March 26, 2007VOL. 45, NO. 6Oakland, CA

Christopher Awards present honors to best in films, TV/cable, books

By Catholic News Service

NEW YORK (CNS) -- Seven films, five television/cable shows and 11 books were honored March 15 with Christopher Awards in New York.

Films receiving awards were “Akeelah and the Bee,” “Charlotte’s Web,” “Miss Potter,” “Sophie Scholl: The Final Days,” “The Nativity Story,” “World Trade Center” and “Water.”

The TV/cable programs honored were HBO’s “Baghdad ER,” “A Simple Twist of Fate” from ABC’s “20/20,” TNT’s “The Ron Clark Story,” Cinemax’s “Cinemax Reel Life: Favela Rising,” and “Chimpanzees: An Unnatural History” from PBS’ “Nature.”

The six honored books for adults were all nonfiction: “Barefootin’: Life Lessons From the Road to Freedom” by Unita Blackwell with JoAnne Prichard Morris; “Enrique’s Journey” by Sonia Nazario; “The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief” by Francis S. Collins; “Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust” by Immaculee Ilibagiza with Steve Erwin; “My Life With the Saints” by Jesuit Father James Martin; and “The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East” by Sandy Tolan.

The winners in books for young people were:
Preschool: “Hero Cat” by Eileen Spinelli and illustrated by Jo Ellen McAllister Stammen.

Ages 6-8: “How We Are Smart” by W. Nikola-Lisa and illustrated by Sean Qualls.

Ages 8-10: “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane” by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline.

Ages 10-12: “Listen!” by Stephanie S. Tolan.

Young adult: “Bread and Roses, Too” by Katherine Paterson, author of the perennial favorite children’s novel “Bridge to Terabithia.”