MotherReader

I know that no one is breathlessly awaiting my post on the winners when the news is all over the Kidlitosphere, but for my own sake of fulfillment I'll cover the Newbery and Caldecott Awards - the "biggies" of the ALA Youth Media Awards.

The John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature went to The One and Only Ivan, written by Katherine Applegate. I loved the book and thought it had a good chance at a medal. Unfortunately, I haven't read any of the three honor books Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz, Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage, or Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin. Of them, the last is first on my list to read as it was also named in other nonfiction awards. I was surprised that Wonder was not on the list, but am thinking that it may have peaked too early in the Newbery season.

The winner of the Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished picture book was This Is Not My Hat, illustrated and written by Jon Klassen. I thought it was too similar to the first book to win, but what do I know. Two of the Caldecott Honor books were also Cybils finalists, Creepy Carrots! illustrated by Peter Brown, written by Aaron Reynolds and Extra Yarn, illustrated by Jon Klassen, written by Mac Barnett. Among my personal favorites of last year was One Cool Friend, illustrated by David Small and written by Toni Buzzeo. I have never understood the buzz about Green, illustrated and written by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, but figured it would be honored. I actually don't know Sleep Like a Tiger by Mary Logue, but since I love the illustrator Pamela Zagarenski, I'm looking forward to the book. I was disappointed that Chloe and the Lion didn't appear on the list, especially with so many selections named this year. When it was announced that there would be five honor books, there was an obvious murmur from the ALA audience, and I'm glad to see a bigger list than last year.

What are your thoughts on the Newbery and Caldecott awards this year? Did they get it right?

The Newbery Award — this year subtitled “Did Not See That Coming” — brought us some interesting books that had no pre-award buzz whatsoever. I’m looking forward to reading most of these for the first time and I suspect that I’m not alone in this.

Moon over Manifest, written by Clare Vanderpool, is the 2011 Newbery Medal winner. I have this book on my TBR shelf and imagine that I’ll be reading it this afternoon now. Total surprise in that I’ve heard nothing about this book around the kidlitosphere.

There were four Newbery Honor Books named. Turtle in Paradise, by Jennifer L. Holm, I have read and enjoyed. I’ve seen some talk about it for Newbery, and am very happy to see it in the list. One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia, was altogether expected to make the Newbery list, and many people thought it would pull in the gold. Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night, written by Joyce Sidman, was a book I’d been hearing in conjunction with the Caldecott Award. I’d never thought of it for Newbery and haven’t read it yet. I do like Sidman’s poetry, so I expect to enjoy this title. Heart of a Samurai, written by Margi Preus, is another book that appeared out of thin air as an award-winner. I’ve seen the book, but had not heard any buzz about it in terms of awards. Shut out of the Newbery winners were Keeper, Countdown, and Forge — all books that were talked about as near-certainities.

The Caldecott was a little more in line with expectations, though the committee seriously needs to choose more titles for honor awards. This year it was really a travesty as there were some wonderful possibilities that were passed by.

I’m happy to say that two of the books are Cybils Fiction Picture Book finalists. A Sick Day for Amos McGee, illustrated by Erin E. Stead (and written by Philip Stead), is the 2011 Caldecott Medal winner. A lot of folks were looking at this title for gold or silver. Interrupting Chicken, written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein, was a surprise for Caldecott. I like the book, but had not heard it mentioned in Caldecott predictions. Out of left field was honor book Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave, illustrated by Bryan Collier (and written by Laban Carrick Hill). I vaguely remember hearing about this book earlier in the fall, and then it dropped off the radar.

What is more notable are the many titles that were not represented in the Caldecotts. I was personally pulling for Chalk, by Bill Thompson, because I think that the illustrations are amazing in their details, expressions, and perspectives. I thought Flora’s Very Windy Day was a long shot, but I couldn’t help but hope for its enchanting illustrations to be noticed. I’d heard Ballet for Martha and Dark Emperor suggested from more than one source. Personally, I was never convinced of the predicted win of City Dog, Country Frog.

So, what turns out to be correct is the most widespread prediction of this years awards — that they were wide open. Back later with some more awards.

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.

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Newbery Medal
Winner:

When You Reach Me
by Rebecca Stead
One of my most horrifying blogger moments was realizing 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. (Edited to add Booklights text: Miranda is comfortable with her friends, family, and generally her New York City life. But it feels as if things start to shift when her best friend Sal pulls away from her. Left adrift in sixth grade, she meets new people and tries new things - but is most intrigued by the strange notes appearing for her eyes only. The story is clever, layered, interesting, and intelligent. The buzz is big, the hype is high, and the love is loyal for this title. I won't be surprised to see it somewhere on the list, and maybe even as the winner.)

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 be 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. (Edited to add Booklights text: Seeped in her father's fairy tales and pushed by her mother's sighs, Minli leaves home to search for the Old Man of the Moon to change her family's fortune. Along the way her kindness makes her many friends, who turn out to provide the help she needs. Incorporating Asian fairy tales with her own adventure, this is a beautiful book of love, friendship, and gratitude. The full color panel illustrations throughout add to the astonishing beauty of the book. And just look at the cover! Lots of people are hoping for a Newbery for the delightful book and author too, but it may be too light and happy for another award that tends towards death and calamity.)

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
by 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. (Edited to add Booklights text: The hardest thing about this book is making the one sentence description sound gripping. It's the story of a girl in 1899 who discovers the world of science under the tutorage of her grandfather. Calpurnia Tate is the youngest of a bunch of brothers, and can sometimes get lost in the shuffle to spend time at the creek looking at plant specimens or holed up in Grandfather's lab, testing the fermentation of pecans to wine. But for all this exposure to science, she's still growing into a woman at the turn of century and wonders when she'll have to put away her magnifying glass for a mop. Wonderful historical fiction that doesn't focus on death, dismemberment, or abject poverty - which is why it may not be taken seriously enough to win the 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 the list. Some list, at least.

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg
by Rodman Philbrick
Never heard of this title, so here’s our Newbery surprise.

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Caldecott Medal
Winner:

The Lion & the Mouse
by Jerry Pinkney
Seriously, no one is surprised here. The book is gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. By taking the old tale and making it wordless, Pinkney gave the story new life and interpretation. I’m only concerned where the gold medal will go on this breathtaking cover. I’m glad I have a copy without the medal, frankly.

Honors:

All the World
written by Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Marla Frazee
Another beautiful book that could have won had it not been published the same year as Pinkney’s book. Guess those are the breaks. Like The Lion & the Mouse, it’s on the Cybils Fiction Picture Book shortlist.

Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors
written by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski
I haven’t seen this book yet, but it did make the shortlist for Cybils Poetry.

A complete list of the ALSC winners in a variety of categories is available at the ALSC site.

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Printz Award (Known this year as “Where’s Marcelo?”)
Winner:

Going Bovine
by Libba Bray
Read it, liked it, recommended it as a must-read of 2009. Did not think it would win because it seemed to get a love it/hate it reaction from people, and I figured that the reactions would cancel each other out and knock this off the list.

Honors:

Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith, by Deborah Heiligman, The Monstrumologist, by Richard Yancey, Punkzilla, by Adam Raff, and Tales of the Madman Underground: An Historical Romance 1973, by John Barnes
I’m running these together, because I haven’t read any of them and have only even heard of Charles and Emma. It seems like an odd batch of mostly quirky or unusual books, and with a glaring omission of Marcelo in the Real World.

A complete list of the YALSA winners in a variety of categories is available at the YALSA site.

Yes, I missed the Youth Media Awards announcements. I took my Girl Scouts snow tubing on the teacher work day. Of course, I wish I had known that it was a teacher work day for all the surrounding counties. Perhaps then we wouldn’t have had a three-hour wait for our tubing time and wouldn’t have had to fight with crowds the entire time and I wouldn’t have come home so late and wouldn’t have run out of steam to the point where I don’t even care any more about the awards.

I’m sorry, I’m obviously not myself to have even said such a thing. I admit to feeling a little disconnected from the Newbery Awards because out of all the winners, I only read The Underneath. But I did think it would get an honor award, so I was right there. I did know all the Caldecott winners, and while I may not have chosen them myself, I didn’t find them a surprise. I had also thought that How I Learned Geography was going to win an honor award. Apparently, I am not even trying to predict the winners anymore. Just the honors.

Popping around through my blog reader I noticed others’ reactions, more interesting than mine:

• Fuse #8 made plenty of predictions as the year went on, and shares her thoughts while listening to the results. Updated to add: And adds her opinions on the Newbery and Caldecott results.
  


• Abby (the) Librarian was all hopped up on the awards, and offers her thoughts on the picks. Kids Lit reports the award high points.
  


• A Year of Reading offers a different way to win the prediction game — by predicting that the winner will be a book that one has not yet read. In contrast, over at Becky’s Book Reviews, we have links to her many reviews of award-winners.
  


• At Mitali’s Fire Escape, she’s wondering about the need for all the ethnic book awards. The Brown Bookshelf, on the other hand, is celebrating them.
  


• Jama Rattigan offers congrats to her fellow writers. And the Newbery winner takes us into his reponse (insert amazed and delighted swearing). Updated to add: Holy cow! An interview with Gaiman one day after his win at Just One More Book.
  


• Charlotte couldn’t be happier about the Gaiman win, as Jen highlights her favorites from the day.
  


• At Wizards Wireless, Susan can’t help but offer one last-minute prediction, and follows up with the the complete list of winners, which I’m lifting directly from her site (as it seems to involve the least formatting) and pasting below. (But not before I acknowledge the Geisel win of a very special person. He’s happy about it, too.)

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Newbery Medal: The Graveyard Book
Newbery Honors: The Underneath; The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba; Savvy; After Tupac & D Foster

Caldecott Medal: House in the Night
Caldecott Honors: A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever; How I Learned Geography; River of Words: the Story of William Carlos Williams

Printz Award: Jellicoe Road
Printz Honors: Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation Volume 2; The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks; Tender Morsels

Geisel Award: Are You Ready to Play Outside? [by Mo Willems]
Geisel Honors: Chicken Said Cluck; One Boy; Stinky; Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator

Coretta Scott King Author Award: We Are the Ship
Coretta Scott King Author Honors: The Blacker the Berry; Keeping the Night Watch; Becoming Billie Holiday

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award: The Blacker the Berry
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honors: We Are the Ship; Before John Was a Jazz Giant; The Moon Over Star

Coretta Scott King / John Steptoe New Talent Award: Bird

Schneider Family Book Award for Young Children: Piano Starts Here: the Young Art Tatum

Schneider Family Book Award for Middle Grades: Waiting for Normal

Schneider Family Book Award for Teens: Jerk, California

Sibert Medal: We Are the Ship
Sibert Honors: Bodies From Ice; What to Do About Alice?

Pura Belpré Illustrator Award: Just in Case
Pura Belpré Illustrator Honors: Papa and Me; The Storyteller’ s Candle; What Can You Do With a Rebozo?

Pura Belpré Author Award: The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom
Pura Belpré Author Honors: Just in Case; Reaching Out; The Storyteller’s Candle

While there were definite gasps and applause when The Invention of Hugo Cabret won the Caldecott gold, I’m sure that there were also cheers for the two medals Mo Willems’ books received. Personally, I wasn’t able to hear them, since I was at home cheering, “Yeah! Yeah!” like it was a football game in the fourth quarter.

In dashing off a note of congratulations to Mo, I slipped in that I might want to ask a few questions. Gracious man that he is — and wise as well — he shared some thoughts about the awards.

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When did you get the call and what did you say? And then when did you get the second call and what did you say?

I can’t really recall. Let’s assume I was witty and clever and charming and modest and kind and thoughtful and erudite with clear diction on one call and a dumb jackass on the other, shall we?¹

Looking around the previous Caldecott winners, I can’t find another example of a book sequel getting a nod. What do you think sets Knuffle Bunny Too apart for this Caldecott first?

Bemelmans did it for Madeline (Honor, ’39) and Madeline’s Rescue (Medal, ’54).

As for what set my books apart for this “Caldecott second,” it’s unfair to ask me to judge what judges judged. I’m just glad they liked ’em...

I have to admit that the Geisel award wasn’t on my radar screen. Was it something you had in your sights for the Elephant and Piggie series?

I was really shooting for the Ulysses Award, or as it’s known in the vernacular, the “Hard Reader Medal”.² This über-prestigious distinction is given annually to the least comprehensible book for humans published by a University Press.³

I thought I was a shoo-in as the “Elephant” in the Elephant and Piggie books is a reference to pre-industrial mythology as contrived in the post-impressionist period (duh), while the “Piggie” represents a pig (oink).

My disappointment is tempered by the fact that I’m not Irish.

You’ve won Caldecotts, a Carnegie Medal, and six Emmy Awards. As a well-known children’s author/illustrator, how can you get the Geisel Award noticed in the area of early literacy?

That’s a question for Herr Ambassador.

The Geisel? The what? You know, the Theodor Seuss Geisel award for beginning readers. Particularly important this year because it goes to There’s a Bird on Your Head, by Mo Willems. Didn’t I say that was my favorite of the Elephant and Piggie books? Oh, yes I did. Go Mo!

The Caldecott Honor Awards go to Henry’s Freedom Box, illustrated by Kadir Nelson; First the Egg, written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger; The Wall, written and illustrated by Peter Sis; and... OMG, Knuffle Bunny Too, written and illustrated by Mo Willems. Let’s pause for a moment to reflect on that listing. No gold or silver for Let It Shine, but it did win the Coretta Scott King illustrator award, so maybe that will do. (Not really, but whatcha gonna do?)

But the surprise winner of the Caldecott, the award selection that will have everyone talking is... The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick. The cheers and applause were truly notable during the announcement of a book that everyone assumed would be shut out by being neither here nor there in terms of award categories. I know someone who will be pretty happy. I’m ecstatic. It truly deserved to win.

Now the Newbery Honor Awards have some familiar titles, namely Elijiah of Buxton, by Christopher Paul Curtis; The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt; and Feathers, by Jacqueline Woodson. The winner has not been a very big book outside the kidlitosphere, but it’s still a surprise to me (though not to Fuse#8, who totally predicted the whole list), Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village, by Laura Amy Schlitz and Robert Byrd.

Shut out from the awards was the much-praised The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, but I can guess that it was too mature for the Newbery and too young for the Printz. In any case, it did win the National Book Award. There’s better balance in the Newbery shortlist than last year’s list, which was all Girls In Trouble.

A complete list of all of the ALA awards is available here. Reactions, anyone?

So, I’m not going to the ALA Midwinter Conference after all. Not that I had said I was, but I had thought about it. As it turns out, Philadelphia is three hours away, not two; the focus seems to be on adult literature, not kids’; and I’m really burnt out, not just a little burnt out. If you’re going, make sure that you drop by the kidlit bloggers’ lunch on Saturday — info at Readers Carousel.

I’m not making any Newbery predictions this year, or even listing what I’d like to see win the Newbery Awards. But Fuse#8 has a wonderfully detailed post on her predictions. She doesn’t think The Invention of Hugo Cabret can win. Why not? Well, Wizards Wireless has gone into the rules for both Newberys and Caldecotts to show why Hugo Cabret is going to get shut out. It’s a crime, but whoop, there it is.

I already made my Caldecott predictions, and they are Let It Shine and Angels Watching Over Me. I also agree with Fuse#8’s prediction for The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County as a possibility. The Wall has been mentioned so much, it’s hard to imagine that it won’t win, but you never know — I mean, it’s not like anyone saw My Friend Rabbit coming.

The Brown Bookshelf writers are making their predictions about the Coretta Scott King awards. My favorite, Let It Shine, makes one appearance, but Henry’s Freedom Box is getting more buzz in the illustrator category. Touching Snow and Elijah of Buxton come up for the author category, but since I didn’t like either book, I can’t begin to comment.

Totally off the subject, but Jen Robinson put together a fantastic article about helping kids enjoy reading. Really top notch. Also off subject, if you’re in the poetry mood today, which I was not, head over to The Book Mine Set for the Poetry Friday round-up.

Back to ALA. So what do you want to win this year, in any category? Does ALA need a new division, maybe the Kick-Ass Book Award?

Really no surprise here, given how much buzz there has been about this book. It’s on every “Best of 2006” list I’ve seen, and for good reason. The illustrations and the concept are amazing. The winner is:

Flotsam, by David Wiesner

Honor Books are:

• Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet, written and illustrated by David McLimans
  (never heard of it or seen it)


• Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Carole Boston Weatherford
  (another frequent title on best of 2006 lists, stunning)

I never made any predictions about the Caldecott, because I am judging picture books for the Cybil awards and didn’t want to put anything out there about my favorites. Flotsam is not my personal favorite, but it is an incredible book and well-deserving of its win.