[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16548-16549]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      RECOGNIZING ISLANDPORT PRESS

 Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, small businesses are the backbone of 
America's economy. These small firms, which number over 27 million, 
endeavor to create jobs and bring a sense of fiscal security into their 
local communities. That alone is commendable, but what is truly rare 
among small businesses is the one that seeks to promote their home 
State's vast historical and cultural heritage, igniting a sense of deep 
pride in the community and sharing this pride with others. With this 
rare quality in mind, today I recognize and commend Islandport Press, 
an independent book publisher, located in the coastal Maine town of 
Yarmouth.
  Eleven years ago, Dean Lunt had a dream of publishing books which 
detail the historical and cultural riches of Maine and New England. 
Growing up in Maine, Dean's grandmother encouraged him to write and 
share, with the rest of the world, the history of their own Long 
Island, a small island located off the coast of Maine. This inspired 
Mr. Lunt to write and publish Islandport Press's first book ``Hauling 
by Hand: The Life and Times of a Maine Island.'' This first book sold 
3,000 copies, and inspired Mr. Lunt to continue publishing several 
books, always with an eye on increasing awareness about this historic 
region of our country.
  In its efforts to continually develop and grow, Islandport Press has 
expanded into the ever vast literary world, publishing several 
categories of books that reflect the vast diversity of New England's 
people and places, and has simultaneously established itself as an 
award-winning publisher for children's books. In 2010, Islandport Press 
was honored with its first Moonbeam Children's Book Award, receiving 
the gold medal award in the category of Picture Book, All Ages, for 
``The Fish House Door'' by Robert F. Baldwin and illustrated by Astrid 
Sheckels. Moonbeam Children's Book Awards honor

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exemplary children books with the goal of increasing childhood literacy 
and inspiring life-long reading. There are 38 award categories, ranging 
from Pictures Books, to Pre-Teen Fiction, to Best Book By A Young 
Author.
  This year, Islandport Press was again honored with three books 
receiving awards. ``Mercy'' by Sarah Thompson was awarded the silver 
medal for Young Adult Fiction-Horror/Mystery; ``Farmyard Alphabet'' by 
Dahlov Ipcar was awarded the bronze medal for Best Board Book; and ``My 
Cat, Coon Cat'' by Sandy Fuller and Jeannie Brett, was awarded a silver 
medal in Best Picture Book for Ages 4-8. While these awards are 
certainly remarkable accomplishments for the individual authors and 
illustrators, they are also a testament to the keen eye that Dean has 
for promising and talented authors who offer substantive new 
literature.
  Islandport Press is uniquely dedicated to promoting Maine and New 
England as part of its mission. Each Moonbeam award is a well-deserved 
reminder of the hard work and tireless effort of a dream that Dean Lunt 
had, to share his piece of Maine with the world. I am proud to extend 
my congratulations to everyone at Islandport Press for their dedication 
to excellence, and offer my best wishes for their continued 
success.

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