‘The Orphan Seal’ awarded ASPCA children’s book honor

CAMDEN – “The Orphan Seal,” published by Down East Books and written by Fran Hodgkins of Lynn, Mass., has been awarded an ASPCA Henry Bergh Children’s Book Award.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals announced that the book won the award for the Non-Fiction, Environment and Ecology Category. The award will be presented at the American Library Association Conference in San Francisco on June 18.

“The Orphan Seal” is the true story of the rescue and rehabilitation of a harbor seal pup by the Marine Animal Rescue Program at the New England Aquarium in Boston. Hodgkins, a free-lance writer, heard about the rescue and was able to observe many aspects of the seal’s restoration and wrote the story with the help of the seal rescue workers and aquarium personnel. Photographs from the project were the basis for color illustrations by Dawn Peterson of Falmouth.

Hodgkins is also the author of “Animals Among Us: Living with Suburban Wildlife.” Her work has appeared in the magazines Writer’s Digest, National Geographic World, Boy’s Life, The Dolphin Log and Highlights for Children.

Peterson is a professional artist and designer who has illustrated six other children’s titles, including “Baxter Bear and Moses Moose,” “L.L. Bear’s Island Adventure” and “Mabel Takes a Sail.”

The Henry Bergh Children’s Book Awards are named for the founder of the ASPCA in 1866. They are presented annually to authors making significant contributions to humane children’s literature in the preceding year. Criteria include presenting animals in a respectful and humane way, and compassion and respect for all life forms.