Each January, awards are given for best children’s books of the previous year. The three most well-known awards are the Newbery which is awarded to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children, and the Caldecott, which goes to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children and the The Michael A Printz Award, an annual award for a book that exemplifies excellence in young adult literature.
This year, the Newbery Award was given to Susan Patron for The Higher Power of Lucky. Honors went to Jennifer L. Holm for Penny From Heaven, Kirby Larson for Hattie Big Sky and Cynthia Lord for Rules.
The Caldecott Award was presented to David Wiesner for Flotsam. Honors went to David McLimans for Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet and Kadir Nelson for Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom (written by Carol Boston Weatherford). This year’s Printz Award went to American Born Chinese, a graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang. Honor books were An Abundance of Katherines by John Green, Surrender by Sonya Hartnett, The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, and The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing by M.T. Anderson. The Alex Awards go to adult books that will appeal to teen readers. The 2007 winners are:
Other book awards were awarded as follows: The Sibert Award honors the author (including co-authors or author-illustrators) whose work of nonfiction has made a significant contribution to the field of children’s literature. The winner was Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon by Catherine Thimmesh. Honors went to Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights Movement by Ann Bausum, Quest For the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea by Sy Montgomery, and To Dance: A Memoir, a graphic novel by Siena Cherso Siegel.
The Barchelder Award is a citation awarded to an American publisher for a children’s book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originally published in a foreign language in a foreign country, and subsequently translated into English and published in the United States. The award is meant to encourage American publishers to seek out superior children’s books abroad and to promote communication among the peoples of the world. This year, the award went to The Pull of the Ocean by Jean-Clau Mourlevat. Honor books were The Last Dragon by Silvana Di Mari, and The Killer’s Tears, by Anne-Laure Bondoux.
The Geisel Medal, for the most distinguished contribution to children’s beginning reader books went to Zelda and Ivy: The Runaways, by Laura McGee Kvasnosky. The Honors books were Mercy Watson Goes For a Ride written by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Chris Van Dusen, Move Over, Rover! written by Karen Beaumont and illustrated by Jane Dyer and Not a Box by Antoinette Portis.
The Carnegie Medal, for excellence in Children’s videos, was awarded to author/illustrator Mo Willems and Weston Woods Studios, producers of Knuffle Bunny.
The Wilder Medal, for 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, went to James Marshall.
Coretta Scott King Award, is given to an African American author and an African American illustrator for an outstandingly inspirational and educational contribution. Sharon Draper won for Copper Sun with Honors going to Nikki Grimes for The Road to Paris. The Illustrator Award was given to Kadir Nelson for Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom (written by Carol Boston Weatherford). Illustrator Honors went to Jazz, illustrated by Christopher Myers, written by Walter Dean Myers and Poetry For Young People: Langston Hughes illustrated by Benny Andrews, edited by David Roessel and Arnold Rampersad
Finally, the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award went to Traci L. Jones for Standing Against the Wind.
Congratulations to all of the winners and nearly all of these books are available at the Irondequoit libraries. They can be reserved by calling either library (McGraw: 336-6060 & Evans: 336-6062) or by using the online catalog
