2025 City Winners
Stephen Fraher (Grade 3), Oops, I Lost My Book!
Suhala Hassan (Grade 8), External View
Anna Konavalov (Grade 12), The Disappearing Fish
Take a Peek inside the Winning Books
Click an image to view a gallery of the book pages
Stephen Fraher
(Grade 3)
Suhala Hassan
(Grade 8)
Anna Konavalov
(Grade 12)
Stephen Fraher
(Grade 3)
Suhala Hassan
(Grade 8)
Anna Konavalov
(Grade 12)
Borough Winners
Grades (3-5)
Grades (6-8)
Grades (9-12)
Nina Crews, Artist/Illustrator
Guest Judge and Speaker
NINA CREWS is an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator. Her first book, One Hot Summer Day, was published in 1995 and is still in print in hardcover and paperback. Other favorite titles include I’m Not Small, Below, The Neighborhood Mother Goose, Not Done Yet: Shirley Chisholm’s Fight for Change (written by Tameka Fryer Brown), A Girl Like Me (written by Angela Johnson), and Seeing Into Tomorrow: Haiku by Richard Wright (poems by Richard Wright). Nina’s work has been recognized by the ALA Notable Committee, the Black Caucus of the ALA, The Horn Book, Junior Library Guild, NCTE, CCBC, New York Public Library, Chicago Public Library, Bank Street College of Education, and many others. She is the recipient of the 2023 New York State Library Association’s Empire State Award. Nina is the daughter of children’s book authors and illustrators Donald Crews and Ann Jonas. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and son. Nina Crews Children’s Books
Our Partners
Melissa Jacobs, Director, NYC School Library System and Vincent Hyland, Library Coordinator, NYC Public Schools, Judy Zuckerman, Director of Youth & Family Services, Brooklyn Public Library, Benjamin Perry, Coordinator School Age Services, Brooklyn Public Library, Sally Chen, EJK Bookmaking Competition Manager, Brooklyn Public Library
Special Thanks
To the teachers, librarians, administrators and families who facilitated the work of all the students who created books for this competition.
To the EJK Bookmaking Jury, a group of dedicated professionals who gathered in person to serve as judges for the 2025 EJK Bookmaking Competition:
Amanda Bruns, Senior Editor, Children’s Reviews, Publishers Weekly
Nina Crews, Author/Illustrator
Shelley Diaz, Reviews Editor, School Library Journal
Vincent Hyland, NYCPS, Library Coordinator
Stephanie Frescas Macías, Assistant Editor, Lee & Low Books
Esther Petrushka, Children’s Librarian, QPL
Donette Riker, Librarian, BPL
Ruth Rodriguez, Artist, Manager of Bilingual Children’s Services, NYPL
Cecilia Ruiz, Author/Illustrator/Educator, School of Visual Arts
To Penguin Random House, who generously donates gift bags filled with new books for the student winners and honorable mentions, and their teachers and librarians every year.