Luckily, the Newbery and Caldecott committees were kind enough to name books that we already own.
Caldecott
Honor books: 5 Honor books! 3 or 4 is the norm; we haven't have 5 Honor titles since 1994. The more the merrier, I say.
Creepy Carrots
A rabbit fears that his beloved carrots are out to get him. Kirkus recommends this to readers who enjoy "slighty scary stories." Can't wait to read this!
Extra Yarn
I think this book is fantastic, and I don't care about the incorrect handling of the needles.
Green
I'm a Seeger fan, and thought this was quite intriguing. However, once Extra Yarn and Green were announced, I began to wildly wonder about the medal, since these two were strong contenders for the major prize.
One Cool Friend
This was a surprise to me; it's a quirky story about a boy who befriends a penguin at the aquarium.
Sleep Like a Tiger
We also have this on order; a little bedtime-resistant girl talks with her parents about the way animals sleep.
Winner: This is Not My Hat
Huh. This is an ODD little book. Some love it, others do not.
Newbery
Now, I am sorry to say that I have not yet read the Newbery Honor books:
Splendors and Glooms
Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World's Most Dangerous Weapon (also the winner for YALSA's Excellence in Nonfiction award).
Three Times Lucky
BUT......I have read the Medal book.
And I love it!
The One and Only Ivan is definitely deserving of the Medal. Read my review here. I was thrilled when it was announced as the Medalist. We have ordered additional copies. Heads up to students who participate in Fauquier's Battle of the Books: the recent Newbery Medal winning book is guaranteed to be on the forthcoming elementary school list (and maybe the middle school list as well).
But wait--there's more!
Sibert
The Sibert Medal awards excellence in nonfiction. Three honor books were chosen:
And the Sibert goes to....Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World's Most Dangerous Weapon.
Geisel
The Geisel honors the most distinguished early reader book. The 2013 committee chose three honor books:
Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons (yeah! We love the Pete the Cat here in Fauquier County--very popular with staff and patrons.)
And awarded the Medal to Up, Tall, and High.
Awesome! One of the best things ALSC has done in recent years was to institute the Geisel. Lovely award.
Schneider Family Book Award
The Schneider is one of my favorite awards. It honors books depicting disabilities:
Children's division: Back to Front and Upside Down
Middle School division: A Dog Called Homeless
Teen division: Somebody Please Tell Me Who I Am
I must say that I am quite surprised that neither Wonder or Sy Montgomery's excellent biography of Temple Grandin were not recognized. I understand the criticism of Wonder (I had a problem with the multiple narrators), but that Temple Grandin book is fantastic. I haven't been this surprised by a shut out since Candace Fleming's extraordinary Amelia Lost failed to get noticed by the award committees. Anyway. Moving on. Looking forward to reading these books. I depend on the Schneider, the Coretta Scott King awards, and the Pura Belpre to help me diversify our collection.
Coretta Scott King Medal
The CSK committee honors books written and illustrated by African-American authors/illustrators.
Illustrator Honor:
Christopher Myers, son of distinguished YA/children's author Walter Dean Myers, is nicely carving out a successful career of his own. Lovely to see!
Not many picture books set during the Reconstruction era. This is centered on Ellen's parents legally registering to marry, and about Ellen honoring the tradition of "jumping the broom." Eagerly waiting for this one.
We received this right before Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, so it's been very popular. Dr King's famous speech has been rendered into picture book form several times, but this is a superior presentation. It also comes with a recording of the speech.
Illustrator Winner: I, Too, Am America
I haven't read this yet, but I know that Bryan Collier is a magnificent illustrator!
Author Honor:
Wonderful author!
Author Winner: Hand in Hand: 10 Black Men Who Changed America
The Pinkneys are awesome. I've heard wonderful things about this; perhaps a sequel honoring 10 women is next?
Pura Belpre
The Pura Belpre award honors authors and illustrators depicting Hispanic characters/historical events or figures.
Illustrator Honor: no book named. Ohhhh, no. You want to get a roomful of children's/YA librarians in a huff? Announce a category and tell them that NO ONE has been chosen. The Schneider did it last year for their children's division and the Belpre committee did it this year. The best part is that since the award is presented in both English and Spanish, the committee got to hear the crowd's disapproval TWICE. That was fun.
The presenter quickly moved on to the Illustrator winner: Martin de Porres: The Rose in the Desert.
Very nice! This is a lovely presentation of St. Martin de Porres's life.
The honor for Text (that's how the committee names its author division) went to The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano, which I really need to read. I'm looking at it right now, sitting across from me on the New Shelf. I'm going to grab it once I'm done with this post. The award for text went to Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.
Batchelder
The Batchelder award goes to a book written in a language other than English, originally published outside of the US, and translated into English. That's the Cliff Notes version of the award criteria (it's very wordy, but that's the gist of it). The winner went to My Family for the War.
Morris Award
The Morris honors a YA debut novel; this year's winner was Seraphina.
And finally, the Printz, which honors YA literature. Honor books include Aristotle and Dante Discover the Universe, Code Name Verity, and Dodger. The Medal went to In Darkness, which is definitely on my list to read. It takes place in the aftermath of the recent earthquake in Haiti.
ALSC and YALSA also have "lifetime achivement awards"--the Laura Ingalls Wilder and the Margaret Edwards, respectively. The Wilder Medal went to Katherine Paterson, which is a fabulous choice. Outstanding. The Edwards went to Tamora Pierce, which is also an inspired choice.
Whew! That looks like everything. I have some catching up to do!
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