Sara O’Leary
Jury Citation
“With deep insight into the unwavering spirit of children, Sara O’Leary shows that her young characters are able to speak for themselves, to overturn assumptions and worn-out ways of seeing. O’Leary has devoted her picture books to complex and playful expressions of how fantasy suffuses our experience of this world — from a poignant account of the young Brontë siblings to loving and outlandish answers to a child’s question, ‘Where did I come from?’ Her direct address to readers is surprising and engaging, initiating a lively conversation or a personal relationship. In celebrating diversity or tracking a little girl’s intensely busy play, O’Leary explores, sometimes subtly, sometimes overtly, the possibilities imagination offers. Enhanced by her many gifted illustrators, O’Leary’s willingness to be both fanciful and serious, to take chances with tone, format, and structure, makes each new book a delightful work of spare, neatly crafted words.” —2024 Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People jury (Deirdre Baker, Andrea Curtis, and Itah Sadu)
