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BRONX TIMES REPORTER, APR. 15-21, 2022 BXR
Kingsbridge Heights native named 2021 National
Jewish Book Award Winner, Children’s Book Category
BY JASON COHEN
Bronx native Nancy Churnin,
an award-winning children’s
book writer who educates young
readers about historical figures,
was recently recognized for her
outstanding
work in Jewish
literature.
The Jewish Book Council
named Churnin the 2021 National
Jewish Book Award Winner,
Children’s Book Category
for “Dear Mr. Dickens” in January.
The Jewish
Book Council
is a nonprofit
organization
dedicated
to educating,
enriching
and strengthening
the community
through Jewish
literature.
“Dear Mr. Dickens” has also
won a 2021 Sydney Taylor Honor
Book award from the Association
of Jewish Libraries; is a
2022 Junior Library Guild selection;
on Tablet Magazine’s Best
Jewish Children’s Book list of
2021; Chicago Public Library’s
Best Informational Books for
Younger Readers for 2021; and
received a starred review from
School Library Journal.
The non-fiction picture book
touches on how famed British
author Charles Dickens had antisemitic
elements in his writing,
specifically in “Oliver Twist.”
“Dear Mr. Dickens,” features
Eliza Davis, who is Jewish, and
how her heart hurt to see a Jewish
character in “Oliver Twist”
portrayed as ugly and selfish.
She wanted to speak out about
how unfair that was, even if it
meant defying Dickens himself.
So, in 1863 she wrote a letter to
Dickens. What happened next is
history.
After receiving her letter,
Dickens was at first defensive,
but then halted the printing of
the book and soon changed some
of the text.
Churnin, 64, a former theater
critic for the Dallas Morning
News, grew up in Kingsbridge
Heights on Webster Avenue and
197th Street. She attended P.S.
86, J.H.S. 143 and graduated
from the Bronx High School of
Science.
She fell in love with books at
a young age and the library became
her second home.
“The librarians were so nice
they introduced to me things I
had never heard of before,” she
said.
Churnin edited her high
school newspaper and has fond
In January, the Jewish Book Council named Bronx native Nancy Churnin the 2021 National Jewish Book Award Winner,
Children’s Book Category for “Dear Mr. Dickens.” Photo | Kim Leeson
memories of teachers who encouraged
her to be a writer.
Throughout her childhood, she
was always reading and writing,
and knew one day that would be a
huge part of her life.
Her mom, Flora, who taught
at P.S. 86, was also a big influence
on her.
“She was my first teacher at
home, and she actually became
my teacher in the sixth grade,”
Churnin said. “I was that weird
kid that just loved to read. Education
was so important.”
Churnin earned a Bachelor of
Arts in English and American
Literature from Harvard University
in 1978 and a master’s in
Journalism from Columbia University
School of Journalism in
1981.
From there, she dedicated
more than 30 years of her life
to journalism. Churnin worked
as a theater critic for the San
Diego edition of the Los Angeles
Times from 1986 to 1992. In
2000, she joined the staff of The
Dallas Morning News, writing
about such topics as health,
lifestyles, children’s entertainment
and parenting. In January
2014, Churnin became the primary
theater critic for the Dallas
Morning News, a position she left
in January 2019.
While on the West Coast she
met a writer, Michael Granberry,
who soon became her husband.
Granberry, a Dallas native, received
an offer to work at the Dallas
Morning News, and the duo
relocated to the Lone Star state
in 1997.
After writing several years for
the paper, Churnin had an itch
to do more. So, in 2016, she published
her first children’s book,
“The William Hoy Story, How a
Deaf Baseball Player changed
the Game,” and it landed on the
2016 New York Public Library
Best Books for Kids and Bank
Street College Best Children’s
Books list.
In total she has authored
10 books in six years, including
“Martin & Anne: The Kindred
Spirits of Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr.” and “Anne Frank,
Beautiful.”
“I use my journalism skills as
most of my books are non-fiction
and my ability to stretch and dig
deep, that came from my journalism
background,” she said.
She was laid off from the Dallas
Morning News in 2019 and
since then, has focused her energies
on writing children’s books.
While she loved reporting, that
chapter of her life is closed, she
said.
“Dear Mr. Dickens,” which
came out in October 2021, was
her first book involving Jewish
content. Churnin told the Bronx
Times it was special to write
about her religion and be recognized
for it.
Through research she discovered
Dickens was antisemitic, especially
in his writings in “Oliver
Twist,” where one character
is referred to as the “Jew.” Upon
learning this, she felt compelled
to write about it.
Churnin loved receiving the
award, but said the book had a
big impact on her mom who finally
understood why her daughter
did not like Dickens.
“The book has been so important
to her (mom) as a teacher
and it hurt that somebody could
be such a great writer and antisemitic,”
Churnin said.
The winners
of the 2021
National
Jewish
Book Awards
were honored
April 6, at a virtual
ceremony.
“Dear Mr. Dickens,” written by Bronx native Nancy Churnin.