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   I rarely - if ever - email authors.  Today, I emailed Thanha Lai with a suggestion for a spin-off from her book  Listen, Slowly.  Before we go any further, I must apologize for not using diacritical marks in this review.  Diacritical marks are VERY important in Viet Namese, as Lai's book shows.

First, the review.  All the reviews tell you that 12-year-old Mai is a California girl through and through.  When she is chosen to go with her grandmother, or Ba (there should be an accent on that "a", slanting down from left to right, I think.) to Viet Nam to learn what happened to Mai's grandfather in THE WAR, Mai is furious.  She has a life, right there in Laguna, with a BFF and possible boyfriend.  Middle school rants ensue.

But Ba, quiet, peaceful, fragile Ba, how can Mai say no to Ba?  She can't.  The two of them travel to the village where Ong and Ba grew up; where Ong and Ba were betrothed, he only 7, she just 5; where they married and started a family; where Mai finds strangers who think of her as family.  It is all so odd.

The description of village life in North Viet Nam is delightfully confusing, full of details of what people eat, how they socialize, their dress, their formal and consistent good manners, even their fulsome speech.  The village seems to operate with one mind. Everyone is very careful of each other and of the things they use.  And they are curious about the larger world and about strangers and customs. 

This description led to my suggestion.  Lai describes a facial treatment that one of the Aunts forces Mai through and how it restores Mai's skin to beauty.  Then there is the lice treatment; and a potion to thwart intestinal microbes that Mai accidentally swallows.   Although Lai describes what Mai sees as these concoctions are made, wouldn't it be awesome if there was a book about these remedies?  I'd buy it.

Back to the book.  Ba's search takes so much longer than Mai hoped.  Her infrequent forays on the Internet make Mai more homesick than ever. (Is BFF Montana really making a move on the boy that Mai likes????)  One of Mai's big lessons is to learn not to worry about things she can't change.

I want to tell someone the whole plot - the trip to Ha Noi, with her new friend, Ut.; the HUGE frog that Ut totes with her; Anh Minh, the serious, hard-working, teen translator - and the two girls who compete for Anh Minh's attention.  The wordy detective, the reluctant guard, and Ba, strong Ba, who can not be at peace until she knows.  And then... and then...the ending, heart-breaking, calming and true.

Yep.  This book goes on my Best of the Best list for 2015.  Cheers for Mai, who grows so much in this book.  Cheers for Ba, who never wavers in her search for acceptance.  Cheers for the guard and the detective, who did their very best.  Cheers for Mom and Dad.  Cheers for Anh Minh and Ut and the whole village.  And cheers for Thanha Lai for such a wonderful book.

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We’re soon to touch down in one of our absolute favorite literary states for the Texas Library Association Conference in Austin! If there’s anything better than talking books, hanging out with authors and librarians, and enjoying sunshine and Shiners, then we don’t want to know about it.

If you’ll be in the Lone Star State, too, please swing by our booth, #1341, for galleys, giveaways, and face time with the HarperCollins Children’s Books School & Library team. We can’t wait to chat and put books in your hands.

But if you’re reading this thinking, “sure, you guys are nice, but we’re here to meet the AUTHORS, silly!” check out our top-notch signing schedule, here:

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15TH:
11:00am–12:00pm, Joy Preble, Aisle 7, Finding Paris
11:00am–12:00pm, Melissa Marr, Aisle 8, Made For You
12:00–1:00pm, Kiera Cass, Aisle 8, The Selection Series
1:00–2:00pm, Thanhha Lai, Aisle 8, Listen, Slowly
2:00–3:00pm, Dan Gutman, Aisle 8, Genius Files #5: License to Thrill
4:00–5:00pm, Lauren Oliver, Aisle 8, Vanishing Girls

THURSDAY, APRIL 16TH:
10:00–11:00am, Sherry Thomas, Aisle 3, The Elemental Trilogy
11:30am–12:30pm, Neal & Brendan Shusterman, Aisle 1, Challenger Deep
2:00–3:00pm, Gordon Korman, Aisle 1, Masterminds
2:00–3:00pm, Julie Murphy, Aisle 2, Dumplin’ galleys
3:00–4:00pm, Becky Albertalli, Aisle 1, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

You don’t want to miss our coupon in the aisle by aisle guide, either! It points you to our booth for a free copy of BONE GAP, by Laura Ruby (*while supplies last), and a chance to enter to win a piece of framed original art by Jef Czekaj, from his upcoming picture book, AUSTIN, LOST IN AMERICA.

We can’t wait to see y’all!

 

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I’ve been reading a lot of great middle grade books lately and want to share some of them with you.  They are perfect for summer days and beyond.

SAVVY by Ingrid Law follows the adventures of Mississippi “Mibs” Beaumont who is about to turn 13. It’s the magical birthday in the Beaumont family when a family member’s Savvy first shows itself. Will Mibs’ savvy be as fierce as her brother Rocket’s – who creates electricity? Or like her brother Fish’s who produces hurricanes? And, will her Savvy be enough to save her Poppa who lies in the hospital in a coma? This is a delightful tale of family, friendship and love, and a ride on a pink bus that changes everything.

DOLL BONES by Holly Black follows the exploits of Poppy, Zac, and Alice who go on a modern day quest to bring the ghost of Eleanor – housed inside a china doll called Queen – to rest. This ghostly tale is also one of friendship, growing up, and having the courage to risk everything.

HOPE IS A FERRIS WHEEL by Robin Herrera is another winner. Star Mackie’s voice rings unique and true in a tale of friendship, love, acceptance, and letting your own star shine, no matter what. Using Emily Dickenson’s poem “Hope is the thing with feathers”, Star and her Poetry Club friends find their own versions of hope.

The Newbery Honor and National Book Award winner INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN by Thanhha Lai, uses poetic form the tell the story of a young Vietnamese girl Ha’ and her family. They are forced to leave their beloved Saigon when it falls during the war in 1975. They board a ship to the US where Ha’ must find her place in a strange and foreign land called Alabama. Beautifully written, heartfelt and tender, it’s an unforgettable story about the people war leaves behind.

WHEN AUDREY MET ALICE by Rebecca Behrens tells the tale of First Daughter (to a woman president) Audrey, who has a hard time adjusting to the strict rules of living at the White House. She finds help and inspiration when she discovers the hidden diary of another First Daughter, Alice Roosevelt. It’s an engaging look at how both girls had to behave in the past as well as the present.

I hope you enjoy reading these wonderful books as much as I did.

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Today’s post comes from a wonderful source: The Children’s Book Review, hosted by Bianca Schulze.

Here are Bianca’s recommendations for five of the best MG books for children.

The art of creating life-long readers really comes down to getting the right books into the right hands at the right time. Once kids have the power to read, letting them choose books for themselves is a really important step in the process of learning to enjoy reading for pleasure. With the amount of wonderful middle grade books available, sometimes finding somewhere to start can be a challenge. Next time your child finds herself confronted with the question of “what to read next,” encourage her to select books that revolve around her passions and personal interests, or start by showing her some of these wonderful books for both girls and boys.

Matilda                                                        

By Roald Dahl

Reading level: Ages 8-12

Throughout my childhood, I read many of Dahl’s books: James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Witches, The Twits (my second favorite) and (my favorite) Revolting Rhymes. Dahl’s talent lies within his power to create poignant satire—his ability to touch the hearts of young readers through absurdity is unmarked. I was so thrilled to introduce Roald Dahl to my daughter with the book loving character Matilda who empowers young girls to be knowledgeable and brave! I know this book has played a large part in turning my daughter into a lifelong reader and, with any luck, a reader that will continue to have a wickedly good sense of humor. Thank you Roald Dahl (forever in my reading heart) for your extreme and creative writing. Read more … (http://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/weblog/2013/06/falling-in-love-with-reading-roald-dahls-matilda-25-years-of-matilda.html)

The Gollywhopper Games                                                          

By Jody Feldman

Reading level: Ages 9-12

Where do I start? How about with a big fat ‘I loved this book’ and had so much fun reading it. Roald Dahl’sCharlie and the Chocolate Factory just happens to be the inspiration behind The Gollywhopper Games. Feldman, a librarian, came up with the idea for the story after a young boy returned Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to her library and requested something similar. When there really wasn’t much literature to compare with the wonderful and magical world Dahl had created, Feldman set about writing The Gollywhopper Games. While the format of the two stories follows a very similar path, Feldman has managed to create an energetic and unique tale all of her own. Gil’s dad promises him they will be able to move away from the trouble that surrounds them if he wins the Gollywhopper Games—an amazing competition held by the ‘Golly Toy and Game Company.’ The competition involves trivia, puzzles, stunts, and the ability to work as a team— thousands of children battle for the ultimate prize. Making the best of a bad situation is certainly encouraged and the message is provided to kids that if you want something bad enough you just might be able to achieve it if you are willing to work hard and really set your mind to it. My hat goes off to Feldman for writing a book with such a creative magical essence that gets children thinking, learning and laughing. What more can you ask for? Read more … (http://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/weblog/2008/07/the-gollywhopper-games-jody-feldman.html)

Inside Out & Back Again

By Thanhha Lai                                                                

Reading level: Ages 8-12

How much do we know about those around us? This is the question that debut novelist Thanhha Lai challenged her readers with in Inside Out and Back Again. Based on Lai’s own personal experience as a Vietnamese refugee, she has crafted a poignant story divided into four parts using a series of poems that chronicle the life of 10-year-old Hà, a child–refugee from Vietnam, during the year 1975—the Fall of Saigon. Along with her mother and three brothers (her father has been missing in action for nine years), Hà travels by boat to a tent city in Guam, is moved to Florida and then finds herself living in Alabama sponsored by an “American cowboy” and his wife. In Alabama, the family are treated as outcasts and forced to integrate quickly through language, food, and religion, to be accepted as a part of the community.

Told with pure honesty, emotions run freely from verse to verse and page to page. Hà’s voice is clear, allowing readers to make a leap from sympathy to deep seeded empathy by experiencing her joy, pain, anger, frustration, loyalties, challenges, loss, and determination. The clarity of Hà’s self-awareness and development toward self-actualization is reminiscent of Susan Patron‘s character Lucky, also a 10-year-old girl, from the Newbery winner (2007) The Higher Power of Lucky (2006). Both characters suffer loss, make mistakes, struggle through emotional challenges, and, through sheer determination, intrinsically blossom.

Lai has created an emotionally powerful novel inspired by her own memories and each word is to be savored, pondered, experienced, and felt. Beautiful! Read more … (http://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/weblog/2011/04/review-inside-out-back-again-by-thanhha-lai.html)

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

By Brian Selznick                                                        

Reading level: Ages 9-12

The Invention of Hugo Cabret was the winner of the Caldecott Medal in 2008. This book is a massive 500 pages, so it can look quite intimidating for its intended age, however, more than half of the pages are illustrated. The illustrations are a vital component of the story and provide important clues to the ever-evolving mystery.

The tale begins like a movie and the pictures set the scene of a dark night with a full moon that, as the pages pan out, turns into morning in Paris. The story is about a 12-year-old boy, Hugo, who is an orphan living inside the walls of a Paris train station. Before Hugo’s father (a clock maker) passed away in a fire, he had been working on fixing an adult size wind-up figure. Hugo makes it his purpose to fix the figure. He believes that, once reassembled, the figure will reveal a message left for him by his father.

Hugo begins to develop relationships with a girl named Isabelle and her godfather George (whose character is based on the famous film maker George Mieles) who owns a toyshop in the train station. Hugo first encounters George when he is caught stealing mechanical pieces from the shop to fix his wind-up man. Little does Hugo know … George and Isabelle just may be able to help him complete his task.

This book is a wonderful choice for kids who enjoy mysteries—it will even capture the attention of those that are not overly enthusiastic about reading. The illustrations really add such a ‘cool’ dimension—and based on its beauty and shiny Caldecott Medal, this book really makes a beautiful gift. Read more … (http://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/weblog/2008/03/the-invention-of-hugo-cabret.html)

Savvy

By Ingrid Law
                                                    


Reading level: Ages 10-14

Ingrid Law’s first novel, Savvy, has a colorful array of characters who collaborate on an unexpected and heartfelt journey.  The story revolves around the Beaumont family, and in particular Mississippi (Mibs for short). Every family has its quirks, but none are quite as unique as the Beaumont’s. When a member of Mibs’ family turns 13 they receive a savvy—a supernatural gift. For some, a savvy can be a clever awareness and for others a major life change that has the potential to be a good resource once they learn to contain its unique power— such as creating hurricanes and electricity, like her brothers.

A few days before Mibs turns 13, her poppa ends up in the hospital after a car accident. The morning of her birthday Mibs awakens to believe that her savvy is just right for saving her poppa’s life, the only problem is that the hospital is miles from her house. Her solution … to sneak onto a bus belonging to a bible salesman—and this is where the real fun begins and the unforgettable adventure takes off! This is certainly a novel aimed at tweens, and manages to convey pitch-perfect messages dealing with peers, guilt and growing up. While the story is based on the family’s supernatural powers, the emotion and events are certainly the main features that carry this powerful story, and I am positive that any child who reads this will find an element to truly connect with. Read more … (http://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/weblog/2008/07/savvy-ingrid-law.html)

Bio: Bianca Schulze is the founder of The Children’s Book Review, named one of the ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children) Great Web Sites for Kids. She is an aspiring author, a mother to two daughters, and has a decade’s worth of experience working with children in the great outdoors. Combined with her love of books and experience as a children’s specialist bookseller, her goal is to grow readers by showcasing great books for kids! Visit: http://www.thechildrensbookreview.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheChildrensBookReview

Twitter: https://twitter.com/book_mommy

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Around here we love April– springtime starts to peek around the corner, summer vacations don’t seem quite so far away, conference season kicks into gear, and last but certainly not least, it’s Poetry Month!

There are so many reasons to love poetry– it evokes emotions, feelings and sensations.  The rhyme schemes, vocabulary, free verse– it’s all so rich and powerful.  And when we think of poetry, novels in verse might not usually jump to the front of our minds.  But one of our most acclaimed books last year was a novel in verse: INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN, by Thanhha Lai.  While there were many (many!) reasons I loved this Newbery Honor-winning book, one of the things I loved most while reading was the beautiful, poignant, and at times hilariously funny language.  And the coming-of-age immigration story that sticks to you like glue after reading doesn’t hurt either…

Enjoy and share this poem from INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN (now available in paperback!) and enjoy Poetry Month!

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Happy 10th Birthday PaperTigers!

I’ve been blessed to be a part of the PaperTigers’ team since December 2006 when I took on the role of Eventful World Coordinator just prior to the launch of the PaperTigers blog. As the years passed and PaperTigers continued to grow, evolve and expand (most noticeably with the launch of our Spirit of PaperTigers Book Sets and Outreach Program) my role within the  organization changed too. In 2010 I was offered the job of Associate Editor and since then have worked closely alongside our wonderful and very talented editor Marjorie Coughlan to produce PaperTigers’ three components: the website, the blog and the Outreach site .

I consider myself so lucky to be doing a job that I love in a field that I love! Children’s literature has always been my passion and during my years with PaperTigers I’ve not been the only one in my family to benefit from the pile of  books that just have to be read for work. (Insert a big smiley face here because really…how wonderful is it to have to read books!) When I started working at PaperTigers my children were in elementary school so naturally we focused a  lot of our reading time at home on children’s and junior books. However as PaperTigers and my kids grew I found myself developing more and more interest in Young Adult books. Now I have to say that although children’s picture books will always hold a very special place in my heart , Young Adult books tug strongly at my heart too!  So when it came time to do a Top 10 list for PaperTigers’ anniversary celebration, it only made sense for me to select my favorite Young Adult books. Drum roll please….in random order I present:

1.  Secret Keeper  by Mitali Perkins (Delacorte Press, 2009)

When her unemployed father leaves India to look for work in America, Asha, her mother and sister move in with family in Calcutta. When news comes that her father is accidentally killed in America and her family’s financial difficulties intensify, Asha makes a heartwrenching, secret decision that solves many problems and creates others.

2.  Borderline by Allan Stratton (Harper Collins Children’s Books, 2010)

When Sami catches his father in a lie, he gets suspicious as does the FBI who descend on his home, and Sami’s family (the only Muslims in the neighbourhood) becomes the center of an international terrorist investigation.

3. Keeping Corner by Kashmira Sheth (Hyperion Books for Children , 2008)

12-year-old Leela’s husband unexpectedly dies and custom requires her confinement at home for a year, “keeping corner.” Prohibited from ever remarrying, Leela faces a barren future: however, her brother has the courage to buck tradition and hire a tutor to educate her. This powerful and enchanting novel juxtaposes Leela’s journey to self-determination with the parallel struggle of her family and community to follow Gandhi on the road to independence from British rule.

4. I am a Taxi by Deborah Ellis (Groundwood Books, 2006)

12-year-old Diego is deep in the Bolivian jungle, working as a virtual slave in an illegal cocaine operation. As his situation becomes more and more dangerous, he knows he must take a terrible risk if he ever wants to see his family again. As well as being a great read, I am a Taxi  packs in a store of information about Bolivia and the exploitation of children in the drug-trade, and raises polemics about the growth of the coca plant.

5. Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai (Harper Collins, 2011)

During the Vietnam War  Hà and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, Hà discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape . . . and the strength of her very own family.

6. Karma by Cathy Ostlere

On October 31, 1984, Indira Gandhi is gunned down by two Sikh bodyguards. The murder sparks riots in Delhi and for three days Sikh families are targeted and killed in retribution for the Prime Minister’s death. It is into this chaos that fifteen-year-old Maya and her Sikh father, Amar, arrive from their home in Canada. India’s political instability is the backdrop and catalyst for Maya’s awakening to the world. Karma is the story of how a young woman, straddling two cultures and enduring personal loss, learns forgiveness, acceptance and love.

7. Orchards by Holly Thompson

After a bullied classmate commits suicide, Kana Goldberg – a half-Japanese, half-Jewish American- is sent to her family’s home in Japan for the summer. Kana wasn’t the bully, not exactly, but she didn’t do anything to stop what happened, either. As Kana begins to process the pain and guilt she feels, news from home sends her world spinning out of orbit all over again.

8. Tall Story by Candy Gourlay (David Fickling Books, 2010)

Andi hasn’t seen her brother  for eight years and when he steps off the plane from the Philippines, she cannot believe her eyes. He’s tall. EIGHT FOOT TALL. But Bernardo is not what he seems. Bernardo is a hero, Bernardo works miracles, and Bernardo has an amazing story to tell. In a novel packed with quirkiness and humor, Gourlay explores a touching sibling relationship and the clash of two very different cultures.

9. Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall (Lee and Low Books, 2011)

As the oldest of eight siblings, Lupita is used to taking the lead—and staying busy behind the scenes to help keep everyone together. But when she discovers Mami has been diagnosed with cancer, Lupita is terrified by the possibility of losing her mother, the anchor of her close-knit Mexican American family. Suddenly Lupita must face a whole new set of challenges, with new roles to play, and no one is handing her the script.

10. Wanting Mor by Rukhsana Khan (Groundwood Books, 2009)

Set in war-torn Afghanistan, post-Taliban and just after the American invasion in 2001, Wanting Mor brings a ravaged landscape to life and portrays the effects of war on civilians caught up in conflict, especially on children. Based on a true story about a girl who ended up in one of the orphanages Rukhsana sponsors in Afghanistan through the royalties of her book The Roses in My Carpets.

 

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The other day I pondered my own capabilities as an interviewee and concluded that I still need a bit of work.

A lot of work?  Yes, indeed.  A lot of work.

In this New York Times By the Book interview, Kristin Cashore, author of the esteemed Graceling (which I read and loved) and Fire (and, now, Bitterblue) shows us how a real interviewee chooses words rightly.  For Cashore's unwillingness to cop to easy answers or generalizations, for her range of knowing and wisdom, I respect the whole conversation.  I especially respect Cashore's response to the question, What makes a great young adult book — as opposed to a great book for full-fledged adults? Her answer:

The fact that at the moment the distinction is being made, a young adult, as opposed to an adult, is the one reading it. In other words, I don’t entirely believe in the distinction. A great book is a great book, and it’s impossible to say what part of a person is going to connect to it. Age and experience aren’t always among the most relevant factors.

Perhaps I celebrate this response because I hold this opinion this myself—and have often tried to express it, with varying degrees of eloquence, in interviews and on panels.  Just as I have fretted over the labeling of individuals, the attaching of classifications or lower-case nouns (oh, he's a manic depressive, oh, she's a workaholic), I do not cotton to the label-ization of books, to distinctions between young adult books and adult books, say, or to the assignment of fixed and self-limiting categories.  

What adult, for example, should not read Thanhha Lai's Inside Out & Back Again, and what teen should not read the never-officially-stamped-or-stickered To Kill a Mockingbird? Why should the first thing one is told about Julianna Baggot's Pure be that it is a dystopian novel, as opposed to an intelligent and artful and imaginative novel? Shouldn't the readership of Vaddey Ratner's astonishing, forthcoming "adult" novel about a child growing up in the Cambodian killing fields, In the Shadow of the Banyan, be both teens and adults? Doesn't Ilie Ruby's forthcoming The Salt God's Daughter have much to offer any age, and can't we talk about its gentle mysticism, its magic as poetry as opposed to brand or tag?

Certainly, I know how hard this would make things for booksellers and librarians.  I know that commerce requires labels, depends on it.  But wouldn't it be lovely if readers talking to readers dropped the labels and distinctions?  If we said, among ourselves, You must read this book because it is, quite simply, a great book, and because it will transport you. 

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One of the great sorrows of my past many months has been the paucity of books I've had the time to read.  Life just isn't right without a book in one's hand.  And my blog is hollow when not celebrating the work of others.

How happy I was this weekend, then, to settle in with Inside Out & Back Again, the 2011 National Book Award winner for Young People's Literature. It's, well:  it's perfect.  A story told as a child truly sees. A collection of free-verse poems that set the small things (the taste of papaya) against the big things (the consequences of an abrupt flight from home) and makes us feel, deeply, what it is to lose everything that defines you, and what it is to start all over again.

Like Thanhha Lai once was herself, Ha, the story's narrator, is just ten years old when Saigon falls and she finds herself on a boat to the United States.  Supplies are scarce.  The vessel is crowded.  Ha is a kid, and she's hungry:

Morning, noon, and night
we each get
one clump of rice,
small, medium, large,
according to our height,
plus one cup of water
no matter our size.

The first hot bite
of freshly cooked rice,
plump and nutty,
makes me imagine
the taste of ripe papaya
although one has nothing
to do with the other.

Once the boat finally makes it to Guam, the family waits until it boards a plane for Florida, where it waits again, this time to be adopted by an American sponsor. Chosen at last by a car dealer from Alabama (who seeks to train Ha's brother, an engineer, in the art of car mechanics), the family moves again:

We sit and sleep in the lowest level
of our cowboy's house
where we never see
the wife.

I must stand on a chair
that stands on a tea table
to see
the sun and the moon
out a too-high window.

The wife insists
we keep out of
her neighbors' eyes.

Mother shrugs.
More room here
than two mats on a ship.

I wish she wouldn't try
to make something bad
better.

Everything about this book feels right.  The natural quality of the child's voice.  The intelligent use of symbols.  The piercing grace of the story itself.  The deep, authentic sadness.  Simple words.  Big ideas.  A whole, long tug on the heart.  Inside Out & Back Again is a lasting achievement.  It elevates the genre.

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By Bianca Schulze, The Children’s Book Review
Published: January 23, 2012

Medal Winner

Honor Book

Honor Book

“The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.” ~ALSC

©2012 The Childrens Book Review. All Rights Reserved.

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Earlier this morning the American Library Association (ALA) announced the 2012 youth media awards winners. A full list of the winners can be found here.

Highlights from the list include:

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature: Dead End in Norvelt, written by Jack Gantos.

Two Newbery Honor Books also were named: Inside Out and Back Again, written by Thanhha Lai; and Breaking Stalin’s Nose, written and illustrated by Eugene Yelchin.

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children: A Ball for Daisy, illustrated and written by Chris Raschka.

Three Caldecott Honor Books also were named: Blackout, illustrated and written by John Rocco; Grandpa Green, illustrated and written by Lane Smith; and Me … Jane, illustrated and written by Patrick McDonnell.

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults: Kadir Nelson, author and illustrator of  Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans.

Two King Author Honor Book recipients were selected: Eloise Greenfield, author of The Great Migration: Journey to the North,  illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist; and Patricia C. McKissack, author of Never Forgotten,  illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon.

Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award: Shane W. Evans, illustrator and author of Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom.

One King Illustrator Honor Book recipient was selected: Kadir Nelson, illustrator and author of Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans.

Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement: Ashley Bryan.

Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award honoring a Latino writer and illustrator whose children’s books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience: Diego Rivera: His World and Ours, written and  illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh.

Two Belpré Illustrator Honor Books were selected: The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred illustrated by Rafael López, written by Samantha R. Vamos; and Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match /Marisol McDonald no combina, illustrated by Sara Palacios, written by Monica Brown.

Pura Belpré (Author) Award: Under the Mesquite written by Guadalupe Garcia McCall.

Two Belpré Author Honor Books were named: Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck written by Margarita Engle; and Maximilian and the Mystery of the Guardian Angel: A Bilingual Lucha Libre Thriller, written by Xavier Garza.

 

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Rgz SALON member Lyn Miller-Lachmann has been the Editor-in-Chief of MultiCultural Review; the author of the award-winning multicultural bibliography Our Family, Our Friends, Our World; the editor of Once Upon a Cuento, a collection of short stories by Latino authors; and most recently, the author of Gringolandia, a young adult novel about a refugee family living with the aftermath of the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile. The book has had multiple print runs and is available for order. (Don't forget to read the fascinating Cover Story for Gringolandia.)

We're honored to have Lyn here as part of the rgz SALON, a feature where top kidlit experts clue us in to the best YA novels they've read recently. Today, she reviews Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai (HarperCollins), a National Book Award Winner for 2011: