The Frances and Wesley Bock Book Award for Children’s Literature will reach a significant milestone this spring when it presents its 25th prize on April 29 at 10 a.m. in the Meagher Theatre.
The award is given each year to a book that embodies Franciscan values in children’s literature. A committee of people from the library staff, faculty, and the Neumann Institute for Franciscan Studies select the winner, based on criteria which include instilling reverence and compassion for all creation and depicting creation in all its diversity in both the story and the illustrations.
The 2026 Bock Book Award winner is A Home that Means the World, written and illustrated by Victoria Turnbull, who will accept the award virtually at the event.
“It is a touching story about a family of ants who are displaced from their cozy home and are forced to search for a new place to live,” explains Digital Reference Librarian Maureen Williams. “They meet different creatures and encounter many obstacles as they search for a place where they will belong.”
The book addresses Franciscan values on many levels, from the displacement of animals due to human-caused destruction of nature to the need to have empathy for those needing a new home and a new community.
The ant family exhibits resilience and hope in the face of their difficult circumstances.
According to Williams, “Despite the fact that many of those they encounter in search of a new home are not empathetic and not welcoming, the book teaches the values of inclusivity and community, encouraging children to be considerate and empowering them to be kind to all.”
Victoria Turnbull is a critically acclaimed creator of picture books. After winning the 2013 Association of Illustrators New Talent Award in the Children's Book category, her first book, The Sea Tiger, was nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal and shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize.
She has since written and illustrated Kings of the Castle, Pandora, and Cloud Forest in addition to A Home that Means the World.