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In the past few weeks I have read Circus Mirandus, The Book of Kings, Anna and the Swallow Man, The Beastly Bones, The Hired Girl.   I gave up, temporarily, on The Six of Crows and I promise to go back to that because my Boss says it's worth the effort.  I also read Confessions of an Imaginary Friend.

I am pretty sure that there  are other books that I have read recently that did not make this list.  You will note that few if any of these books are on the recently released Youth Media Awards.   (Mainly because several of these are 2016 releases so....)

As a matter of fact, I did a poor job of reading award-worthy books this year.  I have been reading what I want - so there.  

So here is a short run down of two of the books mentioned above.
The Book of Kings -by Cynthia Voigt.  I want to live in Max's home town.  I, too, want to be a solutioneer.  Max Starling must rescue his parents who have been tricked into playing the King and Queen of a small, oppressed South American nation.  So, he, his grandmother, his tenant, Ari who is also a Baron, his "assistant" Pia's father, two boys who may end up being good friends and Max's painting teacher all pile on to a ocean liner, leaving behind the idyllic city of Queensbridge.  Don't DO it! Max.  What a delightful adventure, full of twists and turns and headstrong people.

The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz.  When Jane's unhappy father burns her journals - they are a waste of her time.  Jane runs off to Baltimore and gets a job as a hired girl in the home of a department store owner and entrepreneur.  Her job is complicated by the clash of cultures.  Jane's mother was Catholic, though Jane rarely got a chance to attend church.  And the family she works for are observant Jews.  Jane is NOT 18 as she claims but only 14, so she makes some choices and behaves in ways that threaten to get her fired.  Good book.  Read it.
 

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I am still reeling from the excitement & energy of the ALA Youth Media Awards this week. As part of this year’s Caldecott Committee, I spent the majority of my Midwinter Conference in book discussions with fourteen other committee members participating in the book discussion of a lifetime. It was an incredible thing and I absolutely adore my fellow committee members-I learned so much from them and I felt we all created an incredible bond that can only happen with such an experience.

As I reflect on my committee experience, I feel as though I am not only a better librarian and feel more equipped to understand the awards process, but I also feel as though I am coming away from this experience as a better librarian.

During our discussions, the power of active listening really demonstrated itself. Listening fully to what others had to say without interrupting or coming to your own conclusions is a powerful and incredible thing. I felt appreciated and respected. It was an incredible experience and made me love the people I was with.

It also made me think how I can practice active listening more as a Youth Services Manager with my staff and my patrons. I want to listen to my staff and hear their concerns and questions as well as their praise. I want to remember to stop, pause, and think about what they have said before I respond. I want to show them respect and really listen to what they have to say. 

I am so thankful for this experience and I am so grateful to the committee for making it so wonderful. Thank you for demonstrating a wonderful tool that I can take back and use as a manager. I know it’s an experience I will never forget.

The post The Power of Active Listening appeared first on ALSC Blog.

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It began immediately after the Youth Media Awards were announced on Monday. Quiet whispers to friends and colleagues: “I was surprised by this committee’s choice” and “Why wasn’t this title selected?” and “How could that title have won?” and “My pick didn’t win and it should have!”

While I’ve often heard this kind of discussion after the announcement, I haven’t always had the words to articulate a response. But this year’s announcements for me were colored by a very new and different experience — on Friday, I had the great privilege of attending ALSC’s 2016 Morris Seminar. Here are some of the things I learned:

• Every book has faults. It’s about what book rises to the top of the pile.
• Only discuss the books on the table. You can’t talk about books from previous years.
• When you read independently, you read in a vacuum. The committee as a whole is stronger together.
• While at a group discussion, it is possible to change your mind several times in the span of a few minutes.
• No one is as widely read as the committee and no one has re-read as often as the committee.
• The committee must come to a consensus. Even committee members may not see their favorite awarded.

So, where does that leave you with your commentary? With your thoughts? With the books that you wanted to win?

Just because your favorite book didn’t win a shiny sticker doesn’t mean its days are over. Maybe that book won a different award — an invisible award — one that only you can award.

Instead of worrying about how the committee didn’t honor your choice, you honor it. You champion it. You make sure that it gets in the hands of your patrons or students and your readers. Choose it for storytime. Create a display around it. Suggest it to be the next book club book in your library or your friends group or your town. Put it on a booklist. Nominate it for your state’s reader award if you have one.

Making your difference of thoughts from the committee’s known may make you feel better, but it can take away the committee’s hard work and joy. And it doesn’t help your choice.

Take the time to make a positive contribution. Take the time to award your own choice. Award it your heart and your time and your energy. Make it the winner of your own awards.

So, what books are you going to champion? Who won your heart this year and how are you going to promote it? Let me know in the comments!

– Katie Salo
Early Literacy Librarian
Indian Prairie Public Library
http://storytimekatie.com

The post How the Morris Seminar Changed My View on Awards appeared first on ALSC Blog.

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My blog has really suffered this year-but for a good reason!

I have been spending my time working on the 2016 Caldecott Committee! We're getting down to the wire now with our meetings starting next week, so this past month has been incredibly hectic.

Nope, no Caldecott eligible titles in this photo-this is my son's giant to-read pile, but you can use your imagination and pretend to understand the amount of reading I've been doing this year!

So, what is it like to be on an award committee? Well, it's lots and lots of reading. And then lots and lots of note-taking. Luckily, I've had some help in that area:

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Teachers often ask how to keep up with the best new books. Good intentions are one thing, and real life (long days, class prep, paper grading) is another.

For those with limited time, I recommend going online near the end of the year when children’s book review journals post their “best of the year” lists. They tend to print these lists in their December or January issues, but well before publication you can find those same lists on their websites. Take a look at each one and see which titles pop up on multiple lists and make sure you read those few titles that everyone is talking about. But do try to read all the annotations and think about which books might work in your classrooms, either for the entire class or for free reading.

Here’s a list of the lists, with links.

Already out:

• National Book Award finalists (chapter books and information books for middle school and high school)
• New York Times Best Illustrated list (mostly picture books)

Coming soon:

• National Book Award Winner (this Wednesday 11/18 at the link above)
• SLJ’s Best of 2015 (Scheduled for November 28)
• Horn Book Fanfare (Scheduled for December 9)
• BCCB Blue Ribbons (Normally posted January 1)

And of course there are the ALA awards which will be determined during the Midwinter conference in Boston in January

• Notable Children’s Books (the long list is already available here)
• Best Books for Young Adults (from YALSA)
• Children’s Media awards (announced January 11, 2016; watch the live webcast courtesy of ALSC)

The post The best-of-the-year lists have begun appeared first on The Horn Book.

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The Youth Media Awards such as the Caldecott, Newbery, and Printz are given for excellence in literature to a child (or young adult for Printz) audience. These books are for excellence in text and art, for literary quality and merit. The criteria states "Committee members must consider excellence of presentation for a child audience."  Nowhere in the criteria of these awards does it say the books must be bestsellers, be popular, be teachable in a classroom, or have wide appeal for the majority of readers.

Why do we demand such appeal factors and popularity from our children's and young adult book awards? We don't hear such outcry and push back over adult literary awards such as the Pulitzer or the National Book Award. Do we expect only books for children and teens to be appealing and are we more accepting of "boring and not appealing" books winning adult literary awards? Or do we just have a hard time defining literary merit when it comes to books for youth and instead want to focus on the readability and popularity of a selected title?

One thing I thought about often when I served on the 2013 Printz Committee was how to define literary merit. It's something the committees think about and discuss a lot throughout the year-it's at the forefront of every reading and every conversation. One way I thought about it was how often I am told that children's and teen books have no literary merit, are fluff, or are not well written. For everyone who sees the value in books for youth there is always someone who does not. I thought about finding the book that proved this value-that showed that books for youth have just as much literary weight as any other award winning book. Sometimes those books of high literary quality aren't the bestselling, popular, most beloved books, and that's okay.

What we seem to forget during the Youth Media Awards is that there are books for every reader. Just because we deem something unappealing doesn't mean there isn't an audience for it.

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(This post was orignially published in January 2014, but I think it's fitting that I have friends serving on the award committees this year and I want them to read this encouragement once again and know it's for them too!)

Dear Committee Member-

On the eve of the youth media awards and your committee announcements, I offer you some words of advice from someone who has been there before.

Your choices are amazing. You have done a fantastic job and worked the hardest you have ever worked over the past year. You have read, and re-read, and re-read yet again, taken notes, analyzed, and discussed titles in more depth than you ever thought possible. Your hard work is appreciated.

When the announcement happens and your choices are known, just remember that your titles are amazing. You know why you honored the books you did and now you get to share those amazing titles with the world. You get to watch as others read them and discuss them and discover the intricacies in the plot, setting, characters, and voice that you did. Be proud that you get to share these titles with readers everywhere. Be proud that you have honored an author for their incredible work. Be proud that you get to highlight literary excellence in children's and young adult literature.

Be happy with your choices and don't listen to any naysayers. They don't know these titles as well as you and your fellow committee members. Remember it's not about popularity. That popular mock favorite that you didn't honor? It's OK. The obscure title that surprised everyone? It's OK. The title that everyone has mixed opinions on? It's OK. No matter what you choose, your titles are worth reading, worth knowing, and worth sharing. It doesn't matter if the honored titles don't match everyone's expectations-you know why your books were honored and be proud of giving these books a chance to shine. Feel good about sharing these fantastic titles with readers everywhere and giving them books to discover (or re-discover).

Understand that you just undertook a year of immense critical reading and it's OK to take a break from reading. Your work was exhausting and you deserve a chance to step away from books and not read for awhile. It doesn't make you a bad librarian or a bad reader-you deserve a break. Come back to reading when you're ready-and read something you want to read and find fun. And don't be surprised if the way you read has forever changed-you'll find yourself reading critically, but you can also give yourself a break and read for fun-and sometimes those things will intertwine.

Feel good about the work you did and be proud of your committee. Seek out your titles in a bookstore and library and feel proud when you see that shiny sticker placed on the cover.  Be excited when you get to booktalk one of your titles and share it with a reader. And share away-that's one of the best parts of committee work-sharing your titles with others and getting them to read the books you worked hard to honor.

Thank you for your amazing year of reading and re-reading. Thank you for taking the time to discuss titles with your fellow committee member. Thank you for working hard to shine a light on great titles and honoring the best children's and young adult literature has to offer. Thank you for your amazing list of titles and congrats on a job well done! We're all cheering you on!

Now sit back and enjoy celebrating your hard work over the next year!

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When you’re reading this, a lot of us will be heading or preparing to head to Chicago for ALA Midwinter. There are many things to be excited about during Midwinter–meetings, exhibits, seeing friends.

But not a lot actually meets the level of excitement, that the Youth Media Awards. This will be my first YMAs in person! I’m so jazzed. So I thought I’d take a moment and reflect on my favorite winners of past YMAs. Honestly, I could go on for pages and pages about this, but I’ll just do a quick overview because y’all are packing or flying.  My very favorites of the Caldecott Medal, Newbery Medal, and Printz Award Winners:

I know this is everyone’s favorite, but it’s totally mine. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. It won the 1963 Caldecott award. This book was written over 20 years before I was born, but I adored it as a child. I remember asking my mom to read it to me over and over and over again. And it holds up. I use this one in storytimes often, and I’m lucky enough to live near the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi and have seen some of the original art. It’s as gorgeous as you think it is.

The View From Saturday by E.L. Konisburg won the Newbery Medal in 1997. This is one that I was wild about as a child. I was 9 years old when this book came out, and I was part of a program in my school that was similar to the Academic Bowl Team. Well, not entirely similar. But it felt similar. My fourth-grade self resonated with this one DEEPLY. I actually have not read this one as an adult. A part of me is terrified that it won’t hold up. But it will, right? Because Konigsburg? This is the first time in my life I remember being aware that the Newbery medal is something that was actually awarded, and that the seal didn’t just magically appear on books in my school library. I remember my school librarian telling us that this book had won and being very excited because I had read it and loved it so much. Maybe it’s time for a reread?

 

The Printz Award is a little different. It’s a much newer award. The first Printz was awarded in 2000. I wasn’t really aware of the existence of the Printz until college library school, but I quickly became obsessed. I actually wrote my master’s project on the Printz. In doing so, I read many Printz and Printz Honor titles. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta, the 2009 winner, is my favorite, and continues to be my favorite Young Adult title of all time. I understand that my approach to this book was different. I was an adult the first time I read it, upon the recommendation of a colleague at my library, unlike the other two titles, which I came to as a child. But this book, like the other two, changed me and stayed with me. Marchetta is now one of my favorite authors. I’m fond of telling friends that if she wrote ingredients lists on the side of cereal boxes, I’d have them shipped over from Australia to read.

That’s the thing I love about award winners, and all books. Remember this when you’re putting award seals on books next week and when you’re teaching classes about the Caldecott and Newbery and when you’re excitedly handing your tweens and teens the Printz Honor book you’ll know they love: these are the books that will stay with them forever. And we get to be a tiny part of that.

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Our cross-poster from YALSA today is Ally Watkins (@aswatki1). Ally is a youth services librarian in Mississippi, and has worked with kids ages birth-18 for the last 5 years.

The post YMA Favorites appeared first on ALSC Blog.

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So I'm going to try my best to share my predictions and we'll see how close I can get (probably not close at all!) Here are my predictions (and hopes!) for Monday morning:

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The 2015 ALA Midwinter Meeting is approaching and ALSC has a ton of great events and activities to tell you about.

In fact, there’s almost too much good stuff to talk about. To fit this discussion into a blog post, we’ve had to condense our list a bit. Here are a few highlights of events taking place in Chicago.

For a full list of ALSC committee meetings, information sessions and get-togethers, please see the ALSC at ALA Midwinter Meeting list. Each of the events listed below are open to all conference attendees.

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Leadership & ALSC
Saturday, January 31, 8:30-11:30am
McCormick Place West W179

This event, which is open to all attendees, is an opportunity to learn about new developments in the profession enabling attendees to bring this knowledge back to their libraries. Jenna Nemec-Loise, Member Content Editor for the ALSC Everyday Advocacy Website & Electronic Newsletter will present a review of elevator speeches, value-based language, and an introduction to the ALSC advocacy button campaign. Follow along on Twitter using the hashtag #leadalsc.

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Diversity Matters: Stepping It Up With Action!
Sunday, February 1, 1-2:30pm
McCormick Place West W183b

The Diversity Matters: Stepping It Up With Action! update will give Midwinter attendees an opportunity to learn more about the invitation only Day of Diversity: Dialogue and Action in Children’s Literature and Programming event, its outcomes, and participate in laying the groundwork for a promising future. This session will focus on practical strategies participants have successfully employed for increasing diversity awareness within the publishing and library communities. Along with ALSC, this program is sponsored by the Children’s Book Council’s Diversity Committee.

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Young Children, Libraries & New Media Survey
Sunday, February 1, 3-4pm
McCormick Place West W183b

The purpose of this update is to discuss the findings of the Young Children, New Media & Libraries Survey conducted by the Association for Library Service to Children, LittleeLit.com and the University of Washington iSchool. A panel of experts from library, research and education fields will discuss the survey results and the implications of the findings.

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ALA Youth Media Awards
Monday, February 2, 8-9am
McCormick Place West W375b/Skyline

Join us for the announcement of the best of the best in children’s and young adult literature and media –the ALA Youth Media Awards! Each year the American Library Association honors books, videos, and other outstanding materials for children and teens. Doors open at 7:30 a.m. and fans can follow results in real-time via #alayma, or live webcast. Visit ILoveLibraries.org for additional information on how to follow the action.

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For more events and activities, make sure to check out the 2015 ALA Midwinter Meeting site including the handy Scheduler tool.

The post ALSC at the Midwinter Meeting #alamw15 appeared first on ALSC Blog.

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The 2014 ALSC book and media award acceptance speeches evoked plenty of emotion. Some were funny and warm. Some were emotional and informative. You can read them yourself on the ALSC website! Download a copy of the PDF of each of the speeches:

• Batchelder [PDF - 1 MB]
• Belpré [PDF - 2.3 MB]
• Caldecott [PDF - 2 MB]
• Carnegie [PDF - 1 MB]
• Geisel [PDF - 1.4 MB]
• Newbery [PDF - 2 MB]
• Sibert [PDF - 1.1 MB]

You can also watch reaction videos from the 2014 ALA Youth Media Award winners. Videos of the award speech presentations and inspiration videos that concluded the banquet will be posted soon.

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One of my favorite parts of any Midwinter Meeting is the announcement of the Youth Media Awards. There’s an Oscar-like buzz in the room. I love the pride and enthusiasm from juries and selection committees (many of whom dress up for the event). I get chills at the emotional outpouring for beloved authors and titles, and it’s a particular thrill when a dark horse title wins.

But if you can’t be in the room for the announcements, have no fear–YALSABlog and The Hub will be jointly covering the YMAs with a live blog, complete with streaming video! Join the session here or on The Hub to watch the video, answer reader polls and add your own commentary live. We’ll also be pulling selected hashtags (like #yma13, #printz, #alexaward and #morrisaward) to bring you thoughts and reactions from Twitter.

If you miss the live session, you can replay the whole thing (including the video) at any time after the live session ends. Don’t miss out on one of the best parts of Midwinter!

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The ALA Youth Media Awards are coming up-the announcement is January 28th!

My top three picks for Caldecott are:

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Monday morning bright and early. ALA announced the youth Media Awards. I was at ALA so I was up early and part of the crowd there to hear the annoucements live! Of course, my predictions were pretty much wrong, which is part of the fun! I'm sure if you follow kidlit and YA, you've already read about the winners, but I wanted to share my thoughts and hear yours!

The Newbery Winner:

13 Comments on ALA Youth Media Awards-My Predictions, last added: 1/7/2011

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YALSA has selected five books as finalists for the 2011 William C. Morris Award, which honors a book written for young adults by a previously unpublished author. YALSA will name the 2011 award winner at the Youth Media Awards on Jan. 10, at ALA’s Midwinter Meeting in San Diego.

The 2011 finalists are:

• Hush by Eishes Chayil, published by Walker Publishing Company, a division of Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc.
• Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey, published by Little, Brown and Company/Hachette Book Group
• Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride, published by Henry Holt
• Crossing the Tracks by Barbara Stuber, published by Margaret McElderry Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
• The Freak Observer by Blythe Woolston, published by Carolrhoda Lab, an imprint of Carolrhoda Books, a division of Lerner Publishing Group

“The 2011 Morris finalists illustrate a wealth of new authors writing for teens, making the selection of this year’s titles particularly difficult,” said Summer Hayes, chair of the 2011 William C. Morris Award committee. “From contemporary coming-of-age stories to fantasy to historical fiction, these stories resonated with our committee. They represent not only the strongest debut authors, but some of the best fiction written for teens this year.”

More information on the finalists and the award can be found at www.ala.org/morris. On Wednesday, Dec. 8, YALSA will host a chat in Adobe Connect on the Morris and Nonfiction shortlists at 8 p.m. Eastern, hosted by Rob Bittner.

YALSA sells finalist seals to librarians and publishers to place on books at www.alastore.ala.org. YALSA will host a reception honoring the shortlist authors and the winner, as well as YALSA’s Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award winners, at a free reception, 8–10 p.m. on Jan. 10 in Room 24 A-C at the San Diego Convention Center.

The award is named for William C. Morris, an influential innovator in the publishing world and an advocate for marketing books for children and young adults. William “Bill” Morris left an impressive mark on the field of children’s and young adult literature. He was beloved in the publishing field and the library profession for his generosity and marvelous enthusiasm for promoting literature for children and teens.

Members of the 2011 William C. Morris Award are: Chair Summer Hayes, King County Library System, Tukwila, Wash.; Karen E. Brooks-Reese, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh; Carol Edwards, Denver Public Library; Alison M. Hendon, Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library; Diana Tixier Herald, Mesa County Valley School District #51, Grand Junction, Colo.; RoseMary Honnold, Voice of Youth Advocates, Coshocton, Ohio; Kathleen Taylor Isaacs, Pasadena, Md.; Angie Manfredi, Los Alamos County (N.M.) Library System; Adela Peskorz, Metropolitan State University Library and Learning Center, St. Paul, Minn.; and Amy Anderson, administrative assistant, Bellevue (Wash.) Regional Library.