―and loving their history―rather than quickly discarding them.

Nancy Whitesides is an author and self-taught illustrator specializing in digital and traditional techniques including watercolor and gouache. Born and raised in the Philippines, her art and stories are inspired by her love for children, nature, and the feeling of still being a six-year-old girl. At that age she had just won the regional drawing contest. Her illustration debut, “Grief is an Elephant,” written by Tamara Ellis Smith, is a Society of Illustrators Original Art selection, and has been translated into five languages. That book is included in Travis Yonker’s prediction list for The New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2023, and in Betsy Bird’s 2023 List of Books for Kids With a Message.

An award-winning author, Robinson manages book events for her local indie bookseller. “Small Things Mended” won the 2024 New England Book Award, is a School Library Journal Best Books 2024, a Golden Poppy Book 2024 finalist, and a Kids' Indie Next List Pick.

Christopher Awards were also given to creators of 9 TV/Cable shows and feature films. They celebrate authors and illustrators as well as writers, producers and directors whose work “affirms the highest values of the human spirit” and reflects 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.

Tony Rossi, The Christophers’ Director of Communications, said, “Our award-winning stories, both true and fictional, highlight people who have the odds stacked against them, but who face their challenges with faith and perseverance, allowing them to move through the darkness into the light and serve a higher purpose than themselves. In other words, these books, films, and TV programs don’t just engage and entertain; they teach, they heal, and they inspire.”

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