THE ONE & ONLY GOOGOOSH: IRAN’S BELOVED SUPERSTAR:
HONORS & AWARDS
2025 Flora Stieglitz Straus Award — conferred by Bank Street College of Education
2025 SCBWI Golden Kite Award — Picture Book Illustration
2025 SCBWI Golden Kite Award finalist — Picture Book Text
2024 Original Art Show at the Society of Illustrators, selected by jury for inclusion in honor of the year's best illustrated children's books published in the US. Art exhibited in New York and also at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
The Horn Book Nonfiction Fanfare Selection for 2024.
REVIEWS
★ ”More than just a loving tribute to one particular singer, this is a rich concoction of immigrant yearning . . . A radiant love letter to a treasured artist—and to a long gone way of life.”
Kirkus Reviews, starred review
★ ”"Complex and painstaking illustrations—tea-dyed paper, block prints of hand-carved stamps, brush pens, colored pencils, and collages of paper and cardboard—showcase the art as a clear labor of love. The text is lyrically and sensorially evocative, conveying devotion to country and pain of separation."”
The Horn Book, starred review
★ “Westergaard’s highly dimensional collage work, patterned and embellished with block prints, brush pens, and colored pencil, leans into portraiture and stage scenes in this ode to a beloved figure—’our one and only/ Googoosh.'”
Publishers Weekly, starred review
“This picture-book biography offers loving tribute, not only to Googoosh’s career but to pre-revolutionary Iran, as the author shares childhood memories of favorite foods, sights, and sounds, including dancing and singing with friends to Googoosh’s latest releases. This is a lovely celebration of an iconic performer.”
Booklist
“Enticing glimpses of both a country’s troubled history and of a cultural icon who will be new to young audiences.”
School Library Journal
INTERVIEWS
Fuse 8/School Library Journal — The One & Only Googoosh Cover Reveal with Betsy Bird
Cynsations — Author-Illustrator Interview: Azadeh Westergaard Reveals Her Creative Process
The Picture Book Buzz — Interview with Azadeh Westergaard and Review of The One and Only Googoosh
Kidlit Love Podcast — A Gorgeous Experience: The One & Only Googoosh with Azadeh Westergaard
A LIFE ELECTRIC: THE STORY OF NIKOLA TESLA
HONORS & AWARDS
National Science Teacher’s Association (NSTA):
Best Stem Books K-12, 2022
Outstanding Science Trade Books K-12, 2022Booklist/American Library Association
Top 10 Sci-Tech Books for Youth 2021
Editor’s Choice Best Books for Youth 2021Junior Library Guild
2021 Gold Standard SelectionBank Street College of Education
2022 Best Children’s Books of the YearTexas Library Association
2021 Topaz Reading List, Nonfiction GemsFuse #8 Production by Elizabeth Bird/ School Library Journal
2021 Unique Biographies for Kids
2021 Nonfiction Picture Books
INTERVIEWS
Fuse 8/School Library Journal — A Life Electric Cover Reveal with Betsy Bird
Cynsations: On Picture Book Biographies and the Writing Process
Book Launch with Júlia Sardà at Merritt Bookstore
REVIEWS