Secret Keeper: Mitali Perkins
Children's Literacy Round-Up: January 26

ALA Award Winners Announced: Newbery, Caldecott, Printz, Geisel, Edwards, etc.

This news is going to be everywhere, of course, but I would be remiss if I didn't share this morning's ALA Youth Media Awards. Here are the winners (I heard them first from Sharon Levin, and then from Susan Kusel) of the Caldecott, Geisel, Newbery, Printz, and Edwards awards. I'm especially happy to see Laurie Halse Anderson win the Margaret A. Edwards award, and to see Ingrid Law's Savvy win a Newbery Honor, and to see a kid-friendly title, a fantasy no less, winning the Newbery. They look like excellent choices overall. I've made notes below on what I've read, and on which titles were shortlisted for the Cybils.

Caldecott Medal:

House in the Night"The House in the Night," illustrated by Beth Krommes and written by Susan Marie Swanson, Houghton Mifflin Co.

Caldecott Honor Books:

"A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever" by Marla Frazee, Harcourt, Inc. (I haven't read this one yet, but I'm a big fan of Frazee's illustrations in the Clementine books)

"How I Learned Geography" by Uri Shulevitz, Farrar Straus Giroux

"A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams," illustrated by Melissa Sweet and written by Jen Bryant, Eerdmans Books for Young Readers (This one is a Cybils short list title in nonfiction picture books)


Geisel Award:

Are You Ready to Play Outside"Are You Ready to Play Outside?" by Mo Willems, Hyperion Books for Children (this one didn't make the cut-off for the Cybils, but we have two other books from this series on the Easy Reader shortlist, the category where I'm a judge)

Geisel Honor Books:

"Chicken said, 'Cluck!'" by Judyann Ackerman Grant, illustrated by Sue Truesdell, HarperCollins Children's Books

"One Boy," written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, a Neal Porter Book published by Roaring Brook Press

"Stinky," written and illustrated by Eleanor Davis, The Little Lit Library

"Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator" by Sarah C. Campbell, with photographs by Sarah C. Campbell and Richard P. Campbell, Boyds Mills Press.

Newbery Medal:

Graveyard Book"The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman, HarperCollins Children's Books (I read this one, but didn't review it because it felt like everyone else in the world had already reviewed it. It is a Cybils shortlist title in fantasy and science fiction.)

Newbery Honor Books:

"The Underneath" by Kathi Appelt, illustrated by David Small, Atheneum Books for Young Readers (My review)

"The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom" by Margarita Engle, Henry Holt and Company, LLC

"Savvy" by Ingrid Law, Dial Books for Young Readers (My review. This is one of my favorites this year. This one is also a Cybils shortlist title in fantasy and science fiction.)

"After Tupac and D Foster" by Jacqueline Woodson, G.P. Putnam's Sons

Printz Medal:

Jellicoe Road"Jellicoe Road" by Melina Marchetta, HarperTeen (This is a shortlist title in the Cybils young adult fiction category.)

Printz Honor Books:

"The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Volume II: Kingdom on the Waves" by M. T. Anderson, Candlewick Press

"The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks" by E. Lockhart, Hyperion Books for Children (I didn't review this one, but I enjoyed it, and bought it for my niece for Christmas. This is also a shortlist title in the Cybils young adult fiction category)

"Nation" by Terry Pratchett, HarperCollins Children's Books (I didn't review this one because I listened to the audio, and it's hard to quote that way, but I LOVED it)

"Tender Morsels" by Margo Lanagan, Alfred A. Knopf

ChainsMargeret A. Edwards (lifetime achievement for Young Adults) recipient: Laurie Halse Anderson (my reviews of Speak and Chains)

You can find the winners in the other categories here.

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