Mariajo Ilustrajo’s Flooded is the 2024 winner of the Frances and Wesley Bock Book Award for Children’s Literature.

The award will be presented to the author-illustrator via Teams on Tuesday, October 22, at 10:30 a.m. in the Student Multipurpose Hall. Children from the CDC will attend, and Mrs. Mary Domes will read the story to the youngsters.

Flooded is the funny and beautifully illustrated tale of animals who live in a city that is flooding ever so slowly. Because the flood comes gradually at first, the animals ignore the obvious and go about their busy lives, preoccupied by their own problems.

Eventually, the flood water reaches a height that they can no longer ignore, and they have to work together to save their city.

Mariajo Ilustrajo is a Spanish illustrator and designer, based in the UK. After working as an illustrator for 15 years and being named the new talent overall winner at the World Illustration Awards in 2020, she earned her master's degree in Children's Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art and chose to focus her career as a children's book illustrator and author.

Flooded has been translated into 14 languages. Other Ilustrajo books include The Spell of a Story, Lost, and Oh, Carrots!

Faculty and staff are invited to bring their children to the event.

The Bock Book Award acknowledges Franciscan values in children’s books and gives each year’s winner a prize of $750, a plaque, and a gold emblazoned emblem for the book. Criteria for the award include text that is values-oriented, interesting and stimulating for ages 3-8 years, and pleasing and aesthetic. Both the text and illustrations should promote a moral attitude and/or action.

It is named in honor of Frances and Wesley Bock, co-owners of a store in Philadelphia that provided equipment, clothing, and supplies to religious institutions. Because of a long business relationship with the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, they grew to know the Sisters well and began making contributions to the order.

When the Bocks passed away, their estate went to their nephew, William Gagliardi, who was then a Neumann University staff member. In consultation with the university library, Gagliardi established the Bock Book Award for Children’s Literature in their memory.

The award has been presented every year since 2000 with the exception of 2020 during the global COVID-19 pandemic.