News

A Cleveland Institute of Art graduate's coloring and ARTivity book has won a 2011 Teachers' Choice Award for the Family from Learning magazine.

Kelsey Lyon '10 illustrated the Ecology & Me Coloring and ARTivity Book as part of an illustration class project during her senior year. She and her classmates lavishly illustrated an entire line of coloring and activity books for the Cleveland-based company Creativity for Kids, a division of Faber-Castell USA.

"I was so excited when I learned about this award and now I'm kind of humbled by it all," said Lyon. She said the project was demanding, especially on top of her other assignments, but rewarding at the same time. "I'm very passionate about the environment, ecology, and recycling, so working on this book was a lot of fun."

Lyon now works as a designer, illustrator, and project manager for Parma, Ohio-based Creative Resources, which designs gift packaging for the gourmet food and gift industry.

When the books were published last year, Creativity for Kids co-founder Phyllis Brody said, "We found it very inspirational to work with the CIA students. It was wonderful to see how the students took the ideas even further than we had expected and really developed comprehensive concepts."

According to Learning, children's products nominated for the Teachers' Choice awards are evaluated by teachers who are also parents on the basis of their value for continued learning at home. Teachers measure the products based on educational value, originality and creativity, ease of use, safety and durability, and interest level and motivation for children.

Click here for more information about the Teachers' Choice Award for the Family and to see the 2010 winners. The 2011 winners—including Lyon's book—will be featured in the Spring 2011 issue of Learning and will be featured on the magazine's website for one year.