Sparta children's author on ‘best of' list

SPARTA-"Sixteen Runaway Pumpkins," a children's picture book written by Sparta resident Dianne Ochiltree, has been named to the "Best Books of the Year" list for 2005 by the Children's Book Committee of Bank Street College. The Committee reviews more than four thousand titles each year for literary quality and emotional impact on children. It chooses the best 600 books, both fiction and nonfiction, for young readers aged infant to 14 years. Sixteen Runaway Pumpkins, written for ages 4-8, is published by McElderry Books/Simon& Schuster.