Brief History

The award was established to honor the beloved local independent bookstore owner Denise (denise) McCoy who preferred to spell her name with a little “d” hence the award title. Denise was a strong advocate for children’s literacy and more than one third of her shop was allocated to children’s books. Denise was also involved in the literary portion of the 15-Love Program, the Book Power Club and is fondly remembered for her inspired readings to the children, particularly humorous books, which she adored, having an incredible sense of humor herself. Denise passed away suddenly in 2003. The Little d Award commemorates denise’s legacy for improving children’s literacy along with her fine humor.

The Little d Award ceremony coincides with National Children’s Book Week. Events include readings of the award-winning book at local schools, book signings at local independent bookstores, and the kickoff of the "Kids Read of the Little d Award Winning Book”.

Little d Mission

Our mission is to promote and improve children’s literacy and the love of reading, particularly in the inner city by engaging in the following activities:

Nomination/Selection Process

Mary Fellows, Manager of Youth and Family Services and Producer of Riverway Festival, heads up the nomination committee. Mary hails from the Upper Hudson Library System. The nomination committee consists of the Youth Services advisory Council of the Upper Hudson Library System. This group of librarians serving children, teens, and families in the public libraries of Albany and Rennselaer Counties use their extensive knowledge of children’s books to develop a short list of kids’ favorite books.

The members of the Little d committee then read the nominated books and a winner is chosen by consensus. This year there will also be a weighted vote from a panel of children from the program Creative Minds in Action program at North Albany Academy.