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From Christine O. Reed, Petroglyph Press and Basically Books:

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From Christine O. Reed, Petroglyph Press and Basically Books:

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From the first time we met at Basically Books, when Tammy was living in Hilo and mothering two small boys, I was enchanted by her colorful and expressive artwork and wordsmithing. My admiration has grown over the years watching her grow as an illustrator and writer. She invests herself in research and bringing the stories she tells or illustrates to life in the fullest way possible. It is a delight whenever she comes for a book talk because her enthusiasm for sharing her process and the results is infectious. Her zest is expressed on the page. Tammy is so very deserving of this award not only for her body of work but for her uplifting of the subjects she portrays and the readers, colleagues and community her work supports.

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If love, imagination, and joy all come from the same place, Tammy Yee must know where that place is. Anyone who has opened her books knows her love of children and nature and art and words. Children, who see the lively paintings on the elevators and the CT scanner at Kapiolani Medical Center, may or may not know that Tammy made those paintings to help children be less afraid.  Her playfulness and love of life lead her to be, in addition to a book creator, a jungle gardener, “butterfly wrangler,” keeper of a small zoo of pets, and an avid participant in a sisterhood of Middle Eastern dancers. Artist and writer friends also know her as a generous and unfailing supporter of their own endeavors.  When Tammy showed up at once-upon-a-time Barnes & Noble Kahala to dance for the book-launch of my novel about a talking puppet who is mad for dancing girls, she absolutely made the party!

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Tammy's books encourage and enrich the lives of our youngest community members. From toddlers to middle grade, her books have impacted countless children.

I've been privileged to witness Tammy create and revise works, going over visuals and words until the most delightful stories emerge. Once those books come to life, they quickly become enthusiastic favorites- to be read over and over. Whether the pages tell about a Hawaiian Princess, a mermaid, marine life, or a doctor saving children during a war, there is always something marvelous in the vibrant pages of a Tammy Yee book.

In addition to being a remarkable author and illustrator of children's literature, Tammy selflessly mentors other creators, going above and beyond to do so. Her positive and generous encouragement have helped many to keep going when writer's block, revision, and publisher rejection become daunting. She does so because children grow quickly, and they cannot wait for the stories we have within us.

So, with all my heart, I congratulate Tammy Yee on this award. It is my sincere hope we will have her and her books old and new delighting us and our young ones for many years to come.

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Congratulations to Tammy on this wonderful honor! I can hardly think of anyone more deserving. Tammy's dedication to her art and telling stories of lesser-known but, definitely not lesser-deserving subjects is unparalleled. I loved the opportunities to work with her, whether through the SCBWI or Environmental Fairs and other programs we were able to collaborate on during my time in the Hawaii State Public Library System. Those times were some of the most memorable in my 13 years in the system.

While I have moved away from Children's Services, Tammy has held fast, and families in Hawaii and beyond are so lucky for it.

Hooray Tammy!

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Dear Tammy,

Well-deserved recognition!  You are the most multi-talented person I know, with incredibly wide-ranging interests. With many of your books still in print, delighting children today as much as they did when they were published years ago, your work is well respected throughout the community. On top of all that, you've always been generous with your time, especially with your writer friends and I'm blessed to count myself among them.

Wishing you continued success,

Lynne Wikoff

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Congratulations Tammy!  It's been an honor to watch you fine-tune your writing and illustration craft over the years. Every time I think your work is amazing - you take things to the next level and make it even better.  Plus you find time to mentor and encourage other writers and illustrators along the way. Thank you for inspiring all the kids who read your books and for me to become a better writer. The world is a better place because of you!

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Tammy’s talent and skill are obvious to everyone fortunate enough to get their hands on one of the variety of books she’s written and/or illustrated. Her books bring to mind adjectives such as charming, cute, and clever. Well-researched, fascinating, and detailed describe books such as EASY BIRD ORIGAMI and her recent nonfiction picture book THE ANGEL OF SANTO TOMAS. But it’s what’s tucked in between the written lines and around the edges of the illustrations that truly reflect Tammy: her generosity and fun-loving spirit. These qualities were immediately evident the first time I met her. I and three other women came to Honolulu from off island to attend an SCBWI conference. Although she was busy with SCBWI duties, Tammy volunteered to drive us to conference locations and anywhere else we needed to go. Five women crammed into her Mini Cooper and zipped around town, laughing and jabbering all the way. A few years ago a group of us started an SCBWI Zoom critique hui. Luckily Tammy joined. A most generous critique partner, she shares astute and thorough observations, makes smart suggestions for improvement, comes up with alternate ways to look at things and problem solve, and delivers top-notch pep talks. I am privileged to witness and be inspired by Tammy’s creative process as we share our writing in progress. From my heart, I congratulate you, Tammy, on your CLH Hall of Fame Award. I am grateful to be able to call you my friend.

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I am so pleased to celebrate Tammy’s extraordinary contributions to children’s literature, and to the writing community, readers, teachers, and librarians. She has given us work brimming with culture, color, love, passion, wit, and humor. Those of us who have had the good fortune to count themselves among her friends know her heart glows as big as a full moon, warms like the sun, and twinkles like the stars. Tammy embodies joy. And let’s talk about her generosity of time and commitment to the children’s literary community, all while she dances, gardens, takes care of her zoo of animals, mothers, and partners with Ric. So happy for you Tammy. So well deserved. Here is an avatar she generously made for me. One of my favorites of her works of art.

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From Scott Goto, author/illustrator friend:

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From Scott Goto, author/illustrator friend:

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Congratulations on being the recipient of the CLH Hall of Fame Award, Tammy! With the breadth and depth of your work, it's no surprise that you were selected to be honored this way, you truly deserve it!

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From Lisa Carter, friend and fellow author:

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From Lisa Carter, friend and fellow author:

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Congratulations, Tammy! This lifetime achievement award is so very deserved, and I am thrilled for you. I've read your books with my son from infanthood to teenhood, all the way from Baby Honu to The Angel of Santo Tomas and beyond. I have also had the privilege to see your creative talent in process. Your boundless curiosity, brilliant mind, playfulness, and heart shine through in every work. I can't count the things I've learned from your books and insights over the years. So grateful to count you as a friend, critique buddy and literary inspiration. I can't wait to see what you create next!

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Congratulations on the Children’s Literature Hawai’i Hall of Fame Award.  It’s been a pleasure knowing, watching and working with you for the past 25 years. Your creative works as a writer/illustrator are critically important contributions to the literacy of the keiki both here in Hawaii and throughout the Pacific.

Aloha, Buddy Bess

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From Jane Gillespie, Production Director at Mutual Publishing:

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From Jane Gillespie, Production Director at Mutual Publishing:

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Tammy Yee is such an amazing talent. She is able to capture the joy, vibrancy, and spirit of childhood in the islands with specific attention to detail when it comes to Hawai‘i's natural world. She is a consummate professional and a pleasure to work with. I'm so happy for her and wish her continued success as one of Hawaii's most prolific and talented children's book illustrators. Congratulations!

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From Lynne Waihee, Read to Me International:

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From Lynne Waihee, Read to Me International:

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I am beyond thrilled that you are receiving the Children Literature Hawai‘i’s Hall of Fame Award, an award not lightly bestowed on anyone. Knowing the high standards to which CLH adheres, it is an Award that is very special, just as you are. For decades, you have not only researched information on the books you have written to be as authentic as possible, but you have also visited schools to help educators and parents learn how to use your books to keep their children engaged and make reading fun.

Thank you for participating in Read To Me International’s Conferences on a number of occasions. Your presence always enhanced our conference, and I wish to thank you for always being there to support us, as you have done for a number of organizations. Now, please bask in the honor that is yours this day. Know that there is a community you have enriched through your writing and illustrations who are rooting for you!

Congratulations, Tammy Yee! You make our hearts sing!

Warmest aloha,

Lynne Waihee

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From Dr. Ellen Prager of Earth2Ocean, Inc/StormCenter Communications:

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From Dr. Ellen Prager of Earth2Ocean, Inc/StormCenter Communications:

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It has been a true pleasure and honor to work with the extraordinary Tammy Yee. Her illustrated covers and maps for my books Escape Greenland and the upcoming Escape Undersea somehow capture not only the wonder and beauty of nature, but the excitement of tweens on an adventure. And she does it in record time. Simply amazing. Congratulations Tammy, this is so well deserved!

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Such a well deserved honor for Tammy! Congratulations my friend!!!

Our mutual love of the ocean, the islands, and the future for young people has grown through the years and can be seen in many ways, most noticed by our readers in our first book together, SWIMMING WITH HUMUHUMU and our latest, SHARK PATROL.

I write and Tammy puts her brilliant if not genius touches on my words. Check out how she came up with a more up to date way of using text in SHARK PATROL. Making the book look as if an exchange at Instagram, Tammy changed the way I now look at my own work.

As you might guess, we have so much fun creating our books. She even takes a lot of time to edit, comment, and improve books I write without her illustrations! And, most of you have probably not seen other brief works we shared such as the National Trust for Public Land’s Mudup educational campaign to help protect Puget Sound. Tammy’s illustrations were key to the success of that effort.

Or how about this. Her illustration of a blacktip shark graces the collars and leashes you might see worldwide as dogs sport them in a subtle way of raising ocean awareness.

I’ve had the honor to work with Tammy for quite some time and know we will always be working to help our world.

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From Susan Legere, Special Project Manager at Harvard Medical School:

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From Susan Legere, Special Project Manager at Harvard Medical School:

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Congratulations, Tammy!

Harvard Medical School’s Office for Diversity Inclusion & Community Partnership team enjoyed hosting you for a Better Together Community Dialogue in February.  We were so grateful to share your excellent book, “The Angel of Santo Tomas: The Story of Fe del Mundo,” with the many members of the Harvard and affiliated-hospital community who tuned in to participate.  The event even inspired audience members to organize a circulating collection of children's books featuring BIPOC characters related to health and medicine at HMS’s library. Thank you for sharing your gifts with us, and congratulations again on this well-deserved honor.

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From Rebecca Raibley Bryden, Vice President of Operations at Tumblehome Books:

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From Rebecca Raibley Bryden, Vice President of Operations at Tumblehome Books:

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“Oh, what a delight she is!” ……a talented writer, illustrator and wonderful human being. Book launches can be very stressful, tension filled times but working with Tammy on the The Angel of Santo Tomas was anything but. Her ‘can do’ attitude, endless ideas, never ending work ethic and all around fun approach to life made it remarkable. I am honored to have had the chance to work at her side. I look forward to witnessing her path forward and all of the beautiful stories and art she will gift to us.

Congratulations, Tammy! Well done!

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Tammy Yee has a lovely sense of story. Like Dr. Fe del Mundo, she has a fierce yet gentle dedication to quality that shines through in her artwork.