ALA Youth Media Awards

Information from the ALA's Press Release for the Youth Media Awards. With, when applicable, my comments, including links to reviews or quotes. And I'm going to try to read all the books below I haven't read yet!

John Newbery Medal for most outstanding contribution to children’s literature
Winner:
When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead. Wendy Lamb Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books. "That is a lot of hype to live up to, and it's sometimes unfair to the book that you go in expecting greatness instead of just hoping for a "good read." So when the book DOES deliver everything people said, and more? You know it's a damn good book."

Honor Books:
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose. Melanie Kroupa Books/Farrar Straus Giroux, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group. "Claudette Colvin should be required reading in law schools."
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly. Henry Holt and Company. "For having such fully realized characters; and for Kelly not telling us everything about Callie and her world and family, and rather telling us just enough; this is one of my favorite books of 2009."
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin. Little, Brown and Company Books for Young Readers.
Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick. The Blue Sky Press, An Imprint of Scholastic Inc.

Randolph Caldecott Medal for most distinguished American picture book for children
Winner
The Lion & the Mouse, illustrated and written by Jerry Pinkney. Little, Brown and Company Books for Young Readers.

Honor Books:
All the World, illustrated by Marla Frazee, written by Liz Garton Scanlon. Beach Lane Books.
Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Joyce Sidman. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults
Winner:
Going Bovine by Libba Bray. Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House. "It's a joy to discover just how multi-talented Bray is, because all you can think is "Holy Hannah, what is she going to do next?""

Honor Books
Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman. Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group. "People can disagree and yet still love and respect each other. Darwin believed that God played no role in natural selection or evolution; Wedgwood (religious but not a literalist in her belief) disagreed. While they argued the point, it did not control their lives, their love, or their relationship."
The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Group.
Punkzilla by Adam Rapp. Candlewick Press.
Tales of the Madman Underground: An Historical Romance 1973
by John Barnes. Viking Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group.

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults
Winner:
Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U. S. Marshal by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie. Carolrhoda Books, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

Honor Book
Mare’s War by Tanita S. Davis. Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc. "The classic road trip story is tweaked a little bit, bringing in grandmother. So instead of wild and crazy times, it's a journey of discovery. [Grandmother] Mare (Marey Lee Boylen)'s story of her teenage years takes her from Alabama to England; because when Mare was a teenager, she ran away from home and joined the Army."

Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award
Winner
My People illustrated by Charles R. Smith Jr., written by Langston Hughes. Gineo Seo books, Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Honor Book
The Negro Speaks of Rivers, illustrated by E. B. Lewis, written by Langston Hughes. Disney - Jump at the Sun Books, an imprint of Disney Book Group.

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award
The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon. Aladdin, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division.

Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement
Walter Dean Myers

Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award honoring a Latino writer and illustrator whose children’s books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience
Winner:
Book Fiesta!: Celebrate Children's Day/Book Day; Celebremos El dia de los ninos/El dia de los libros illustrated by Rafael López, written by Pat Mora. Rayo, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Honor Books:
Diego: Bigger Than Life illustrated by David Diaz, written by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand. Marshall Cavendish Children
My Abuelita illustrated by Yuyi Morales, written by Tony Johnston. Harcourt Children’s Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Gracias Thanks, illustrated by John Parra, written by Pat Mora. Lee & Low Books Inc. "The book is both mirror and window; when you see a ladybug, is it window or mirror? When a boy gives gives thanks for his "Abuelita," is it window or mirror?"

Pura Belpré (Author) Award
Winner:
Return to Sender, by Julia Alvarez. Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books.

Honor Books
Diego: Bigger Than Life by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, illustrated by David Diaz. Marshall Cavendish Children
Federico Garcia Lorca (Cuando Los Grandes Eran Pequenos/ When the Grown-Ups Were Children) by Georgina Lázaro, illustrated by Enrique S. Moreiro. Lectorum Publications Inc.

Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience
Django written and illustrated by Bonnie Christensen. Neal Porter Book, Roaring Brook Press. Award for best young children ages 0 to 10.

Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. Award for middle grades (ages 11-13).

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork. Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc. Award for teens (ages 13 -18)

William C. Morris Award honors a book written by a first-time author for young adults
Winner:
Flash Burnout by L.K. Madigan. Houghton Mifflin, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. "A perfect romance, written from a teenage boy's point of view."

Odyssey Award for excellence in audiobook production
Winner:
Louise, The Adventures of a Chicken, by Kate DiCamillo and narrated by Barbara Rosenblat. Live Oak Media.

Honor Audiobooks
In the Belly of the Bloodhound: Being an Account of a Particularly Peculiar Adventure in the Life of Jacky Faber produced by Listen & Live Audio, Inc., written by L. A. Meyer and narrated by Katherine Kellgren
Peace, Locomotion produced by Brilliance Audio, written by Jacqueline Woodson and narrated by Dion Graham
We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
produced by Brilliance Audio, written by Kadir Nelson and narrated by Dion Graham.

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for most distinguished beginning reader book
Winner:
Benny And Penny in The Big No-No written and illustrated by Geoffrey Hayes. TOON BOOKS, a division of RAW Junior, LLC.

Honor Books:
I Spy Fly Guy written and illustrated by Tedd Arnold. Scholastic
Little Mouse Gets Ready written and illustrated by Jeff Smith. TOON BOOKS, a division of RAW Junior, LLC
Mouse & Mole, Fine Feathered Friends written and illustrated by Wong Herbert Yee. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Pearl and Wagner: One Funny Day written by Kate McMullan, illustrated by R. W. Alley. Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group.

Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults
Jim Murphy

Robert F. Sibert Medal for most distinguished informational book for children
Winner:
Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone. Candlewick Press. "It's refreshing to read a book that has such a firm, enthusiastic, unapologetic point of view. It's also a gutsy way to tell the book because not everyone is going to like that position taking with their nonfiction."

Honor Books:
The Day-Glo Brothers by Chris Barton, illustrated by Tony Persiani. Charlesbridge
Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 by Brian Floca. Richard Jackson/Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose. Melanie Kroupa/Farrar Straus Giroux, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.

YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award
Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman. Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.

Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in children’s video
Paul R. Gagne and Mo Willems of Weston Woods, producers of “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!”

Mildred L. Batchelder Award for an outstanding children’s book translated from a foreign language and subsequently published in the United States
A Faraway Island by Annika Thor, translated by Linda Schenck. Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books.

Honor Books
Big Wolf and Little Wolf by Nadine Brun-Cosme, illustrated by Olivier Tallec, translated by Claudia Bedrick. Enchanted Lion Books
Eidi by Bodil Bredsdorff, translated by Kathryn Mahaffy. Farrar Straus Giroux
Moribito II: Guardian Of The Darkness by Nahoko Uehashi, illustrated by Yuko Shimizu, translated by Cathy Hirano. Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.

Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer. William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
The Bride's Farewell by Meg Rosoff. Viking Penguin, a member of Penguin Group
Everything Matters! by Ron Currie, Jr. Viking Penguin, a member of Penguin Group
The Good Soldiers by David Finkel. Sarah Crichton Books, an imprint of Farrar, Straus and Giroux
The Kids Are All Right: A Memoir by Diana Welch and Liz Welch with Amanda Welch and Dan Welch. Harmony Books, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House
The Magicians: A Novel by Lev Grossman, published by Viking Penguin, a member of Penguin Group
My Abandonment by Peter Rock. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Soulless (The Parasol Protectorate) by Gail Carriger. Orbit, an imprint of Hachette Book Group
Stitches: A Memoir by David Small. W.W. Norton & Company
Tunneling to the Center of the Earth: Stories (P.S.) by Kevin Wilson. Harper Perennial, an imprint of HarperCollins

May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award recognizing an author, critic, librarian, historian or teacher of children's literature, who then presents a lecture at a winning host site
Lois Lowry


Amazon Affiliate. If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy