#alaYMA @ #ALAmw16
It is always a highlight of my midwinter ALA journey to attend the Youth Media Awards Press Conference, and this year was no exception.
The excitement was palpable in the Boston Convention Center ballroom as hundreds of librarians and other children’s literature aficionados excitedly heard the announcements of the Youth Media Awards. As the winners were announced, they were greeted with (sometimes raucous) applause, hoots of delight, and gasps of surprise.
Tremendous thanks go to all the committee members who worked and read so diligently throughout 2015 to bring us this stellar collection of winners!
Here is a complete list of the winners announced this morning:
John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature:
“Last Stop on Market Street,” written by Matt de la Peña, is the 2016 Newbery Medal winner. The book is illustrated by Christian Robinson and published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.
Three Newbery Honor Books also were named: “The War that Saved My Life,” written by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC; “Roller Girl,” written and illustrated by Victoria Jamieson and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC; and “Echo,” written by Pam Muñoz Ryan and published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.
Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children:
“Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear,” illustrated by Sophie Blackall, is the 2016 Caldecott Medal winner. The book was written by Lindsay Mattick and published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
Four Caldecott Honor Books also were named: “Trombone Shorty,” illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Troy Andrews and published by Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS; “Waiting,” illustrated and written by Kevin Henkes, published by Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers; “Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement,” illustrated by Ekua Holmes, written by Carole Boston Weatherford and published by Candlewick Press; and “Last Stop on Market Street,” illustrated by Christian Robinson, written by Matt de le Peña and published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.
Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award, recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults:
“Gone Crazy in Alabama,” written by Rita Williams-Garcia, is the King Author Book winner. The book is published by Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Three King Author Honor Books were selected: “All American Boys,” by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely and published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division; “The Boy in the Black Suit,” by Jason Reynolds and published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division, and “X: A Novel,” by Ilyasah Shabazz with Kekla Magoon and published by Candlewick Press.
Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award:
“Trombone Shorty,” illustrated by Bryan Collier, is the King Illustrator Book winner. The book was written by Troy Andrews and Bill Taylor and published by Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS.
Two King Illustrator Honor Books were selected: “The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Harlem’s Greatest Bookstore,” illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and published by Carolrhoda Books, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. and “Last Stop on Market Street,” illustrated by Christian Robinson, written by Matt de la Peña and published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, an imprint of Penguin Group USA.
Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award:
“Hoodoo,” written by Ronald L. Smith, is the Steptoe author award winner. The book is published by Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award:
“Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement,” illustrated by Ekua Holmes, is the Steptoe illustrator award winner. The book is written by Carole Boston Weatherford and published by Candlewick Press.
Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement:
Jerry Pinkney is the winner of the Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. The award pays tribute to the quality and magnitude of beloved children’s author Virginia Hamilton.
Jerry Pinkney’s illustrations detail a world that resonates with readers long after the pages of a book have been turned. His five decades of work offer compelling artistic insights into the legacy of African American storytelling and experience. Beyond Pinkney’s technical brilliance, his support of differentiated learning through art and of young illustrators sets him apart as both artist and educator. His powerful illustrations have redefined the scope of the sophisticated picture book and its use with multiple levels of learners.
Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults:
“Bone Gap,” written by Laura Ruby, is the 2016 Printz Award winner. The book is published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Two Printz Honor Books also were named: “Out of Darkness,” by Ashley Hope Pérez and published by Carolrhoda Lab™, an imprint of Carolrhoda Books, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, and “The Ghosts of Heaven,” by Marcus Sedgwick and published by Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.
Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience:
“Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah,” written by Laurie Ann Thompson, illustrated by Sean Qualls and published by Schwartz & Wade Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York, wins the award for children ages 0 to 10.
“Fish in a Tree,” written by Lynda Mullaly Hunt and published by Penguin Group, Nancy Paulsen Books, and “The War that Saved My Life,” by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, are the winners of the middle-school (ages 11-13).
The teen (ages 13-18) award winner is “The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B,” written by Teresa Toten and published by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.
Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences:
“All Involved,” by Ryan Gattis, published by Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
“Between the World and Me,” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, published by Spiegel & Grau, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
“Bones & All,” by Camille DeAngelis, published by St. Martin’s Press.
“Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits,” by David Wong, published by Thomas Dunne Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press.
“Girl at War,” by Sara Novic, published by Random House, an imprint and division of Penguin Random House LLC.
“Half the World,” by Joe Abercrombie, published by Del Rey, an imprint of Random House, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company.
“Humans of New York: Stories,” by Brandon Stanton, published by St. Martin’s Press.
“Sacred Heart,” by Liz Suburbia, published by Fantagraphics Books Inc.
“Undocumented: A Dominican Boy’s Odyssey from a Homeless Shelter to the Ivy League,” by Dan-el Padilla Peralta, published by Penguin Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
“The Unraveling of Mercy Louis,” by Keija Parssinen, published by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in children’s video:
Weston Woods Studios, Inc., producer of “That Is NOT a Good Idea,” is the Carnegie Medal winner. In an innovative adaptation of this read-aloud favorite, Goose accepts an invitation to accompany Fox on a simple stroll – or is it? Watch along with a comical chorus of goslings as they react to this cautionary tale.
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 2016 winner is Jerry Pinkney, whose award-winning works include “The Lion and the Mouse,” recipient of the Caldecott Award in 2010. In addition, Pinkney has received five Caldecott Honor Awards, five Coretta Scott King Illustrator Awards, and four Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honors.
Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults:
David Levithan is the 2016 Edwards Award winner. His books include: “The Realm of Possibility,” “Boy Meets Boy,” “Love is the Higher Law,” “How They Met, and Other Stories,” “Wide Awake” and “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist,” all published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
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.
Jacqueline Woodson will deliver the 2017 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture. Woodson is the 2014 National Book Award winner for her New York Times bestselling memoir, “Brown Girl Dreaming.” The author of more than two dozen books for young readers, she is a four-time Newbery Honor winner, a recipient of the NAACP Image Award, a two-time Coretta Scott King Award winner and was recently named the Young People’s Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation.
Mildred L. Batchelder Award for an outstanding children’s book translated from a foreign language and subsequently published in the United States:
“The Wonderful Fluffy Little Squishy” is the 2016 Batchelder Award winner. Originally published in French in 2014 as “Le merveilleux Dodu-Velu-Petit,” the book was written and illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna, translated by Claudia Zoe Bedrick and published by Enchanted Lion Books.
Three Batchelder Honor Books also were selected: “Adam and Thomas,” published by Seven Stories Press, written by Aharon Appelfeld, iIllustrated by Philippe Dumas and translated from the Hebrew by Jeffrey M. Green; “Grandma Lives in a Perfume Village,” published by NorthSouth Books, an imprint of Nordsüd Verlag AG, written by Fang Suzhen, illustrated by Sonja Danowski and translated from the Chinese by Huang Xiumin; and “Written and Drawn by Henrietta,” published by TOON Books, an imprint of RAW Junior, LLC and written, illustrated and translated from the Spanish by Liniers.
Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States:
“The War that Saved My Life,” produced by Listening Library, an imprint of the Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group, is the 2016 Odyssey Award winner. The book is written by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley and narrated by Jayne Entwistle.
One Odyssey Honor Recording also was selected: “Echo,” produced by Scholastic Audio/Paul R. Gagne, written by Pam Muñoz Ryan and narrated by Mark Bramhall, David de Vries, MacLeod Andrews and Rebecca Soler.
Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award honoring a Latino writer and illustrator whose children’s books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience:
“The Drum Dream Girl,” illustrated by Rafael López, is the Belpré Illustrator Award winner. The book was written by Margarita Engle and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Three Belpré Illustrator Honor Books for illustration were selected: “My Tata’s Remedies = Los remedios de mi tata,” illustrated by Antonio Castro L., written by Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford and published by Cinco Puntos Press; “Mango, Abuela, and Me,” illustrated by Angela Dominguez, written by Meg Medina and published by Candlewick Press: and “Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras,” illustrated and written by Duncan Tonatiuh and published by Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS.
Pura Belpré (Author) Award:
“Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir,” written by Margarita Engle, is the Belpré Author Award winner. The book is published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division.
Two Belpré Author Honor Books were named: “The Smoking Mirror,” written by David Bowles and published by IFWG Publishing, Inc.; and “Mango, Abuela, and Me,” written by Meg Medina, illustrated by Angela Dominguez and published by Candlewick Press.
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children:
“Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras,” written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh, is the Sibert Award winner. The book is published by Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS.
Four Sibert Honor Books were named: “Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans,” written and illustrated by Don Brown and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; “The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club,” by Phillip Hoose and published by Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers; “Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March,” written by Lynda Blackmon Lowery as told to Elspeth Leacock and Susan Buckley, illustrated by PJ Loughran and published by Dial Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC; and “Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement,” written by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Ekua Holmes and published by Candlewick Press.
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:
“George,” written by Alex Gino and published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., and “The Porcupine of Truth,” written by Bill Konigsberg and published by Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., are the winners of the 2016 Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult Literature Awards respectively.
Two honor books were selected: “Wonders of the Invisible World,” written by Christopher Barzak and published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC; and “Sex is a Funny Word: A Book about Bodies, Feelings, and YOU,” written by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth, illustrated by Fiona Smyth and published by Seven Stories Press.
Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book:
“Don’t Throw It to Mo!,” written by David A. Adler and illustrated by Sam Ricks is the Seuss Award winner. The book is published by Penguin Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA), LLC.
Three Geisel Honor Books were named: “A Pig, a Fox, and a Box,” written and illustrated by Jonathan Fenske and published by Penguin Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC; “Supertruck,” written and illustrated by Stephen Savage and published by A Neal Porter Book published by Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership; and “Waiting,” written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes and published by Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens:
“Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda,” written by Becky Albertalli is the 2016 Morris Award winner. The book is published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publisher.
Four other books were finalists for the award: “Because You’ll Never Meet Me,” written by Leah Thomas and published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books; “Conviction,” written by Kelly Loy Gilbert and published by Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Book Group; “The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly,” written by Stephanie Oakes and published by Dial Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers; and “The Weight of Feathers,” written by Anna-Marie McLemore and published by Thomas Dunne Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press.
YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults:
“Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War,” written by Steve Sheinkin, is the 2016 Excellence winner. The book is published by Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of Macmillan’s Children’s Publishing Group.
Four other books were finalists for the award: “Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir,” written by Margarita Engle and published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing; “First Flight Around the World: The Adventures of the American Fliers Who Won the Race,” written by Tim Grove and published by Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS; “Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad,” written by M.T. Anderson and published by Candlewick Press; and “This Strange Wilderness: The Life and Art of John James Audubon,” written by Nancy Plain and published by University of Nebraska Press.
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This girl’s force is about to go to sleep but I thought I’d give you all an impression from the first day before I turn out the lights and pull open the hotel curtains so I can see that fabulous skyline of Boston that stretches across the full length of my window.
Here we are in the land of Harvard, MIT, the Charles River, Fenway, Top of the Hub and the Boston Tea Party. You feel the whispers of the past as you walk and drive this city. History lives in the mortar around here.
This whirlwind day has offered hints of our roots and handed me an opportunity to ascend a very steep learning curve in the land of Uber. I needed Uber to get around today and Uber and I were just getting to know each other.
To get Uber moving for me required the help and savvy of two lovely employees at the registration desk at the Westin Boston Waterfront. They didn’t blink an eye. They just took my smartphone and went to work and conjured up Daniel in a Toyota Camry.
(Oh, and the awesome guy at the ALA registration who told me how to get my free ride by putting in the promo code Feeling22…. Worked like a charm.)
So Daniel and I zipped across town to Cambridge so I could meet with Maryanne Wolf, author of Proust and the Squid. We got a cup of tea together and talked about our shared passion for giving children the best chance at life we can imagine by opening them up to books.
She is one of the brightest lights I’ve run into in my life and it was an honor and a privilege to spend time with her.
We talked about the challenge we all face in managing screen time and young children. Even this neuroscientist says the research we have to guide us is piecemeal. We have no longitudinal studies at this point.
Next a lovely employee at Sofra Cafe and Bakery helped me figure out how to get past the block on my phone’s screen…turns out you have to rate the driver of the previous Uber ride and then you can get conjure up the next one. I stood inside the Cafe watching out the window for Paul in a Honda Fit.
Paul and I zipped back across town and I listened to Paul describe his career “Portfolio.” Seems that now instead of working one job…you work a portfolio of jobs. Paul teaches ESL to au pairs and scientists and is also working on the Emergency Services plan and policies for Washington, D.C. His GPS delivered me to the loading dock of the Westin but I assured him I could get back to my hotel via the Convention Center. You gotta laugh…this technology has almost, almost I say… got it right.
Back at the hotel I changed into something slightly sparkly and graduated to being able to call my own Uber…yayyyy….and Mark came to the rescue in an Infinity and careened across the city to the Candlewick Publishing event at a suite at Fenway Park. Talk about history and whispers. Talk about authors…Matt Tavares, M.T. Anderson, Timothy Basil Ering, David Elliott to name a few…and looking at the Golden Glove Awards won by various Red Sox greats. There was the big green monster and there was Peter H. Reynolds. Hallowed halls indeed.
By now I can get an Uber ride with one hand tied behind my back. Totally starting to get into this thing. Hey, no money changes hands, right? You just click on the little Uber icon and tell ’em where you want to go and they send someone in 4 minutes and off you go.
My fellow adventurer, a wonderful Texas librarian named Cynthia Alvarez, and I headed off into the night with Nasr in a Honda Civic. Nasr I am sorry to tell you seemed to circle the block a time or two. Let’s just say we kept passing the famous Citgo sign and I think maybe we should only have had that little treat one time.
Cynthia and I peered out the window as we got deep into downtown because Nasr’s GPS was getting a bit fitful. Finally we convinced him that we could see the Prudential Building so we got him to stop the car and let us out. Then Cynthia and I had to figure out how to get up to the Top of the Hub. Then we had to show our ID to get up to the Top of the Hub.
The elevator ride to the Top of the Hub delivered us to the Simon and Schuster Dessert event where we found old friends and were treated to Cassandra Clare surrounded by a group of students who could not believe their good luck. There was cotton candy, fruit…(no one was eating the fruit)..some kind of blue martini looking beverage in fabulous long-stemmed glasses… fancy pastries and then….. at the far end of the room was the lovely lady making crepes. I kid you not. She cooked up the crepe and you added your raspberries, blueberries, vanilla sauce, raspberry sauce, chocolate sauce, whipped cream…yep ….it was the most fabulous way to end the evening.
There we were looking out over the city of Boston with all of its twinkling lights and its Revolutionary ghosts and an army of Uber drivers.
Cynthia and I headed back to the hotel via Uber and Miguel and his small car to be named later. Miguel had been in the IT business and had lost his job. His dream now is to move to Florida and invest in a business with his wife. He has two small children…one is 2 1/2 and one is 4 months. He also has a daughter who is 22. We asked him if his daughter is in college and he said she tried it but after one semester she didn’t know what she wanted to do so she left.
Yep, typical day in the life of a librarian. I think we pretty much have the same job as these Uber guys. We meet all kinds of people and we help them get where they want to go. It’s that part about the credit card that we need to iron out. Can you imagine if every time we walked a library customer through their “trip” our phone was ringing up their credit card? I don’t know…this is starting to sound pretty good to me… I wonder what the Sons of Liberty would say?
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#alaac16 is less than a month away!
In less than 24 hours, the Youth Media Awards will be announced at #alamw16. Hundreds and hundreds of librarians will be at the press conference. They will be eagerly anticipating the announcement of the 2016 Newbery, Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Printz, 
