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And what I've been up to these past few days.

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Yes, I missed the Youth Media Awards announcements. I took my Girl Scouts snow tubing on the teacher work day. Of course, I wish I had known that it was a teacher work day for all the surrounding counties. Perhaps then we wouldn’t have had a three-hour wait for our tubing time and wouldn’t have had to fight with crowds the entire time and I wouldn’t have come home so late and wouldn’t have run out of steam to the point where I don’t even care any more about the awards.

I’m sorry, I’m obviously not myself to have even said such a thing. I admit to feeling a little disconnected from the Newbery Awards because out of all the winners, I only read The Underneath. But I did think it would get an honor award, so I was right there. I did know all the Caldecott winners, and while I may not have chosen them myself, I didn’t find them a surprise. I had also thought that How I Learned Geography was going to win an honor award. Apparently, I am not even trying to predict the winners anymore. Just the honors.

Popping around through my blog reader I noticed others’ reactions, more interesting than mine:

• Fuse #8 made plenty of predictions as the year went on, and shares her thoughts while listening to the results. Updated to add: And adds her opinions on the Newbery and Caldecott results.
  


• Abby (the) Librarian was all hopped up on the awards, and offers her thoughts on the picks. Kids Lit reports the award high points.
  


• A Year of Reading offers a different way to win the prediction game — by predicting that the winner will be a book that one has not yet read. In contrast, over at Becky’s Book Reviews, we have links to her many reviews of award-winners.
  


• At Mitali’s Fire Escape, she’s wondering about the need for all the ethnic book awards. The Brown Bookshelf, on the other hand, is celebrating them.
  


• Jama Rattigan offers congrats to her fellow writers. And the Newbery winner takes us into his reponse (insert amazed and delighted swearing). Updated to add: Holy cow! An interview with Gaiman one day after his win at Just One More Book.
  


• Charlotte couldn’t be happier about the Gaiman win, as Jen highlights her favorites from the day.
  


• At Wizards Wireless, Susan can’t help but offer one last-minute prediction, and follows up with the the complete list of winners, which I’m lifting directly from her site (as it seems to involve the least formatting) and pasting below. (But not before I acknowledge the Geisel win of a very special person. He’s happy about it, too.)

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Newbery Medal: The Graveyard Book
Newbery Honors: The Underneath; The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba; Savvy; After Tupac & D Foster

Caldecott Medal: House in the Night
Caldecott Honors: A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever; How I Learned Geography; River of Words: the Story of William Carlos Williams

Printz Award: Jellicoe Road
Printz Honors: Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation Volume 2; The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks; Tender Morsels

Geisel Award: Are You Ready to Play Outside? [by Mo Willems]
Geisel Honors: Chicken Said Cluck; One Boy; Stinky; Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator

Coretta Scott King Author Award: We Are the Ship
Coretta Scott King Author Honors: The Blacker the Berry; Keeping the Night Watch; Becoming Billie Holiday

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award: The Blacker the Berry
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honors: We Are the Ship; Before John Was a Jazz Giant; The Moon Over Star

Coretta Scott King / John Steptoe New Talent Award: Bird

Schneider Family Book Award for Young Children: Piano Starts Here: the Young Art Tatum

Schneider Family Book Award for Middle Grades: Waiting for Normal

Schneider Family Book Award for Teens: Jerk, California

Sibert Medal: We Are the Ship
Sibert Honors: Bodies From Ice; What to Do About Alice?

Pura Belpré Illustrator Award: Just in Case
Pura Belpré Illustrator Honors: Papa and Me; The Storyteller’ s Candle; What Can You Do With a Rebozo?

Pura Belpré Author Award: The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom
Pura Belpré Author Honors: Just in Case; Reaching Out; The Storyteller’s Candle

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This weekend, after surfacing for an hour or so from the flu or whatever it was, I completed a Printz Award field nomination for THE HANGING WOODS by Scott Loring Sanders. Of course, my nomination has to be seconded by a member of the committee before it can be considered, but the writing is amazing and the book is quite memorable. Check it out.

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I posted about the Printz Calender, as well as what information is needed to be included in a Field Nomination.

The Nomination Form is at the YALSA website; the deadline for Field Nominations is Monday, December 1.

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And now the final bit from the policies & procedures of the Printz Award, all wording taken verbatim from the YALSA site.

Relationship with Publishers
Committee members should not solicit publishers for free personal copies of books. If members are offered or receive unsolicited copies of books from publisher(s), they may be accepted.

Committee members should not solicit publishers for favors, invitations, etc. If members receive these, however, they will use their own judgment in accepting. Publishers understand that such acceptance in no way influences members' actions or selections.

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Next up, nominating titles for the Printz, again taken from the YALSA site:

Nominations
Committee members may nominate an unlimited number of titles. However, each nomination must be made in writing on an official nomination form (available from the YALSA Office at [email protected], and online from the YALSA website at www.ala.org/yalsa). Each nomination should include the following information: author, title, publisher, price, ISBN, and an annotation specifying those qualities that justify the title for consideration. Nominations from committee members need no second.

Field Nominations
Field nominations are encouraged. To be eligible, they must be submitted on the official nomination form. All field nominations must then be seconded by a committee member, and periodically the chair will send a list of field nominations to committee members for this purpose. If, within thirty days, no second is forthcoming, the title will be dropped from consideration. Only those titles that have been nominated (and seconded if field nominations) may be discussed at Midwinter and Annual Conference meetings. Furthermore, all nominated titles must be discussed. Publishers, authors, or editors may not nominate their own titles.

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For your convenience, here is the link to the form to nominate titles.

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Carlie Webber is running for the Printz; if you're a YALSA member, you either have (or soon will have) your ballot. Eight people are running for four slots on the committee; the YALSA blog has a Q and Q with all candidates.

Readers of Tea Cozy know that Carlie began contributing to Tea Cozy several months ago. Here's a chance to get to know her a little bit better, with a few questions about Printz type matters.

Liz B: How do you define "Young Adult" literature, as opposed to "children's" or "adult"?

Carlie: YA literature should capture the coming-of-age experience and the independence and identity that a teen character gains through it. To me, what separates a YA novel from an adult novel with a teen main character is the lack of perspective on the part of the main character. A YA novel describes coming-of-age events as they happen, with no sense of looking back and thinking about what could've been.

Regarding the separation of children's literature from YA, I have a few points. The age of the main character is the obvious one. The not-so-obvious one is looking at the coming-of-age events I mentioned before. In a YA novel, the main character has a definite separation from his or her parents, establishing independence. Events will happen that will make the main character reconsider the world he or she knows and s/he'll take the first steps towards establishing a place of his/her own within it. There are some novels that there's an argument for either way, children's versus YA, but the establishment of independence separate from parents is a big litmus test for me.

Liz B: This is cheating a bit, but I liked this question when YALSA Blog asked it last year. Give us one YA title, published in 1998 or before, that you think would have made an excellent Printz Award Winner if the award had been in existence then?

Carlie: I know the popular answers to this question are The Golden Compass and Weetzie Bat, but I'm going to be the maverick here and say Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas.

Half of what makes a book literary is how the author chooses to use language in the context of his or her setting. Thomas used language and first person perspective to emphasize how Steve York's view of himself changed as he wrote the essay. As a result of these language choices the reader saw Steve as raw, simultaneously bewildered and jaded by his relationships with his father and Dub, and Thomas created someone unforgettable. The sort of bitter humor Thomas used is something we've seen in a number of lauded books lately, like The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie and An Abundance of Katherines by John Green.

Liz B: What is your pop-culture area of expertise?

Carlie: I have a few of those!

First, classic and hard rock. As I explain to fellow fans of Supernatural, I have Dean Winchester's taste in music. Some of my favorite bands include Led Zeppelin, Rush, Shinedown, AC/DC, Seether, Audioslave, Nirvana, and Velvet Revolver. I even filled out the 92.3 K-Rock March Bracket Brawl...but I lost because I picked Tom Petty to win over Pink Floyd in today's afternoon round.

Second, crime shows. Much of the father-daughter bonding in my parents' home was done over episodes of Law & Order and I've never lost my love of crimesolver shows, both fictional and documentary. My current favorites are Numb3rs and NCIS, and I thought Cynthia Nixon was completely brilliant on Law & Order: SVU earlier this season.

Third, bad reality television. As I've explained to people: I spend the majority of my time reading books, giving the best advice I can to my fellow professionals, looking critically at developments in literature and technology, and generally doing the best I can to make the YA library world a good place. When I come home and watch TV, I want to shut off my brain and I believe in doing things right. So yes, I love House and Numb3rs and all those shows that require cerebral involvement, but I am also completely addicted to America's Next Top Model. I'm hooked on Flavor of Love, Rock of Love (I actually listened to Poison when I was a kid! I know who Bret Michaels is!), Hell's Kitchen, Celebrity Fit Club, The Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious, and even the not-so-bad reality shows like Top Chef and Project Runway.

Liz B: Thanks, Carlie! And hmmm... I haven't been watching NCIS... I guess I better go to Netflix and add it to my queue!

Cross posted at Pop Goes the Library.

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Moving right along, it's time for a Printz policies and procedures post.

Criteria, taken from the YALSA website:

Criteria

What is quality? We know what it is not. We hope the award will have a wide AUDIENCE among readers from 12 to 18 but POPULARITY is not the criterion for this award. Nor is MESSAGE. In accordance with the Library Bill of Rights, CONTROVERSY is not something to avoid. In fact, we want a book that readers will talk about.

Librarianship focuses on individuals, in all their diversity, and that focus is a fundamental value of the Young Adult Library Services Association and its members. Diversity is, thus, honored in the Association and in the collections and services that libraries provide to young adults.

The book should be self-contained, not dependent on other media for its meaning or pleasure. The book should not be considered in terms of other works by the author but as complete in itself.

Having established what the award is not, it is far harder to formulate what it is. As every reader knows, a great book can redefine what we mean by quality. Criteria change with time. Therefore, flexibility and an avoidance of the too-rigid are essential components of these criteria (some examples of too-rigid criteria: A realistic hope - well, what about Robert Cormier's Chocolate War or Brock Coles' The Facts Speak for Themselves? Avoiding complicated plot - what about Louis Sachar's Holes? Originality - what about all the mythic themes that are continually re-worked? We can all think of other great books that don't fit those criteria.)

What we are looking for, in short, is literary excellence.

All forms of writing B fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art, and any combination of these, including anthologies B are eligible.

The following criteria are only suggested guidelines and should in no way be considered as absolutes. They will always be open to change and adaptation. Depending on the book, one or more of these criteria will apply:

Story Voice Style
Setting Accuracy Characters
Theme Illustration Design (including format, organization, etc.)

For each book the questions and answers will be different, the weight of the various criteria will be different.

The ALA press release announcing the winner should stipulate why the title has been chosen for its literary excellence.
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And now, back to Liz. I'm not sure why the "B" is showing up above instead of a dash; maybe my browser? And I still am incapable of figuring out tabbing in html, hence the "criteria" being way too grouped together.

I find it rather interesting that they use the names of books here.

Thoughts?

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Continuing my series of posts about the Policies and Procedures of the Printz Committee, taken from the YALSA website. All of these posts are labelled with the tag "Printz." And now; eligibility! What books are eligible for the Printz? From the YALSA site:

Eligibility

The award‑winning book may be fiction, non‑fiction, poetry or an anthology.

As many as four honor titles may be selected.

Books must have been published between January 1 and December 31 of the year preceding announcement of the award.

To be eligible, a title must have been designated by its publisher as being either a young adult book or one published for the age range that YALSA defines as "young adult," i.e., 12 through 18. Adult books are not eligible.

Works of joint authorship or editorship are eligible.

The award may be given posthumously provided the other criteria are met.

Books previously published in another country are eligible (presuming an American edition has been published during the period of eligibility.)

If no title is deemed sufficiently meritorious, no award will be given that year.

The chair is responsible for verifying the eligibility of all nominated titles.

Unlike the Margaret A. Edwards Award, the Printz Award does not require the attendance of the winning authors at the awards ceremonies. However, it is understood that authors will be encouraged to attend.
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So, that's the criteria, for those wondering. Questions? Comments?

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And my continuing Saturday Morning series, highlighting the Policies and Procedures of the Printz Committee.

And now, the Calendar:

Calendar
The Committee will observe the following calendar:
May-June: Committee members and chair are elected or appointed.
July: The chair sends letters of welcome to committee members. Letters will include a calendar and a copy of these policies and procedures.
September: Reading can commence as galleys become available.
January: Midwinter Meeting
May: By May 15 the chair will have assembled and sent to committee members a list of all nominated titles.
June: Annual Conference: The committee will meet in three closed sessions to discuss all nominated titles.
September: By September 15 the chair will have assembled a second list of titles nominated since Annual and will have sent them to committee members.
December: December 1: Final date for submission of field nominations.
December 15: Final date for nominations by committee members.
January: January 1: Chair will send list of all titles nominated since September 15 to members.
January: Midwinter Meeting: Committee will meet in three closed sessions to select a winner and honor titles (if any).
June Annual Conference: Committee will have the opportunity for input into the oversight and planning of the Printz Awards Program.

The above is taken from the YALSA Website.

For the Printz Committee I'm on, we are in the post-January Midwinter Meeting time period.

For the Printz Committee that just picked this year's Award Winners, they are in the planning stages for this June's Printz Awards Program.

Carlie Webber, a contributor to this blog, is on the slate of candidates for next year's Printz Committee, so that is the May-June time slot at the very beginning of the Calendar.

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From the YALSA Website:

Committee Members

The Committee shall consist of a chair, eight members, a consultant from the staff of Booklist, and an administrative assistant if the Chair requests. Beginning in 2002, the Chair and four members will be appointed by the Vice President/ President-Elect of YALSA. The remaining four members will be elected by the membership of the Association.

Members serve two-year terms beginning immediately after Annual and ending after Annual of the announcement year. All members are required to attend all Printz Committee meetings held during the selection process. In the event a member is unable to complete her/his term, the President of the Association shall appoint a replacement from among the members of the Best Books for Young Adults Committee.

The chair is a voting member of the committee with all the rights and responsibilities of other members. In addition, the chair presides at all meetings of the committee and serves as a facilitator of both discussion and committee business. As such, the chair must serve as a list owner of an electronic discussion list created through the YALSA office solely for use by the committee, and take responsibility for list maintenance. The chair has sole responsibility for any contact with publishers.

In consultation with the Chair, the Vice President/President-Elect may appoint an administrative assistant for the term. The administrative assistant is not a voting member.

The Editor/Publisher of Booklist magazine, the Printz Award's sponsor, will appoint a consultant to the Committee from among the magazine's Books for Youth staff. This consultant may participate fully in all book discussions but may not participate in voting.

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The 2009 Committee, including Chair and Administrative Assistant, are listed at the YALSA Website. As you can see, half are elected; half are nominated. I was elected; eight people ran, and four were elected. This year. Carlie Webber (a contributor here at Tea Cozy) is running. To vote, you need to be a member of YALSA (and, I believe, a member as of January 1, 2008). When the ALA elections open, I'll post the full slate.

I think it's interesting that the substitute for the Printz is drawn from Best Books; it makes sense, under the assumption that a BBYA member is more likely than not to have read the eligible books. I guess I'll be careful around any BBYA members!

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And now, let's start looking at the Policies and Procedures!

To begin, the Charge:

"To select from the previous year's publications the best young adult book ("best" being defined solely in terms of literary merit) and, if the Committee so decides, as many as four Honor Books. The Committee will also have the opportunity for input into the oversight and planning of the Printz Awards Program. Committee size: 9, four to be elected, plus a consultant from the staff of Booklist, and an administrative assistant if requested."

From the YALSA Website.

I'm on the 2009 Committee, meaning the "previous year" is the current year, 2008. Further on in the policies and procedures, there are some more detailed bits about criteria, but for now, note that best is about literary merit alone. So far, there have been either three or four Honor Books each year.

The Printz Awards Program (note to self: get ticket for this years bash); let me just use the description for this year's program:

"Michael L. Printz Program and Reception
Monday, June 30, 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Come listen to the Michael L. Printz winning author and honor book authors speak about their writing, followed by a dessert reception. The Michael L. Printz Award is an award for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. The annual award is administered by YALSA, the fastest growing division of ALA, and sponsored by Booklist magazine.
Tickets: Advance: $29. Onsite: $35"

To compare, the Newbery/Caldecott Banquet is, well, a Banquet held on Sunday night and is $89.

The Edwards Luncheon (which I'm planing on attending) is Saturday noon and $59.

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The full name of the award: "The Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature"

Why? "The Michael L. Printz Award is an award for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. It is named for a Topeka, Kansas school librarian who was a long-time active member of the Young Adult Library Services Association. The award is sponsored by Booklist, a publication of the American Library Association." More information about Mike Printz is at the YALSA site.

This Year's Winners.

Previous Winners: Complete list at YALSA.

Liz's Comments: I won't always do comments, but here, let me just point out it's well worth it to look at the past winners and honor books. It's quite a mix of books. It's also fascinating to think just how young this award is.

Also, when speaking of YA books, I need to plug the DVD Extra, "How to Deal With YA Literature," that appears in the DVD of How to Deal. Dude, it talks about Sue Barton! Seriously, it is a nice and quick look at the evolution of YA literature, decade by decade. A lot of great teens and authors and YA lit people discuss YA books. It is a "must view," if not "must own."

Source: The YALSA website.

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So, I'm on this year's Printz committee. And yes, it will impact what I'm reviewing online.

I know that technically speaking, I could blog about eligible 08 books and my blogging would not reveal anything confidential; it would merely be about me saying what I do or don't like, and not be a reflection of anything to do with the committee.

But...

I also know human nature and myself. I'd be second guessing what I wrote, and I like to just write my reactions to books and I don't want to censor my own posts. Also, I looked at this from the POV of authors, I think they'd be reading my posts for "clues" (she mentioned the book, that's good news! or is that bad? Or is not mentioning it good?) Hell, if I were an author of an eligible book I'd be doing that.

And so, in all honesty, it's just easier for me not to blog about Printz eligible titles.

Which is why Carlie and Theresa are helping out, with writing reviews and other stuff for Tea Cozy. And I have a few other people who also said they'd help out with reviews. Of course, they are not limited to 08 YA titles; they can blog about whatever they want. And however they want. So let's be clear: Carlie's and Theresa's reviews and posts reflect their opinions. Not their employers, not my opinions, not the Printz committee. They pick the books they want to blog (or don't want to blog, for that matter.)

Will I still be blogging? Try and stop me! I'm actually looking forward to clearing out the backlog of books I read in the past couple of years that I haven't had time to review. Plus, if something isn't eligible for the Printz (published before 08, for example, or not a YA book), I can review it. Of course, whether I'll have the time for nonPrintz reading is another story (hence my eyeing that backlog of reviews.)

So what can I say about the Printz? I began to wonder... and decided, hey, let's go thru the Policies and Procedures and other (public) information about the Printz. With the current buzz and reaction to this year's winners, I thought it would be kind of fun to read what the Printz is (and isn't.) Plus, hey, I am a former lawyer, so it means I do like to read the rules. And follow them.

And here's another thing: do not take anything I say on this blog as a reflection of anything other than my own opinion. Do not take any of the comments by other people to be anything other than their opinions. I'm going over the polices, etc., but I won't be adding any commentary; but I do look forward to any discussion about the Printz that may take place in the comments.

Final thing: if you want to nominate a title for the Printz, don't do it in this blog or by contacting me. Instead, go to this online form.

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What books am I looking forward to reading this year?

All those YA books! 2008 is my reading year for the Printz; more details on that later. But confidentiality is one aspect, so I will not list specific titles. If you are looking for great and varied suggestions, Colleen Mondor at Chasing Ray has her own book list as well as a round up of the bloggers who have shared their looking forward lists.

In the meanwhile, while I won't list the titles I am looking forward to reading, I will say that I am looking forward to reading, reading YA, and reading with my "Printz glasses" on.

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Awards, Awards, Awards!...

Today's the big day for ALA: Awards day. Here's a link to Publishers Weekly's rundown of all the winners (Caldecott, Newbery, Printz, etc.).

And Here are covers of a few of the winning titles (click on them to view Amazon's listing for the books).

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Sounds like a law firm, doesn’t it? I’m going to mention the Schneider Award for one reason and one reason only: The winner of the middle school category is Tracie Vaughn Zimmer for Reaching for Sun. The announcement of this book was heralded by some definite whoops in the audience. The Coretta Scott King author award goes to — no big surprise here — Elijah of Buxton, by Christopher Paul

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My poll results don't have the shock value of the New Hampshire primaries, but they always surprise me, nonetheless. Here are the results of my Printz award poll (the original post is here).

Question: What are your favorite Printz winners and honor books?

Answers:

1^st place (10 votes)

• 2007 honor: An Abundance of Katherines

2^nd place (7 votes each)

• 2007 winner: American Born Chinese
• 2007 honor: The Book Thief
• 2006 winner: Looking for Alaska
• 2004 honor: A Northern Light
• 2000 honor: Speak

3^rd place (6 votes each)

• 2007 honor: The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing
• 2005 winner: how i live now
• 2004 honor: The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things

4^th place (5 votes)

• 2003 honor: The House of the Scorpion

5^th place (4 votes each)

• 2005 honor: Airborn
• 2000 winner: Monster

6^th place (3 votes each)

• 2005 honor: Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy
• 2002 honor: True Believer
• 2001 honor: Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging
• 2000 honor: Hard Love

7^th place (2 votes each)

• 2004 winner: The First Part Last
• 2004 honor: Fat Kid Rules the World
• 2003 winner: Postcards from No Man’s Land
• 2003 honor: My Heartbeat
• 2003 honor: Hole in My Life
• 2001 winner: Kit’s Wilderness
• 2000 honor: Skellig

8^th place (1 vote each)

• 2006 honor: I Am the Messenger
• 2006 honor: John Lennon
• 2002 honor: The Ropemaker
• 2001 honor: Many Stones
• 2001 honor: The Body of Christopher Creed

9^th place (0 votes each)

• 2007 honor: Surrender
• 2006 honor: Black Juice
• 2006 honor: A Wreath for Emmett Till
• 2005 honor: Chanda’s Secrets
• 2004 honor: Keesha’s House
• 2002 winner: A Step From Heaven
• 2002 honor: Heart to Heart
• 2002 honor: Freewill
• 2001 honor: Stuck in Neutral

I'm impressed that An Abundance of Katherines won so decisively. It's made me resolve to get me hands on a copy as soon as possible. I heard John Green's acceptance speech for the Printz honor, and the book sounded incredibly cool. I have to give it a try.

On to the next poll...

The new poll question serves to wrap up Wizards Wireless' discussion of American Library Association awards, and asks which ones are your favorites. Forgive the lengthy options... not all the awards are well known, so I thought quick summaries might help.

Incidentally, the poll asking about favorite Newbery medalists is still running. Be sure to vote if you haven't yet. The Giver is currently in the lead, followed by From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler which is in second place. Tied for third are Number the Stars, The Bridge to Terabithia and A Wrinkle in Time.

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Wizards Wireless tends to review far more picture books than young adult (YA) books. But, as the American Library Association awards draw closer (they'll be announced on January 14th), I thought I'd highlight a few of the major awards. Also, it's a great way to prepare for the January Carnival of Children's Literature which is all about children's and young adult book awards. (See this post for more information and how to submit).

I've already talked about the Caldecott and the Newbery, so today I'm focusing on the Printz award. What is that, you ask? The Michael L. Printz Award is given to a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. And one of the most intriguing things about it is that there is no residency requirement stating that the author must live in the United States (like there is for the Caldecott and the Newbery). This opens the Printz Award to an intriguing and diverse group of candidates.

The first Printz Award was bestowed in 2000, so the list of winners isn't nearly as long as some of the other awards. Here's my list of favorite Printz winners and honor books (keeping in mind that I don't read a lot of young adult books):

• 2007 winner: American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
• 2005 winner: how i live now by Meg Rosoff
• 2005 honor: Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
• 2004 honor: A Northen Light by Jennifer Donnelly
• 2000 winner: Monster by Walter Dean Myers

If you're interested the Printz Awards, here's where you can find out more. And here's a list of all the winners and honor books. Tune in on January 14th to find out which book will win this year.

Congratulations to kidlit blogger Liz Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy, who's on the 2009 Printz committee!

And here's a short story about the generosity of librarians. I was privileged enough to be able to attend the 2007 Newbery/ Caldecott/ Wilder Award Banquet at the American Library Association conference in Washington D.C. I was chatting with the librarians sitting at my table during dinner, and one of them turned to me and asked if I was going to attend the Printz Award ceremony (which was the following evening). I said no... the event was sold out. She handed me her ticket, and said she had to leave town early to catch a plane.

So, that's how I ended up going to the Printz Awards.

And I'm very, very glad I did because a cool thing about the Printz awards is that all the authors who have been honored get to talk, not just the winner. I got to hear some of the great current young adult writers in the field speak, including: M.T. Anderson, John Green, Sonya Hartnett, and Markus Zuzak. Also I got to hear Gene Yang's acceptance speech for American Born Chinese, which was quite a thrill. I had just finished writing a very long paper (40 pages!) for library school about Chinese American children's and young adult books, and American Born Chinese was a central part of my thesis. It was wonderful to be able to hear Yang's perspective about a book I had read so many times. The Printz Awards were inspiring and made me resolve to read more young adult literature (which I will, I promise!)

Do you have any favorite books that have won a Printz? See the new poll in the sidebar of this blog (which includes both winners and honor books) or write about them in the comments.

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Please, renew your ALA memberships, including your YALSA memberships, because if you don't, they you cannot vote. And remember: you do not have to be a librarian to be a member.

The slate of people running for all offices and committees is up at the YALSA Blog.

Last year, you may recall I was a Printz candidate, and won! Which means starting soon I will be reading my little heart out (my reading is for 08 titles for the 09 Printz.) Which probably explains why I've taken a bit of a book break these past few weeks.

Anyhow, enough me. Check out the Printz slate: Carlie Webber is running!!! (Yes, they use her full first name, Carlisle, and have not corrected the typo on her last name. Sigh.)

Carlie is a contributor at Pop Goes the Library, originator of the awesome idea of the Supernatural stars on a READ Poster. She is also the Teen Coordinator for BCCLS (Bergen County Cooperative Library System), which runs a mock Printz every year. More info on Carlie can be found at her blog.

For Tea Cozy readers, here are the important things to know:

Carlie is the source of the most awesome "the plural of anecdotes is not evidence."

Carlie is a book goddess. She knows her stuff, and is very good at recognizing quality stuff.

Carlie is going to be a guest blogger here! I know! I've been trying to figure out how to get more reviews up, especially as my time is getting limited with other commitments, so Carlie said she'd help Tea Cozy out!

So, make sure your YALSA membership is up to date so when elections open, you can say "yes" to Carlie (you get to vote for 4 people, 8 are running.)

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Carlie W. and I just got back from the Printz speeches & reception.

MT Anderson: Great speech; more later, but he said some great things about historical fiction & how we view the past.

John Green: John Green John Green John Green John Green John Green John Green John Green. Oh, and hi Hank.

Sonya Hartnett: way funnier than you would expect from her books -- but I knew she had a great sense of humor from her SBBT interviews.

Markus Zusak: Carlie showed him pics of her cat, Henry. Henry is the cutest cat ever; and was sleeping next to a copy of The Book Thief, upping the cuteness factor.

Gene Luen Yang: Made of awesome.

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Wait wait! Before I begin let's just say that bloggers complimenting bloggers on bloggobial blogizness (I had to stretch with that last one there) is not, in fact, a form of navel gazing, self-aggrandizing back-patting. Got it? Good. Cause I love me my clever bloggers.

How clever, you ask? Well, for the 36th Annual Summer Conference of SCBWI, Little Willow, Kelly, Gina, and Sarah will be presenting. I know that Kelly, Gina, and Sarah will be doing The Blogging Community: A Network for Children’s Book Creators. I'm not sure what Little Willow will present.

And in other news, our very own Liz B. is on the Printz committee. Well done, Liz. Glad to hear it. Let's fill the committees to o'erflowing with bloggers.

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I would like to send out a big THANK YOU to all YALSA members. The results of the 2007 election are in, and -- drum roll, please -- I am a member of the Michael L. Printz Committee!! This is the Committee that will select the 2009 winner, so I don't start reading until 2008.

Congratulations to all; but a special shout-out to my fellow New Jersey librarians, Sarah Cornish Debraski who is Vice President/ President Elect, and new Margaret A. Edwards Committee member Sharon Rawlins.

Links: YALSA Blog

I cannot find the ALSC election results, but will edit and post once I do.

The ALSC Election results. Once again, congratulations to all, with a special shout out to Ed Spicer, (09 Caldecott Committee) and to NJ librarian Carol K. Phillips (09 Sibert Committee Chair.)

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I am beyond delighted to report that the YALSA election results are in, and our very own Liz Burns is a brand-new member of the Printz Committee! I could not be happier, prouder, or more full of squee than I am right now. As everyone who reads Liz's posts here and at Tea Cozy knows, she is brilliant, thoughtful, fair, and funny, which is about as fine a combination of qualities a Printz Committee member can have.

Mazel Tov, Smartie. You earned it.

In other fabulous YALSA/NJ news, Friends of Pop Sarah Cornish Debraski is YALSA President-Elect, and Sharon Rawlins is on the Margaret A. Edwards Committee. A great day for NJ librarians, I'd say.

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A Fuse #8 Production has posted about some potential changes to the Newbery/ Caldecott Criteria, as reported in the School Library Journal.

Go and read the whole thing. What I find interesting: opening up the Newbery & Caldecott beyond American citizens or residents. Which the Printz already does. So, while Fuse mentions a potential "too many books, too little time" problem if the N / Cs are open beyond US authors, it's something that the Printz authors have not had a problem with. So I say, make the change!

I almost agree with a second point that Fuse champions: in light of the Printz, why keep the Newbery at 0 to 14? Why not change to 0 to 12? It seems those books published for kids between the ages of 12 and 14 get two bites at the apple (as long as they are US citizens or residents.) These middle school books are tricky.... are they really Newbery? Or Printz? Without the higher age in the Newbery, would a gem like Hattie Big Sky be overlooked? I look at the age range of the past Printz winners and Honor Books and wonder.

My last point is graphic novels. If Newbery is just about text, and Caldecott just about pictures, then the graphic novel as a format will continue to be shut out from both of these awards. So if they are considering changes, I hope that is one change they ponder!

What do you think? Head over to Fuse's post and share your thoughts.

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