2013 Youth Media Award Winners

Today is a big day for children's and young adult librarians. It's the day of the youth media awards, announced at the ALA midwinter conference in one of my favorite cities, Seattle!

As of 3 minutes ago, here's the list for 2013! I think I've got some reading ahead of me.

SOURCE American Library Association

SEATTLE, Jan. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Library Association (ALA) today announced the top books, video and audiobooks for children and young adults – including the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Newbery and Printz awards – at its Midwinter Meeting in Seattle.
A list of all the 2013 award winners follows:

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature:
"The One and Only Ivan," written by Katherine Applegate, is the 2013 Newbery Medal winner. The book is published by HarperCollins Children's Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers.

Three Newbery Honor Books also were named: "Splendors and Glooms" by Laura Amy Schlitz and published by Candlewick Press; "Bomb: The Race to Build-and Steal-the World's Most Dangerous Weapon" by Steve Sheinkin and published by Flash Point, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press; and "Three Times Lucky" by Sheila Turnage and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group.

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children:
"This Is Not My Hat," illustrated and written by Jon Klassen, is the 2013 Caldecott Medal winner. The book is published by Candlewick Press.

Five Caldecott Honor Books also were named: "Creepy Carrots!" illustrated by Peter Brown, written by Aaron Reynolds and published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division; "Extra Yarn," illustrated by Jon Klassen, written by Mac Barnett and published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers; "Green," illustrated and written by Laura Vaccaro Seeger and published by Neal Porter Books, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press; "One Cool Friend," illustrated by David Small, written by Toni Buzzeo and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group; "Sleep Like a Tiger," illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Mary Logue and published by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults:

"Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America," written by Andrea Davis Pinkney and illustrated by Brian Pinkney is the King Author Book winner. The book is published by Disney/Jump at the Sun Books, an imprint of Disney Book Group.

Two King Author Honor Books were selected: "Each Kindness" by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E. B. Lewis and published by Nancy Paulsen Books, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group; and "No Crystal Stair: A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem Bookseller" by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie and published by Carolrhoda Lab, an imprint of Carolrhoda Books, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award:
"I, Too, Am America," illustrated by Bryan Collier, is the King Illustrator Book winner. The book is written by Langston Hughes and published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division.

Three King Illustrator Honor Books were selected: "H. O. R. S. E.," illustrated and written by Christopher Myers, and published by Egmont USA; "Ellen's Broom," illustrated by Daniel Minter, written by Kelly Starling Lyons and published by G. P. Putnam's Sons, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group; and "I Have a Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr." illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Martin Luther King, Jr. and published by Schwartz & Wade Books, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults:
"In Darkness," written by Nick Lake, is the 2013 Printz Award winner. The book is published by Bloomsbury Books for Young Readers.

Four Printz Honor Books also were named: "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" by Benjamin Alire Saenz, published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division; "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein, published by Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Book Group; "Dodger" by Terry Pratchett, published by HarperCollins Children's Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers; "The White Bicycle" by Beverley Brenna, published by Red Deer Press.

Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience:
"Back to Front and Upside Down!" written and illustrated by Claire Alexander and published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., wins the award for children ages 0 to 10. 

"A Dog Called Homeless" written by Sarah Lean and published by Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, is the winner of the middle-school (ages 11-13) award.
The teen (ages 13-18) award winner is "Somebody, Please Tell Me Who I Am," written by Harry Mazer and Peter Lerangis and published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division. 

Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences:
"Caring is Creepy," by David Zimmerman, published by Soho Press, Inc.
"Girlchild," by Tupelo Hassman, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
"Juvenile in Justice," by Richard Ross, published by Richard Ross
"Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore," by Robin Sloan, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
"My Friend Dahmer," by Derf Backderf, published by Abrams ComicArts, an imprint of Abrams
"One Shot at Forever," by Chris Ballard, published by Hyperion
"Pure," by Julianna Baggott, published by Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
"The Round House," by Louise Erdrich, published by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
"Tell the Wolves I'm Home," by Carol Rifka Brunt, published by Dial Press, an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.
"Where'd You Go, Bernadette?," by Maria Semple, published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in children's video:
Katja Torneman, producer of "Anna, Emma and the Condors," is the Carnegie Medal winner. 

Laura Ingalls Wilder Award honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children. The 2013 winner is Katherine Paterson. Paterson was born in China in 1932 to missionary parents and grew up in the American South, moving eighteen times before she was 18. After graduating from King College in Bristol, Tennessee, she herself became a missionary in Japan. She returned to the U.S. to attend the Union Theological Seminary in New York, where she met and married John Paterson, a Presbyterian minister. Her first book, "The Sign of the Chrysanthemum," was published in 1973. Katherine Paterson currently lives in Barre, Vermont.

Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement: Demetria Tucker is the 2013 recipient. Tucker has served as youth services coordinator within the Roanoke (Va.) Public Library System and library media specialist at the Forest Park Elementary School, where she was selected 2007 Teacher of the Year. As family and youth services librarian for the Pearl Bailey Library, a branch of the Newport News (Va.) Public Library System, Tucker now coordinates a youth leadership program, a teen urban literature club and many other programs that support the youth of her community.

Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults: Tamora Pierce is the 2013 Edwards Award winner. Pierce was born in rural Western Pennsylvania in 1954. She knew from a young age she liked stories and writing, and in 1983, she published her first book, Song of the Lioness. She continues to write and even record her own audiobooks. She currently lives with her husband (spouse-creature) and a myriad of animals in Syracuse, New York.

May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award recognizing an author, critic, librarian, historian or teacher of children's literature, who then presents a lecture at a winning host site. Andrea Davis Pinkney will deliver the 2014 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture.  Andrea Davis Pinkney is a New York Times best-selling writer of more than 20 books for children and young adults including picture books, novels and nonfiction.  During the course of her career, Pinkney has launched many high-profile publishing and entertainment entities, including Hyperion Books for Children/Disney Publishing's Jump at the Sun imprint, the first African American children's book imprint at a major publishing company.

Mildred L. Batchelder Award for an outstanding children's book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States: "My Family for the War" is the 2013 Batchelder Award winner. Originally published in Germany in 2007 as "Liverpool Street," the book was written by Anne C. Voorhoeve, translated by Tammi Reichel and published by Dial Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Two Batchelder Honor Books also were selected: "A Game for Swallows: To Die, to Leave, to Return," written and illustrated by Zeina Abirached, translated by Edward Gauvin and published by Graphic Universe, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.; and "Son of a Gun," written and translated by Anne de Graaf, and published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.  

Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States:
"The Fault in Our Stars," produced by Brilliance Audio, is the 2013 Odyssey Award winner. The book is written by John Green and narrated by Kate Rudd.
Three Odyssey Honor Audiobooks also were selected: "Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian," produced by Listening Library, written by Eoin Colfer and narrated by Nathaniel Parker; "Ghost Knight," produced by Listening Library, written by Cornelia Funke and narrated by Elliot Hill; and "Monstrous Beauty," produced by Macmillian Audio, written by Elizabeth Fama and narrated by Katherine Kellgren.

Pura Belpre (Illustrator) Award honoring a Latino writer and illustrator whose children's books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience:

"Martin de Porres: The Rose in the Desert," illustrated by David Diaz, is the Belpre Illustrator Award winner. The book was written by Gary D. Schmidt and published by Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

No Belpre Illustrator Honor Books were selected this year. 

Pura Belpre (Author) Award:
"Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe," written by Benjamin Alire Saenz, is the Belpre Author Award winner. The book is published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division.

One Belpre Author Honor Book was named: "The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano" by Sonia Manzano, published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children:
"Bomb: The Race to Build-and Steal-the World's Most Dangerous Weapon," written by Steve Sheinkin, is the Sibert Award winner. The book is published by Flash Point, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press.

Three Sibert Honor Books were named: "Electric Ben: The Amazing Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin," written and illustrated by Robert Byrd and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group; "Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95," written by Phillip M. Hoose and published by Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers; and "Titanic: Voices from the Disaster," written by Deborah Hopkinson and published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.

Stonewall Book Award - Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children's & Young Adult Literature Award given annually to English-language children's and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience:

"Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe," written by Benjamin Alire Saenz and published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, is the Stonewall Award winner.

Four Stonewall Honor Books were selected: "Drama," written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier and published by Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.; "Gone, Gone, Gone," written by Hannah Moskowitz and published by Simon Pulse, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division; "October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard," written by Leslea Newman and published by Candlewick Press; and "Sparks: The Epic, Completely True Blue, (Almost) Holy Quest of Debbie," written by S. J. Adams and published by Flux, an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book:
"Up, Tall and High!" written and illustrated by Ethan Long is the Seuss Award winner. The book is published by G. P. Putnam's Sons, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group.
Three Geisel Honor Books were named: "Let's Go for a Drive!" written and illustrated by Mo Willems, and published by Hyperion Books for Children, an imprint of Disney Book Group; "Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons" by Eric Litwin, created and illustrated by James Dean and published by HarperCollins Children's Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers; and "Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover," written and illustrated by Cece Bell and published by Candlewick Press.

William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens:
"Seraphina," written by Rachel Hartman, is the 2013 Morris Award winner. The book is published by Random House Children's Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

Four other books were finalists for the award: "Wonder Show," written by Hannah Barnaby, published by Houghton Mifflin, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers; "Love and Other Perishable Items," written by Laura Buzo, published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, a division of Random House, Inc.; "After the Snow," written by S. D. Crockett, published by Feiwel and Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group; and "The Miseducation of Cameron Post," written by emily m. danforth, published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults: 
"Bomb: The Race to Build-and Steal-the World's Most Dangerous Weapon," written by Steve Sheinkin, is the 2013 Excellence winner. The book is published by Flash Point/Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group.

Four other books were finalists for the award: "Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different," written by Karen Blumenthal, published by Feiwel & Friends, an imprint of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group; "Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95," written by Phillip Hoose, published by Farrar Straus Giroux, an imprint of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group; "Titanic: Voices from the Disaster," written by Deborah Hopkinson, published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic; and "We've Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children's March," written by Cynthia Levinson, published by Peachtree Publishers.

http://www.wset.com/story/20750672/american-library-association-announces-2013-youth-media-award-winners

Intriguing Reviews for Books I don't Want

I read a lot of book reviews. These are 50 word descriptions of books, and unlike synopses, they make judgements about how well books are written. Spoilers welcome. They help me decide whether I want to buy books for my collection, and if they're a good fit for my audience. 

Some reviews capture my attention, if only to alert me to the fact that they might not be the fest choice for my budget. Keep reading for this this 10 list of intriguing reviews for books I don't want.

She is resentful of the boys who can't see past her lumpish form, and when she discovers she has a magical ability to cause human figures to step out of the bodies of seals, she calls forth a lover and finds herself with child.

If one is able to suspend all disbelief and believe a 16-year-old runaway would have a Platinum American Express card or haul around stolen espresso machines, then this is really quite a tasty adventure.

It appears that love is central to the quest with escape from Lucifer being the path to achieving this goal.

Throughout this process, Cricket is writing emails to her long-time boyfriend, Janssen; these emails seem to be about how dogs love their humans unconditionally but are also a way for Cricket to sort out her feelings.

In fact, Emma is expelled from school when she reveals the claws she's developed since befriending a talking cat that hangs around their trailer.

Three vessels unexpectedly rendezvous in the middle of the Pacific: a luxury sailing yacht with a wealthy family and crew; a smuggling boat with nothing on it but dead bodies and money; and a small plane sent to bring back the cash.

While well-written, the situation seems exaggerated as every Catholic Teddy interacts with is either abusive or a predator.

Everyone gets a nickname, and thus Nick becauses Nero and joins War Pig, Mr. Bator, Yeltsin, Billy, Idle, Cupcake, Joanjet, Raekwon, Petal, and others in the wilderness outside San Francisco.

The standout secondary characters are Geets Hildbrand, Harold's wall-climbing buddy who brings him Guiness and bananas to toast the dead Bushman; Molly the Dwerg and her not-dog/not-wolf familiar, Wolluf; and Harold's understanding father, who works for the Salami Board.  

Secret passages, canals, and Victorian furnishings drip from every page. 

I'm tempted to insert my own snarky comments after each, but I'm resisting. I welcome yours though...

Back at Last

I've returned from two weeks in Maryland and Washington, and we jumped right back into two days of professional development. 

We just had a morning of emotional intelligence training with time to reflect on what we do well and what we will improve in the coming months. 

Then an hour of "advanced turnitin," and the company has gone far beyond plagiarism detection.

Finally, an hour of google docs. 

It's great to have the time to experiment with technology. Too often, school moves quickly, and I don't have a chance to play around with new programs. 

Even cooler, there is an array of wellness options, so I start the day with Zumba with coworkers. I think it's important to balance technology and physical activity.

Still, it's hard to leave this.

Plus the chance to read 8 books over the holiday! 
 
Welcome to semester two and 2013.