Celebrating Local Author-Illustrator Shawn Harris

San Mateo County Libraries is excited to congratulate Half Moon Bay author and illustrator Shawn Harris on earning a 2022 Caldecott Honor for his book Have You Ever Seen A Flower?

The book follows the colorful story of a child experiencing a flower by seeing its colors, smelling its fragrance and imagining a tiny world within it.

San Mateo County Libraries users may be familiar with Harris not only for his beautiful children’s books but for his connection with our libraries. Harris has created art for San Mateo County Libraries, shared his time through author visits and demonstrated how he collages, opens a new window and illustrates to make his works of art, opens a new window.

Have You Ever Seen a Flower? is Harris’ authorial debut, but Harris has illustrated many books before, including favorites such as Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers and Everyone’s Awake by Colin Meloy.

Harris used colored pencil as the medium for Have You Ever Seen a Flower?, which takes readers on a radiant journey inside and out of a flower. In it, Harris asks us to consider whether we’ve really seen a flower by pushing us to investigate one up close, and in the process, take a deeper look at ourselves.

The Caldecott Honor, opens a new window is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, opens a new window, a division of the American Library Association, opens a new window.

Looking for more incredible children’s reads? Check out the rest of the 2022 youth media award winners and find them at your nearest library.

2022 Youth Media Award Winners

List created by SMCLKidsnFamilyPicks

A list of the 2022 winners and honorees for awards such as the Newbery, Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Printz, Pura Belpré, and Stonewall.






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