2023-2024 Arkansas Diamond Primary Award Winners

Ryan T. Higgins, the #1 New York Times best-selling author of the Mother Bruce series, delivers a contemporary tale of friendship. Norman is a porcupine.
Mildred is a tree. Norman and Mildred are best friends. Just the two of them. And only the two of them. But when a surprise pops up, life will never be the same again.
Ryan T. Higgins’ signature wit, whimsy, and humor brilliantly explore the depths and complexities of friendship.

It’s punny. It’s spooky. It’s a meta picture book that puts a fresh spin on an old joke and elevates chicken comedy to ghastly new levels. A little spring chicken crosses the road but quickly gets flattened under a semitruck. The barnyard beasts who’ve gone before break the news: now that Chicken’s fried—dispatched to the Other Side—Chicken has a job, an unwanted job, as a noisy troublemaking ghost. This fowl may be weak in the beak, but Chicken knows that scaring people isn’t nice. There is such a thing as a friendly ghost, after all—isn’t there?

One September day, the perfect blue sky exploded. Dust billowed. Buildings crumbled. And underneath it all, a tree sprouted green leaves in its distress. Pulled from the wreckage, the tree saw many seasons pass as it slowly recovered far away from home. Until one day, forever scarred and forever stronger, it was replanted at the 9/11 Memorial.

This story of the real Survivor Tree uses nature’s cycle of colors to reflect on the hope and healing that come after a tragedy—and assures readers of their own remarkable resilience.