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9:29 David Steinberger, chairman of the National Book Foundation is on stage talking about how the judges decide on the winners. It happened today at lunch.

9:32 Steinberger is thanking all of the former winners and the sponsors.

9:34 Steinberger is naming the winners of the Innovations in Reading Prize from earlier in the week. Find out more here.

9:39 Andy Borowitz is back on stage to introduce Tor Seidler who is presenting the award for The Young People’s Literature. There were more than 200 novels in the category.

9:42 The winner is Kathryn Erskine for Mockingbird.

9:44 Cornelius Eady is taking the stage to present the award for Poetry.

9:50 The winner is Terrance Hayes for Lighthead.

9:52 Marjorie Garber has taken the stage to present the award for Nonfiction.

9:54 The winner is Patti Smith for Just Kids. Smith says she always wanted to have a book of her own since she worked in a book store as a kid. “There is nothing more beautiful in our material world than the book.” She says never to abandon the book.

9:58 Joanna Scott is taking the stage to introduce the award for Fiction.

10:04 The winner is Jaimy Gordon for Lord of Misrule. Gordon: “I am totally unprepared and I am totally surprised.”

10:06 The awards are over, thanks for following our live blog.

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We don’t talk enough, you and I.  About the National Book Awards, I mean.  Seems to me that the only time we pay much attention to them is when they release their shortlist, and by that point the only thing left to predict is what the ultimate winner will be.  It hasn’t quite the same press recognition of a Newbery or Caldecott, but I enjoy the NBAs.  They’re one of the few times authors have a chance to give a big award to their peers.  There’s much to be said for that, you know.

There are some interesting differences between NBA committees and ALSC committees too.  For example, while a person on a Newbery committee is allowed to give their personal opinion on a title, an NBA committee member is not allowed to give so much as a smidgen of an opinion from start to finish.  Linda Sue Park, as I recall, when asked during her tenure as to what books she liked would begin with, “Well I was really impressed by . . .” then slap her own hands over her mouth and end with, “hmmm mmm mmm hmmmm mmm.”

Another essential difference is that not all children’s and YA books are considered for the award.  In fact, they must be nominated by their publishers and each book must pay a $125 entry fee.  Yikes!  The result is that it is the publishers who pick and choose what to send it.  By this time of year they can no longer send in anything (the deadline has passed) so not only will we be predicting what the committee members like but also what the publishers feel have the best chances.

This year the NBA committee members in the Young People’s Literature category include Laban Carrick Hill, Kelly Link, Tor Seidler, Hope Anita Smith, and Sara Zarr.  Not too shabby, eh?

I’ve been watching the NBA Young People’s Literature nominees for a number of years now and have determined that the kind of books they prefer are titles that are YA, a little more obscure than those with Newbery potential, and out of far right field.  In short: Impossible to predict.

Not that we don’t like to try!  With the given understanding that I’ve never tried this before, I don’t read YA, and every NBA committee has a different vibe to it, let’s have some fun with this!

In brief, my thoughts on potential nominees would include:

The Boneshaker by Kate Milford -
Clearly this is this year’s Lips Touch sans any actual lips touching.  If any book was a shoo-in for serious consideration in the middle grade category, I’d have to hand it to Ms. Milford.  In fact, of all the books I list here, Kate’s is the only one that I would

Tor Seidler is one of those authors I always feel that I should read more of. I mean, he's written about rats and his Mean Margaret is illustrated by Jon Agee--major attractions as far as I'm concerned. I have read Toes, which I enjoyed immensely, and highly recommend. And last night I finished Gully's Travels. I had ordered it on-sight once I saw it in a publisher's catalog (there are authors in

Reviewed by Amy M. O’Quinn for the National Writing for Children Center

Title: The Steadfast Tin Soldier
Written by: Hans Christian Anderson
Retold by: Tor Seidler
Illustrated by: Fred Marcellino
Hardback: 28 pages
Ages: 4-8
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf; 1st edition (October 1992)
ISBN-10: 0062050001
ISBN-13: 978-0062050007

Children of all ages have cherished this timeless classic by Hans Christian Anderson for many years, and for good reason. The beautifully bittersweet story of love and heroism has all the elements to tug at the heartstrings yet warm the soul. And, while not always considered a holiday story, this version with illustrations depicting a Victorian Christmas is charming and flavored with old-fashioned appeal.

The tin soldier is different from the other soldiers in that he has only one leg. But, even so, he is more steadfast than all the others— the one destined for greatness. And, when a little boy opens the box and finds the twenty-five men in red and blue uniforms, the journey of the steadfast tin soldier begins.

Almost immediately, the tin soldier spots a beautiful paper ballerina standing in front of a grand cardboard castle. It looks to the soldier as if the dancer, too, has only one leg because the other leg is lifted so high behind her. His heart is captured at once by the lovely ballerina, and he thinks she would make a perfect wife for him. He can’t take his eyes off of her.

But, at night when the house is quiet and the people have gone to bed, the toys come alive and play. Someone else notices the soldier’s infatuation with the ballerina, and he doesn’t like what he sees. It’s the jack-in-the-box (or the goblin as he’s called), and he warns the tin soldier to keep his eyes to himself…or else. But the tin soldier pretends not to hear.

The next day, the tin soldier is set upon the windowsill when a gust of wind blows open the window causing him to fall three stories to the street below, only to suffer (upside down) through a downpour of rain. After he is found by a couple of street urchins, he is placed in a paper boat that is set sail in the gutter.

He then faces a gutter rat, a terrible fall into the canal, and a large fish which swallows him up. But through it all, the tin soldier remains steadfast, brave, and unflinching. And his thoughts never stray from his lovely ballerina, even as he prepares for death.

Miraculously, the fish is caught, taken to market, sold, and brought to the kitchen of the house where the soldier’s journey began. After he is taken from inside the fish, the soldier is placed back in the living room where he and the ballerina gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes, saying much without saying a word.

But, for no apparent reason, one of the little boys throws the tin soldier into the blazing stove. Even as he begins to melt, he remains steadfast and his eyes never leave those of the ballerina. Just then, a gust of wind catches the paper dancer and she flies straight to the tin soldier’s side. The two perish, and all that remains is some tin in the shape of a heart and the spangle from the dancer’s sash. Together, forever.

Tor Seidler does a wonderful job retelling the classic story while still maintaining Anderson’s voice. And Fred Marcellino’s illustrations are simply enchanting. This book is definitely one to pull from the shelf during the holiday season, and throughout the rest of the year as well.

******

Amy M. O’Quinn is a pastor’s wife and former schoolteacher-turned-homeschool mom of six. She is also a freelance writer who enjoys jotting down ideas around the fringes of family life. She specializes in non-fiction, and her work has been published or acquired by magazines including Jack and Jill, US Kids, Guideposts for Kids, Learning Through History Magazine, Highlights, GEORGIA Magazine, Homeschooling Today, International Gymnast, etc. She is also a product/curriculum/book reviewer for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and a regular columnist for TEACH Magazine. The O’Quinns live on the family farm in rural south Georgia. You can find Amy’s blog, Ponderings From Picket Fence Cottage, at http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/picketfencemom.