KASL

Margaret A. Edwards Award 2009

Margaret A. Edwards Award for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature. 

Laurie Halse Anderson is the recipient of the 2009 Margaret A. Edwards Award honoring her outstanding lifetime  contribution to writing for teens for the following books.  

“Catalyst” 

“Fever 1793” 

“Speak” a 2000 Printz Honor Book

An interview with the author . . .

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award 2009

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished book for beginning readers. “Are You Ready to Play Outside?” written and illustrated by Mo Willems is the 2009 Geisel Award winner.

Four Geisel Honor Books were named: 

“Chicken said, ‘Cluck!’” by Judyann Ackerman Grant, illustrated by Sue Truesdell

 

“One Boy” written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

“Stinky” written and illustrated by Eleanor Davis 

“Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator” by Sarah C. Campbell, with photographs by Sarah C. Campbell and Richard P. Campbell

Schneider Family Book Award 2009

Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody the artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences. 

“Piano Starts Here: The Young Art Tatum,” written and illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker won the award for young children. 

Leslie Connor is the winner of the middle-school award for “Waiting for Normal.” 

The teen award winner is “Jerk, California,” written by Jonathan Friesen.  (From a web design standpoint, Friesen has a pretty impressive page.)

Coretta Scott King Book Award 2009

Coretta Scott King Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults. 

“We Are the Ship: The Story of the Negro League Baseball,” written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson, is the King Author Book winner. 

“The Blacker the Berry,” illustrated by Floyd Cooper and written by Joyce Carol Thomas is the King Illustrator Book winner.

Three King Author Honor Books were selected: 

“The Blacker the Berry” by Joyce Carol Thomas, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

“Keeping the Night Watch” by Hope Anita Smith, illustrated by E.B. Lewis

“Becoming Billie Holiday” by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

Three Illustrator Honor Books were selected: 

“We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball” written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson

“Before John Was a Jazz Giant” by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Sean Qualls

“The Moon Over Star” by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award. Shadra Strickland, illustrator of “Bird,” written by Zetta Elliott, is the Steptoe winner. 

2009 Printz Award winner

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults.  

Melina Marchetta, author of “Jellicoe Road,” is the 2009 Printz Award winner. 

Four Printz Honor Books also were named: 

“The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II, The Kingdom on the Waves,” by M.T. Anderson 

“The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks,” by E. Lockhart

“Nation,” by Terry Pratchett

“Tender Morsels,” by Margo Lanagan

Randolph Caldecott Medal 2009

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children. 

Beth Krommes, illustrator of “The House in the Night,” written by Susan Marie Swanson, is the 2009 Caldecott Medal Winner. 

Three Caldecott Honor Books were named: 

“A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever,” written and illustrated by Marla Frazee 

“How I Learned Geography,” written and illustrated by Uri Shulevitz

 

“A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams,” illustrated by Melissa Sweet, written by Jen Bryant

Grades 3-8: 2009 WAW Awards Voting Now Open

In case you like to be an early bird, voting is now open on the White Awards website.  Deadline for submitting vote tallies is 5 p.m. April 15.  

Note that there is a link from this page to "downloads", which have the paper ballots, tally sheets etc. as well as the bookmarks for the 2010-2011 lists which you can give readers once they've voted for the current lists.

Beverley Buller
WAW Awards selection committee chairman

Book Links

CHICAGO - Book Links magazine’s January issue announces the annual annotated “Lasting Connections” list, spotlighting the editors’ selections of the 30 best 2008 picture books, novels and informational titles for libraries and classrooms. “Lasting Connections” is considered an essential collection development tool for children’s librarians, school library media specialists and K–8 educators.

“The 30 outstanding titles we selected offer strong ties to the curriculum, with compelling writing, imaginative art and an engaging presentation of information,” said Book Links Editor Laura Tillotson. “In addition to presenting lively possibilities for classroom use, they can also be read and shared just for fun.”

Preschool–Grade 2
“The Best Story.” By Eileen Spinelli. (Dial)
“Hamsters, Shells, and Spelling Bees: School Poems.” Edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins. (HarperCollins)
“How I Learned Geography.” By Uri Shulevitz. (Farrar) 
“How Many Ways Can You Catch a Fly?”By Steve Jenkins and Robin Page. (Houghton)
“One Boy.” By Laura Vaccaro Seeger. (Roaring Brook/Neal Porter)
“The Origami Master.” By Nathaniel Lachenmeyer. (Albert Whitman)
“Red Sled.” By Patricia Thomas. (Boyds Mills) 
“The Scrambled States of America Talent Show.” By Laurie Keller. (Holt)
“This Is Your Life Cycle.” By Heather Lynn Miller. (Clarion)
“The Vowel Family: A Tale of Lost Letters.” By Sally M. Walker. (Carolrhoda)

Grades 3–5
“Animal Heroes: True Rescue Stories.” By Sandra Markle. (Millbrook)
“Clementine’s Letter.” By Sara Pennypacker. (Hyperion)
“Lady Liberty: A Biography.” By Doreen Rappaport. (Candlewick)
“Naked Bunyip Dancing.” By Steven Herrick. (Front Street)
“Nic Bishop Frogs.” By Nic Bishop. (Scholastic)
“One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Difference.” By Katie Smith Milway. \ (Kids Can)
“Piano Starts Here: The Young Art Tatum.” By Robert Andrew Parker. (Random/Schwartz & Wade)
“The Porcupine Year.” By Louise Erdrich. (HarperCollins)
“A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams.” By Jen Bryant. (Eerdmans)
“When the Sergeant Came Marching Home.” By Don Lemna. (Holiday)
“The Willoughbys.” By Lois Lowry. (Houghton/Walter Lorraine)

Grades 6–8
“The Boy Who Dared.” By Susan Campbell Bartoletti. (Scholastic) 
“I’ll Pass for Your Comrade: Women Soldiers in the Civil War.” By Anita Silvey. (Clarion)
“Keeping the Night Watch.” By Hope Anita Smith. (Holt)
“Life on Earth—And Beyond: An Astrobiologist’s Quest.” By Pamela S. Turner. (Charlesbridge)
“The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary.” By Candace Fleming. (Random/Schwartz & Wade)
“Little Audrey.” By Ruth White. (Farrar)
“The London Eye Mystery.” By Siobhan Dowd. (Random/David Fickling)
“Savvy.” By Ingrid Law. (Dial)
“Washington at Valley Forge.” By Russell Freedman. (Holiday)

Download the list of “Lasting Connections” titles.
Book Links (a Booklist Publication) has been helping librarians, teachers and parents connect children with high-quality books for nearly 20 years. This practical, easy-to-use magazine puts a new spin on how to introduce books that capture and hold children’s interest. With thematic bibliographies, author features, reviews of new titles and articles that tie books to national education standards, Book Links is a one-stop resource for librarians and teachers who want all the teaching sources on a subject at their fingertips.http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/hqops/publishing/booklinks/index.cfm
Individual copies of the Book Links “Lasting Connections” issue may be purchased for $9 (prepaid) by writing to Book Links Back Issues, 50. E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611.

An ALA Press Release

Recommended Reading

Ever wondered where to find all those book award lists in one place?  Thanks to ALA and the miracle of modern technology, Library Fact Sheet Number 23 is a good place to start.  While you are there, check out some of the links in the gray bar at the left.

2008 Kansas Notable Books

The alphabetical list by title of the 2008 Kansas Notable Books follow:
 
1. American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China, by Matthew Polly. 
2. The Boy Who Was Raised by Librarians, Brad Sneed, illustrator. 
3. Can I Keep My Jersey? 11 Teams, 5 Countries, and 4 Years in My Life as a Basketball Vagabond, by Paul Shirley. 
4. The Curse of Catunkhamun, by Tim Raglin.  
5. The Farther Shore, by Matthew Eck. 
6. From Emporia: The Story of William Allen White, by Beverley O. Buller. 
7. Hellfire Canyon, by Max McCoy. 
8. Hunger for the Wild: America’s Obsession with the Untamed West, by Michael L. Johnson. 
9. The Kitchen Sink: New and Selected Poems, 1972-2007, by Albert Goldbarth. 
10. A Matter of Justice: Eisenhower and the Beginning of the Civil Rights Revolution, by David A. Nichols. 
11. The Middle of Somewhere, by J. B. Cheaney. 
12. The Rest of Her Life, by Laura Moriarty. 
13. Sea Monsters: Prehistoric Creatures of the Deep, by Michael J. Everhart. 
14. Storm Chaser: A Photographer’s Journey, by Jim Reed. 
15. Writing in an Age of Silence, by Sara Paretsky.

One of Jim Reed's photos from his terrific web site.