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Out of Darkness
by Ashley Hope Perez. Carolrhoda LAB. 2015. Printz Honor Book. Library copy.
The Plot: March 1938. Wash Fuller is working, thinking of his girl, of their plans of a life together. Then the earth shakes and everything changes: the New London school has blown up, and he runs to where she may be.
The book then flashes back to 1937, when Naomi moves with her two half siblings to New London in East Texas to live with her stepfather and to use his last name, Smith, discarding her own name of "Vargas" to pass (or pretend to pass) as white, not Mexican.
And she meets Wash, an African American teenager who offers friendship and love. He's not acceptable to her stepfather, because of his color -- and because her stepfather Henry looks at Naomi and sees her dead mother, Estella. And wants her, like he wanted her mother.
Race, abuse, sex, lust, love, all come crashing together, against the backdrop of the worst school disaster in US history. And that time of tragedy and loss is used by some as justification to inflict even more horror.
The Good: This is an excellent book. Out of Darkness had been on my short list of books I wanted to read, and the Printz Honor nod pushed it to the top of the pile. Which, of course, is the value of awards like the Printz. Well, that, and Bookshelves of Doom's in-person booktalk that began with "school disaster" and had me going "sold!". (Her longer review is at Kirkus.) (Also, I had thought the biggest school disaster was the Our Lady of Angels fire, so I was intrigued to find out more about the New London school explosion.)
Out of Darkness is about Naomi, who is faced with impossible choices. She and her siblings have lived with her grandparents, but they are getting older, they have suffered losses because of the depression, and they also know that their grandchildren will have a better educational future with their white father. Naomi refuses to leave her siblings, wanting to protect them and take care of them, in part because of her own memories of what her stepfather, Henry, did to her. Henry may say he's found religion and God and been baptized and born again, and given up alcohol and women, but Naomi doesn't believe it -- in part because what he did to her remains and is real. Saying "I'm saved!" doesn't change that.
Unlike her younger siblings, who are pale like their father, Naomi is dark like her mother and her own father. Her white classmates realize it; the local store keeper refuses to allow her into the store; and Wash assumes at first that she is African American, like he is. Prejudices and racism run through the book, and that is part of the heartbreak of reading the book. Wash's parents are both college educated, and push their own children to want education, yet at the same time teach their son the safe ways to act and speak to whites. Wash doesn't like it, pushes against it, and the tragedy of the book, the times, of Wash and Naomi is that there is no safe way to act to stop another's hatred and violence. Such "safety" is an illusion, at best.
I'll be honest: the ending of the book gutted me. You think it's the explosion and all those dead children, and the bits of those dead children. And yes, that is terrible. (And not to be flippant, but disasters like this and the Our Lady of Angels fire is just proof that yes, building codes and government regulations are necessary.) But the explosion is the result of lack of regulations because people don't accept that yes, disaster can happen without safety rules. The tragedy at the end of the book -- that is the result of hate, of hate that society encourages, and allows. Safety rules about gas lines and fire escapes may have lessened school disasters; but hatred and prejudice and racism, that is unchecked and even encouraged, are still here.
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© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
Winner:
I’ll Give You the Sun
by Jandy Nelson
High School Dial 375 pp.
9/14 978-0-8037-3496-8 $17.99 g
In her much-anticipated second book, Nelson (The Sky Is Everywhere, rev. 3/10) delivers another novel of romance, tragedy, grief, and healing, told in poetic prose with the barest hint of magical realism. Jude and Noah are fraternal twins; once very close, they now barely speak to each other. The reasons for their estrangement gradually come to light over the course of the novel through the twins’ alternating voices from different points in time. Thirteen-year-old Noah narrates the story’s beginnings; an extremely talented painter, bullied for being gay, he finds himself attracted to the new boy next door. The later story is revealed from sixteen-year-old Jude’s point of view. Too focused on art school — including why she was accepted and Noah wasn’t — to think about boys, and haunted by the tragic automobile-accident death of their mother, she finds solace in conversations with their grandmother’s ghost. Despite some minor flaws — Noah’s voice never quite rings true as an adolescent male; and the present-tense stream-of-consciousness narrative occasionally dilutes the powerful imagery of the writing — the novel remains a compelling meditation on love, grief, sexuality, family, and fate. JONATHAN HUNT
From the November/December 2014 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.
Honor books:
And We Stay
by Jenny Hubbard
High school Delacorte 225 pp.
1/14 978-0-385-74057-9
After her ex-boyfriend’s suicide, sixteen-year-old Emily Beam is sent to an Amherst, Massachusetts, boarding school to start anew and heal. And through a friendship with her sympathetic roommate, connecting with local legend Emily Dickinson’s work, and blossoming as a poet herself, she starts to. Hubbard thrives in both prose and verse storytelling: interspersed within emotionally astute third-person-omniscient narration are Emily’s moving poems.
From the Fall 2014 issue of The Horn Book Guide.
The Carnival at Bray
by Jessie Ann Foley (Elephant Rock)
Review to come.
Grasshopper Jungle
by Andrew Smith
High School Dutton 390 pp.
2/14 978-0-525-42603-5 $18.99
Unfortunate coincidences involving sixteen-year-old Austin and his best friend Robby lead to the unleashing of gigantic, ravenous praying mantises related to a diabolical scientist’s decades-old experiments. Austin’s love for and attraction to both his girlfriend and to Robby is the powerful emotional backbone of this intricate, grimly comedic apocalypse story, in which Smith proves himself a daring and original wordsmith. KATRINA HEDEEN
From the Fall 2014 issue of The Horn Book Guide.
This One Summer
by Mariko Tamaki; illus. by Jillian Tamaki
Middle School First Second/Roaring Brook 320 pp.
5/14 978-1-59643-774-6 $17.99
Rose Wallace and her parents go to Awago Beach every summer. Rose collects rocks on the beach, swims in the lake, and goes on bike rides with her younger “summer cottage friend,” Windy. But this year she is feeling too old for some of the activities she used to love — and even, at times, for the more-childish (yet self-assured) Windy. Rose would rather do adult things: watch horror movies and talk with Windy about boobs, boys, and sex. In their second graphic novel — another impressive collaboration — the Tamaki cousins (Skim, rev. 7/08) examine the mix of uncertainty and hope a girl experiences on the verge of adolescence. The episodic plot and varied page layout set a leisurely pace evocative of summer. Rose’s contemplative observations and flashbacks, along with the book’s realistic dialogue, offer insight into her evolving personality, while the dramatic changes in perspective and purply-blue ink illustrations capture the narrative’s raw emotional core. Secondary storylines also accentuate Rose’s transition from childhood to young adulthood: she’s caught in the middle of the tension between her parents (due to her mom’s recent abrasive moodiness and the painful secret behind it) and fascinated by the local teens’ behavior (swearing, drinking, smoking, fighting, and even a pregnancy; the adult situations — and frank language — she encounters may be eye-opening reading for pre-adolescents like Rose). This is a poignant drama worth sharing with middle-schoolers, and one that teen readers will also appreciate for its look back at the beginnings of the end of childhood. CYNTHIA K. RITTER
From the July/August 2014 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.
The post Reviews of the 2015 Printz winners appeared first on The Horn Book.
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.
*
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.
MidwinterBLOOD
Marcus Sedgwick
YA
It's one of my favorite times of the year - kids' book awards! I waited with baited breath for the new Printz and Newbury winners and the resulting pile of spanking new stories to discover. I started with the Printz winner,
MidwinterBLOOD, by Marcus Sedgwick, and oh, what delicious fun!
Multiple, seemingly unrelated tales spanning thousands of years but that nevertheless all take place on the same island with two repeating character names slowly reveal themselves as the stories of the multiple lives of two star-crossed lovers that culminate in their final breaths. And even throws in a vampire and a WW II aviator.
Yum.
This sort of storytelling mesmerizes me. It takes the short story and incorporates it into novel length. It's a two for one that cleverly takes short stories arcs and layers them into a longer, overall novel arc. It's pretty cool how Sedgwick pulls that off. How he takes elements in one story and reworks them, nevertheless expanding and revealing backstory in another about those elements, and the two characters they revolve around.
There were a few stories in the set that I understood less quickly and had to reread, but I'd say this is a reread all the way around, it's that rich with story and new author tools to tell story.
For other stories that will put a spring in your step before we tumble forward this weekend (hopefully out of the snow and into the flowers!) check out
Barrie Summy's site. Happy reading!
By:
Darcy Pattison,
on 2/4/2014
Blog:
Darcy Pattison's Revision Notes
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QUIZ: ARE YOU READY TO WRITE A CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOK?
- How many pages are in a typical children’s picture book?
- Who is the audience of a children’s picture book? Hint: It's not just kids.
- Are there restrictions on the vocabulary you use in a picture book?
- Do I have to write in rhyme? Do manuscripts written in rhyme sell better?
- Do EPUB books have to the same length as printed books?
Don't start writing that picture book until you know these crucial concepts.
GET THE ANSWERS HERE.
The Newbery, Caldecott, Printz, Siebert and other awards for the best books of children’s/teen literature were announced recently. And every year the question of gender bias is raised. Overwhelmingly, the industry is dominated by female authors/illustrators, yet the awards go to male authors/illustrators.
This year the Caldecott went to 75% male illustrators, with the winner a male.
The Siebert is 20% male, with the winner a female.
The Newbery is 40% male, with the winner a female.
The Siebert is 20% male, with the winner a male.
Except for the Caldecott, it seems the awards are spread out.
Considering the possibility of gender bias–which is generally skewed toward male authors/illustrators, it’s interesting to read this article by Lilit Marcus, who spent 2013 only reading female authors. She was accused of being sexist, reverse sexist, and misandrist. “One Flavorwire commenter dismissed the significance of focusing on female authors and announced that he would only be reading books by authors who were tall.”
And yet, many readers are now contacting Lilit and asking for recommendations for women authors.
I wonder what it would look like to only read women’s fiction and nonfiction for a year. What picture books would emerge as winners? What middle grade novels would you champion? What YA novels would rise to the top? What if you spent the next year only reading men’s fiction and nonfiction? What would you learn from each year’s experiences?
Do you feel that the world of children and teen publishing carries gender biases? Where do you see it most?
Winner of the 2014 Newbery Medal for Distinguished Contribution to Children’s Literature.
So it's not often that I find myself not-reading. I almost always am reading except when I'm too busy writing/listening/typing... I can't process words incoming and outgoing at the same time. It's just too confusing! No reading makes me pretty crabby.
The last couple of weeks, in all of my spare time I have been designing websites, which was... a lot of hours. Really a lot. I'm torn between sleeping (I've been averaging two hours a night) and prying my eyes awake to get through another 30 pages of print, a battle I have lost more often than I have won. Ah well! It's not a total loss, and the things I have been doing other than reading have been fullfilling too.
In the mornings I've been listening to this year's Printz award winner,
In Darkness by Nick Lake, which is a great, well-written book but very ummmm... dark? (Sorry, I'm very tired obviously.) It's a grim tale of a boy growing up as a gangster in Haiti, with his story linked to that of rebel leader Toussaint Louverture. It's just as well my commute is only 40 minutes long or I'd probably be a crying, sloppy mess from all the emotion in this book. And I know it's a form of "reading" or rather, being read to, but it's not quite the same as sticking your nose in a book.
Anyway.
Instead of reading
Siege & Storm as I SO want to do, I have been working on
yarncrawlla.com and
misstammywrites.com. Click through to check them out! Especially Miss Tammy Blackwell's site, because she's the author of the paranormal YA
Timber Wolves series, and
Victoria Faye just made her some super-cool swag!
Before:
Don't look too closely!
After:
I'm so happy with the way it turned out that I'm doing a giveaway!
The winner gets to choose one of these possible prizes:
That's the shirt. You get to pick the color!
Giveaway Rules:
- Open to US only.
- We are not responsible for items lost in the mail.
- One set of entries per household, please.
- If you are under 13, please get a parent or guardian's permission to enter, as you will be sharing personal info such as an email address.
- Winner will be chosen randomly via Rafflecopter widget a day or two after the contest ends.
- Winner will have 48 hours to respond to to the email, otherwise we will pick a new winner.
- If you have any questions, feel free to email us. You can review our full contest policy here.
- PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE ANY PERSONAL INFO IN THE COMMENTS. Sorry for the caps but we always get people leaving their email in the comments. Rafflecopter will collect all that without having personal info in the comments for all the world (and spambots) to find.
Good luck!
Which prize would you choose if you won? Tell me what and why in the comments!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
By: Molly,
on 2/1/2013
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the pageturn
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The news is now far and wide, but we want to officially say– yahoo! This past weekend in Seattle at the Midwinter Meeting of the American Library Association, six of our titles were honored by awards committees and we are beyond bowled over with excitement and pride. Congratulations to all– to the authors, editors, fans, and champions of these books. Every Midwinter we are so grateful to be reminded that the community we book-people live and work within is vibrant, supportive, and very, very much alive and kicking. We are all in it together.
All of our award-winning books living together in harmony.
Newbery Committee member Susannah Richards placing IVAN’s shiny sticker!
EXTRA YARN co-editor (VP and co-publisher of Balzer + Bray) Alessandra Balzer doing the honors!
Printz Committee friends giving DODGER their love.
Schneider committee and A DOG CALLED HOMELESS editor Sarah Shumway celebrating.
And Amelia Bedeila (did you celebrate AMELIA BEDELIA DAY?) wanted in on the fun, too!
Congratulations to all authors and illustrators honored with 2013 awards, and the biggest and humblest of thank you’s to the awards committees for their hard work, dedication, and the countless hours they spent this past year reading and discussing books. Now we wish we could fast-forward to June and our official ALA celebrations!
In case you missed them, the 2013 ALA Awards (Newbery, Caldecott, Printz, etc.) have been announced!
Celebrate great children’s book writing and illustration by checking out this year’s winners and honor books here: 2013 ALA Award Winners
None of us got to go to the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Dallas, but we're very excited about the award winners that were announced today!
Jack Gantos won the Newbery with
Dead End in Norvelt. Once again, the Newbery was not even on my radar!
Congratulations to all the winners! Were any of the winners on your list? Comment below or tweet @
frootjoos.
By: Mary Voors,
on 1/23/2012
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Once more, ALA’s Youth Media Awards — the crème de la crème of the children’s and YA book communities — met expectations. Early this morning, hundreds of young people’s literature enthusiasts filled the Dallas Convention Center Theater to hear the Awards announced. There were some surprises, but the committees had to feel good as they heard the shrieks of excitement as each award winner was made known.
Want to see which titles won? Click here for the official press release.
Congratulations to all the winners. And THANK YOU to all the committee members for your hard work! You are appreciated!
By: Beth,
on 1/22/2012
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YALSA - Young Adult Library Services Association
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By: Laura,
on 9/28/2011
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A regular on the top banned and challenged books list, ANGUS, THONGS, AND FULL-FRONTAL SNOGGING by the fabulous Louise Rennison has a cult following (um, include me in that cult!). The book has been challenged for a multitude of reasons: age inappropriateness, profanity, and sexual content. It has also made the Top 100 list, which we can’t help but consider a distinction!
Today’s booktalk is by the uber-fabbity-fab Sarah Bean Thompson, librarian and blogger (GreenBeanTeenQueen). She’s also on the 2013 Printz committee! She’s a fan of Louise Rennison’s Georgia Nicolson stories and contributed a booktalk that you can use all year long in your programming:
Join Georgia Nicolson and The Ace Gang for a fabbity fab adventure through the craziness of high school. Georgia is madly in love with the sex god, Robbie. Too bad Robbie has a girlfriend who happens to be the annoying wet Lindsey. Georgia knows that she could get Robbie to fall in love with her if only she had the chance. And if high school and love triangles weren’t bad enough, Georgia has to deal with her fat cat Angus who is always causing problems and her embarrassing three-year-old sister who is not as cute as everyone thinks. Georgia’s adventures are always full of laughs as her entries into her diary recount her attempts to survive school, boys, and big noses. Growing up is never easy, but at least Georgia Nicolson manages to make it fun.
Thanks, Sarah, for joining us! For additional info to support your programming and curriculum, check out the Georgia Nicolson reading guide. I’m also a bit of an evangelist for the Georgia Nicolson website so check that out for a glossary, the complete snogging scale, and quizzes.
Last but not least, I’ll leave you with the trailer for the the ANGUS, THONGS, AND FULL-FRONTAL SNOGGING trailer:
Nothing Janne Teller, trans. from the Danish Martin Aitken
On the first day of Year 7, Pierre Anthon stands up and announces "Nothing matters...I've known that for a long time. So nothing's worth doing. I just realized that." He then walks out and spends the rest of his days hanging out in the plum tree outside the commune he lives on.
His classmates have been raised to believe that they matter, that they were going to amount to something, to be someone. They have to walk by Pierre Anthon's plum tree to get to and from school. When they pass, he pelts them with plums and his ideas on life "It's all a waste of time... Everything begins only to end. The moment you were born you began to die. That's how it is with everything. The Earth is four billion, six hundred million years old, and you're going to reach one hundred at the most! It's not even worth the bother."
His plums and words find sore spots, and they set out to prove him wrong. The best way the class can think of to prove life has meaning is to make a heap of the things they find meaningful in their lives. Some are objects (sandals you waited for all summer) some are symbols (the flag, the church's crucifix). But it's quickly apparent that the students don't want to part with things that really mean the most to them, so the other students decide. Once you're forced to give up what's most meaningful, you pick the next student and what they have to give up.
It gets dark quickly as the students start choosing objects in revenge for what they were forced to lose.
And then... when the heap is finished. Will it still be enough to convince Pierre Anthon that he's wrong?
I love the language in this book.
"Nothing matters," he announced. "I've known that for a long time. So nothing's worth doing. I just realized that." Calm and collected, he bent down and put everything he had just taken out back into his bag. he nodded good-bye with a disinterested look and left the classroom without closing the door behind him.
The door smiled. It was the first time I'd seen it do that. Pierre Anthon left the door ajar like a grinning abyss that would swallow me up into the outside with im if only I let myself go. Smiling at whom? At me, at us. I looked around the class. The uncomfortable silence told me that others had felt it too.
We were supposed to amount to something.
Something was the same as someone, and even if nobody ever said so out loud, it was hardly left unspoken, either. It was just in the air, or in the time, or in the fence surrounding the school, or in our pillows, or in the soft toys that after having served us so loyally had now been unjustly discarded and left to gather dust in attics or basements. I hadn't known. Pierre Anthon's smiling door told me. I still didn't know with my mind, but all the same I knew.
All of a sudden I was scared. Scared of Pierre Anthon.
Scared, more scared, most scared. (page 5-6)
Agnes is our narrarator, but she's a bit anonymous-- she functions more as an every student. I do, however, love her habit of repeating important word
By:
Annie Beth Ericsson,
on 1/12/2011
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Walking In Public
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1. Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool (Newbery) / I love surprises, and so does the Newbery! So this underrated debut novel, set in 1930s Kansas, is sure to send booksellers and librarians scrambling to put copies on the shelves. Can’t wait to see if it lives up to the top dog award!
2. Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi (Printz) / When it comes to YA, no trend sucks me in more than dystopian fiction. The story of Nailer, a scavenger who finds a wealthy girl trapped among the wreckage of Gulf Coast oil ships, has intrigued me since it was nominated for a National Book Award. I’m hoping the action is as gripping and bold as the novel’s graphic cover.
3. One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia (Coretta Scott King, Newbery Honor) / If I had to place bets on a winner before the awards came out . . . this would’ve been my pick, because everyone’s been raving about it for ages. And something tells me those 3 sisters on their Brooklyn-to-California adventure are gonna steal my heart too.
4. Dark Emperor and Other Poems Of The Night by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Rick Allen (Newbery Honor) / Three cheers for a picture book getting a Newbery, not just a Caldecott, Honor! It’s wonderful to see authors of books for younger readers be recognized, because it’s just as hard to say something beautiful in few words as it is to say in many.
1 Comments on Top Ten Award Winners On My To-Read List, last added: 1/13/2011
Going Bovine Libba Bray
I wasn't expecting to like this one. I wasn't a huge fan of
A Great and Terrible Beauty, which is the other Bray I've read. Some people I know loved
Going Bovine, and some didn't. Most of the criticisms were things where I thought "ok, that's also stuff that bugs me in a book." So, I figured this one wasn't for me. And then it won the Printz, so I felt obligated to read it.
And! Yay! I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed it!
For those who don't know, Cam is an apathetic teen who gets mad cow disease. He embarks on a road trip with his friend Gonzo and a yard gnome who's really a Norse God. Along the way he's helped by a punk rock angel. Cam is not the most likable of characters, but that doesn't mean he's not believable as a character. He's selfish before he finds out he's dying, and when he gets sick, he doesn't see it as an experience to turn his life around. Instead, he gets pissed off. Which, while not likable and not what we tend to see in books, is frankly, the same thing I would do.
I didn't like Cam in the beginning, but I loved his voice, so I didn't mind that I didn't like him. I really liked Cam by the end.
I most loved the happiness cult and what the snow globe company does to protect people. (Yeah, that's vague, but I don't want to spoil it.)
This draws a lot of inspiration from
Don Quixote, which I haven't read (but I have read a few plot summaries, and seen the
Animaniacs version). Bray's not shy about the
Don Quixote connections (Cam's reading it for school) and c'mon! The angel is named Dulcie!
My one complaint is that much of the tension comes from wondering if Cam's adventures real or a hallucination brought on by his brain's disintegration. The truth is too obvious too early. I wanted her to stretch that out further. While I knew what was what, I didn't want my feelings to be confirmed that early...
The other was the end, which I'll talk about
here, because MAJOR SPOILAGE.
But overall? A really great book that's really enjoyable on the surface, but underneath lurks an homage to great literature and lots of other little things that make it secretly amazing.
Book Provided by... my local library
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Earlier this morning at the ALA Midwinter Conference in Boston, the 2010 ALSC media award winners were announced.
The Lion and the Mouse illustrated (and written) by Jerry Pinkney won the Caldecott medal, which is given to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. This book was a stand-out favorite, but what is so special is that Pinkney is the first African-American to win this award so this is fantastic!
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead won the Newbery award, which is given to the to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. This book was the winner in many mock Newbery awards, so it was the stand-out favorite to win.
Goving Bovine by Libba Bray won the Printz award, which is given a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. This was a dark horse that surprised some people, but since its publication this book has always received Printz buzz.
The winners of the Coretta Scott King Awards were also announced this morning.
Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson won the author award, which is which is given to African American author for an outstandingly inspirational and educational contribution.
My People by Charles R. Smith Jr. won the illustrator award, which is given to African American illustrator for an outstandingly inspirational and educational contribution.
The Rock and The River by Kekla Magoon won the the John Steptoe Award for New Talent, which is given to to affirm new talent and to offer visibility to excellence in writing and/or illustration.
There were also many other awards given out as well as honor books in each award category. Publisher Weekly has an award round-up as well as the ALSC website.
I put my awards predictions on Booklights this year, and boy did I nail it! Not that it was a particularly hard year to predict, but you never know when a surprise is going to slip through. Well, actually it did in the Printz award, but I'll get to that later. There will be helpful lists of winners all over the place, but here are my personal reactions to:
Newbery Medal
Winner:
When You Reach Me
by Rebecca Stead
One of my most horrifying blogger moments is that I had this book as an ARC, but didn't get around to reviewing it until it seemed like everybody had talked about it already. Still kicking myself. I did profile it on Booklights as a very strong contender to win, and was right there. It also was a book that got some of the most engaged and passionate discussion at the DC Kidlit Book Club, which was telling right there. Awesome choice for the win.
Honors:
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
by Grace Lin
On the other hand, I've been talking about this book a lot. Like crazy a lot. I fell in love from the moment Grace posted the cover art, was delighted to get the ARC, was happy to part of the blog tour, gave it to my daughter for Christmas, and will be talking about it on Wednesday at my Mother/Daughter book club. I didn't think that it would win, because it doesn't have that dark edge that the Newbery goes for, but am so happy to see it take a medal.
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
Jacqueline Kelly
So I didn't write about this book either until recently, but I was late to the party on discovering it. I did read it, loved it, and thought that it had a good chance of making the Newbery list for its strong writing and story. And hey, a historical fiction winner without death or dismemberment! It's a new day for Newbery.
Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice
by Phillip Hoose
Didn't read it, but have it on hold because I was pretty sure it would make
As mentioned earlier, Melissa Rabey, who contributes to Tea Cozy and Pop Goes the Library and the YALSA blog, as well as has her own blog, Librarian by Day, is running for the 2011 Printz. Melissa is a teen librarian at the C. Burr Artz branch of the Frederick Co. (MD) Public Library and will be sharing her expertise in historical fiction to the YALSA Genre Galaxy preconference in Chicago this June. And, she has YALSA experience on several committees, including Popular Paperbacks and Organization & Bylaws.
Tea Cozy: Tell us something about yourself.
Melissa Rabey: In some ways, I think I'm more interesting because of the things I can't do. I'm unable to snap my fingers, and I can hardly whistle. To hear me sing is to wish for me to stop--quickly.
Yet I think this lack of ability has actually helped me. I spend a lot of time contemplating ideas and talking them over with others, so I don't make snap judgments.
I'm determined to help other people get a chance to sing their own song--just like the Mama Cass song says.
And although I can't whistle while I work, I do try to stay positive and proactive, and not just at work.
Tea Cozy: Name one YA title, published pre-1998, that would have made an excellent Printz Award winner.
Melissa Rabey: I know that there's lots of people who would support either Rats Saw God
by Rob Thomas or Weetzie Bat
by Francesca Lia Block as the best answer to this question. And both of those books are fantastic examples of the quality of young adult literature.
But there's another book, one which has stuck with me ever since I read it: Eva
by Peter Dickinson. I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it, but the plot twist in this novel still gives me the willies, five years after I read it. In addition, the language and characterization in this novel are rich and compelling; without this, an interesting idea would fall flat.
I think the best books have two aspects: what they're saying and how they're saying it. I feel Eva succeeds on both counts, and therefore would have been my pick for a Printz Award, if this award had existed in 1989.
Tea Cozy: What has prepared you to read for the Printz?
Melissa Rabey: Over the last nine months, I've been consciously preparing for the Printz Committee. I started a blog to review teen literature and have started posting at Liz Burns' Tea Cozy blog. At my blog, I evaluated the Morris Award shortlist as a way to practice my analytical skills. I served on the Maryland Author Award committee, reviewing the works of young adult authors with Maryland ties in order to select a winner. In this period, I've strived to read more books in general, and to read these books in a more critical manner.
Yet I've also been preparing for the Printz committee ever since I became a teen librarian. I've always sought to be aware of the important and/or popular books published for teens, and to read as many as I could. Through my service on Popular Paperbacks, I learned how to manage a reading workload and discuss books with my colleagues.
I feel that this mix of conscious and unconscious planning has me as ready as possible for the Printz committee. I don't know if anyone is really prepared for the amount of work that's involved in the Printz committee, but I think I can do a good job. I hope you believe that, too.
Tea Cozy: What's your area of pop culture expertise?
Melissa Rabey: I seem to be an expert at nitpicking historical inaccuracies in movies and TV shows. I understand why history gets changed to create or enhance drama--or at least, what's seen as drama. I feel that if you can't see the tragedy, the humor, the entertainment in historical fact, you've got an unusual definition of drama. It's for this reason I haven't watched any of The Tudors : it's a marvelous time period, full of sex and fights and political wranglings, yet all that isn't interesting enough on its own, apparently. But if, in the end, a show like the Tudors gets people more interested in history, then I can't really complain all that much.
Tea Cozy: I guess I should confess now that I've never read Eva. Oh, well, I better start reading! Thanks, Melissa!
As a reminder to all YALSA members:
Here's the official YALSA slate
And video interviews with the candidates, including Melissa
The Election category on the blog with all Election information
Cross-posted at Pop Goes the Library
© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
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Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African American author of outstanding books for children and young adults
by Grace Lin. Little, Brown and Company Books for Young Readers.
by Rodman Philbrick. The Blue Sky Press, An Imprint of Scholastic Inc.
, illustrated and written by Jerry Pinkney. Little, Brown and Company Books for Young Readers.
, illustrated by Marla Frazee, written by Liz Garton Scanlon. Beach Lane Books.
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<3!
you're funny. sorry the yarn ladies are making you crazy. it'll all be good. siege & storm!