Christopher Denise Wins Christopher Award for “Willow and Bunny"

Christopher Denise, Barrington, R.I., earned his second Christopher Award for illustrating Willow and Bunny (Kindergarten and up, Two Lions). Anitra Rowe Schulte, Geneva, Ill., is the author. He was honored with his first award in 2016 for “Firefly Hollow.”

“Willow and Bunny” is one of 12 books for adults and young people as the Christopher Awards program marks its 75th year.

The book tells the story of a sheltering willow tree, a bunny in need, and the power of love and friendship to bring healing in the aftermath of life’s storms. Bunny needs a new home. After a long journey, he meets Willow and knows he will be safe beneath her branches. Every day is theirs to share. Just Bunny and Willow, Willow and Bunny. During a storm, every creature in the forest runs to Willow for shelter. But after the storm Willow’s branches are tattered, twisted, and forever changed. Bunny and the others know it is their turn to help.

Denise is an award-winning children’s book illustrator. His first book, “The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship,” a retelling of the Russian folktale, was pronounced “a stunning debut” by Publishers Weekly. Since then, he has illustrated more than 20 books for children, including Anne Marie Pace's “Groundhug Day,” Alison McGhee’s “Firefly Hollow,”—for which he won his first Christopher Award--Rosemary Wells’ “Following Grandfather,” Phyllis Root’s “Oliver Finds His Way,” his wife Anika Denise’s “Bunny in the Middle” and “Baking Day at Grandma’s” and some in Brian Jacques’ acclaimed Redwall series.

“Knight Owl,” released in March 2022, marked his author-illustrator debut, and was awarded a Caldecott Honor by the American Library Association. It has appeared on The New York Times bestseller list, won the Barnes & Noble Children’s & YA Book Awards, sold over 25 foreign licenses, and has been featured across multiple trade reviews and best book lists. Several of his other books have also appeared on the New York Times bestseller list and have been recognized by Bank Street College of Education, Parents’ Choice Foundation, and the Society of Illustrators Annual Exhibition.

Schulte is the author of “Dancing with Daddy,” illustrated by Ziyue Chen, which in addition to winning a Christopher Award, also won a Dolly Gray Children’s Literature Award. It was named a best picture book of the year by Kirkus Reviews and Bank Street Books. Her new chapter book series, Starlin, releases in Fall 2025. 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.

Christopher Awards were also given to creators of 11 TV/Cable shows and feature films.

The Awards 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.”

Tony Rossi, The Christophers’ Director of Communications, said, “We’re often told that we can better understand a person if we walk a mile in their shoes. While that may not be physically possible, our book, film, and TV winners allow us to do that through engagingly told stories that introduce us to people and places different from our own, yet relatable in a variety of ways.”

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.