105 Ways to Give a Book

Awards Reactions Coming In

I’m not sure when else I’d link to a USA Today article unless it’s the first to tell me about the winners’ reactions.
After learning she had won, Schlitz still went to work at Baltimore’s Park School, where she has been a librarian for 17 years. “But I am wearing a plastic tiara,” Schlitz, 52, said Monday.

Selznick, 41, literally flew. “At 3:30 a.m., the phone rang and I jumped out of bed,” says the writer/illustrator. He flew from San Diego to New York to appear this morning with Schlitz on the Today show.
There were lots of posts all over the kidlitosphere (duh), but the one that really caught my eye was one at Writing and Ruminating, where she suggested, “Let’s look at the awards with our poet-goggles on, shall we?” Until I saw that, I hadn’t realized how poetry-heavy the lists were. So as she says, “a great day for poetry.” Who would have thunk it?

I, for one, am waiting for the reactions of Fuse#8, who so totally called the Newbery awards. But until she posts, I’ll be happy with David Lubar’s post “Newbery my heart at wounded pride,” where he offers his comment space “to complain, rant, moan or vent.” Apparently, the loudest sound in the world is the sound of the phone not ringing.

Edited to add:
Apparently the Cybils committees know a thing or two, based on the number of books that made the short lists that received awards yesterday. Take a look.

If you wish you were in the room to hear the gasp when the Caldecott winner was announced (And yes, Zee, I could hear the gasp), Zee Says lets us join her at ALA with her post. She also provided the link to the videocast, in case you want to relive the award moments with bonus audience reaction.

The YAYAs (or at least one YA) express shock and... well, disappointment at the Printz awards. Interesting reading. But then there’s Sara, who had a pretty enthusiastic response to the winner.

The Washington Post shares a little bit of extra information on the Newbery-winning book. It also features the worst slide show ever, given that there are two slides and one is a book cover. The new information, at least for me, was that the book was pulled from the slush pile, and that it was written, submitted, and awaiting publication while she was writing, submitting, and publishing two other books. Remember A Drowned Maiden’s Hair, anyone? The book that should have won a Newbery last year.

I couldn’t find the Today Show video of the winners mentioned in the USA Today article, though the video of Spears missing her day in court was front and center. It’s all about priorities, people.

Edited AGAIN to add:
Fuse#8 is in the room with a detailed report of the ALA Media Awards. She’s also found the Today Show video and here it is, in all its annoying glory. OMG, does the interviewer not realize that authors can speak? TV Tip: Let the writers talk about their own books. You can almost see the thought flickering behind Selznick’s eyes, “I had to get up at 3:30 a.m. and fly to New York for this?”

Fuse also reminded me of something that I remembered, then forgot, and now with her help remembered again. Monica Edinger was on the Newbery committee, and she has been posting choice thoughts over at Educating Alice. Interesting stuff, very interesting.

As it turns out, Slate picked up one of my standard run-on sentences about Brian Selznick’s Caldecott win. Scroll down (no, even farther) to see a quote from me and and also Lisa Yee. I’m in good company there.

Some great thoughts on the awards at Wizards Wireless, but maybe even more relevant are her thoughts as a bookseller. Did she get the orders right?

Robin Brande was the first to alert me to the fact that the Young Adult Library Services Association’s Best Books for Young Adults 2008 listing is now posted. She was particularly interested in the list, because her book, Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature, is on the list! Way to go, Robin! I also see some of my other favorites listed, including fun guy Barry Lyga for Boy Toy. Here’s where you’ll also see some love for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.

Personally, I’m a bigger fan of these lists than the awards themselves, because they more accurately capture the range of literature that can touch many different people. Picking one “Best” book is all well and good for the fun of it, but I get more out of a variety of styles and genres.

So of course, I’m all over the ALA 2008 Notable Children’s Books list. Some wonderful books, including Loree Griffin Burns’ Tracking Trash (maybe now my library will get a copy — yeesh) and my 2007 favorite, Jenni Holm’s Middle School is Worse Than Meatloaf — and Harry Potter shows up here too. There are still some very good, very talked-about books that didn’t make the list, and that is disappointing. However, it’s a great list to use to catch up on your 2007 reading before the 2008 books get to your library. Or that’s how I look at it.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm just kicking myself for forgetting about The Today Show. Doggone it!!! I should have had my husband DVR it. Response forthcoming. May take a day or two though. Thanks for the great links!

Jules at 7-Imp said...

Like an idiot who clearly forgot the horror of morning television, I turned on the Today Show to wait for the interviews, knowing they do that annually. And it was all about Britney and the unauthorized biography of Tom Cruise. I couldn't take it anymore and pretty much gave up.

I'm sure some time soon and in some place we'll see that footage. They probably asked Selznick and Schlitz all about Britney's court battles. Or maybe Scientology. Will be riveting.

Thanks for the round-uppy goodness.
Jules, 7-Imp

Unknown said...

There was a wonderful picture of Laura Amy in the paper this morning - she was clearly overcome with emotion... and wearing the tiara.

We Baltimore librarians are very proud!

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bal-te.to.newbery15jan15,0,1056914.story

pyrotechny said...

Haven't checked in for awhile, Mother. Glad to see you are still up to your ole tricks! :-x

Vivian Mahoney said...

I loved the story in the Washington Post. It's always nice to hear about slush pile success stories. And one that gets an award, no less!

Thanks for all these great links.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the roundup!

And, hey, did you see your previous post was cited in Slate? http://www.slate.com/id/2182225/ and scroll down a bit.

Camille said...

Thank you so much for the link to the Lubar post. The comments there are touching.