Yesterday, the American Library Association released its 2009 list of Youth Media Awards. Drum roll please ...
John Newbery Award
Most distinguished contribution to children’s literature.
The Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman (Author), Dave McKean (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins (September 30, 2008)
Publisher's synopsis:
Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy.
He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling
graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary
guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the
dead.
There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a
boy-an ancient Indigo Man beneath the hill, a gateway to a desert
leading to an abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible menace
of the Sleer.
But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod's family. . . .
Beloved master storyteller Neil Gaiman returns with a luminous new novel for the audience that embraced his New York Times
bestselling modern classic coraline. Magical, terrifying, and filled
with breathtaking adventures, the graveyard book is sure to enthrall
readers of all ages.
John Newbery Honor Books
The Underneath
by Kathi Appelt (Author), David Small (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Atheneum (May 6, 2008)
Publisher's synopsis:
A calico cat, about to have kittens, hears the lonely howl of a
chained-up hound deep in the backwaters of the bayou. She dares to find
him in the forest, and the hound dares to befriend this cat, this
feline, this creature he is supposed to hate. They are an unlikely
pair, about to become an unlikely family. Ranger urges the cat to hide
underneath the porch, to raise her kittens there because Gar-Face, the
man living inside the house, will surely use them as alligator bait
should he find them. But they are safe in the Underneath...as long as
they stay in the Underneath.
Kittens, however, are notoriously
curious creatures. And one kitten's moment of curiosity sets off a
chain of events that is astonishing, remarkable, and enormous in its
meaning. For everyone who loves Sounder, Shiloh, and The Yearling, for
everyone who loves the haunting beauty of writers such as Marjorie
Kinnan Rawlings, Flannery O'Connor, and Carson McCullers, Kathi Appelt
spins a harrowing yet keenly sweet tale about the power of love -- and
its opposite, hate -- the fragility of happiness and the importance of
making good on your promises.
The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom
by Margarita Engle
Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 176 pages
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); 1st edition (April 1, 2008)
Publisher's synopsis:
It is 1896. Cuba has fought three wars for independence and
still is not free. People have been rounded up in reconcentration camps
with too little food and too much illness. Rosa is a nurse, but she
dares not go to the camps. So she turns hidden caves into hospitals for
those who know how to find her. Black, white, Cuban,
Spanish—Rosa does her best for everyone. Yet who can heal a country so
torn apart by war? Acclaimed poet Margarita Engle has created another
breathtaking portrait of Cuba.
Savvy
by Ingrid Law
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Dial (May 1, 2008)
Review (July 13, 2008):
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 (Mib's for
short). Every family has its quirks, but none are quite as unique as
the Beaumonts. Each person
in Mib’s family possesses a magical ability, a 'savvy'.
When a member of her family turns 13, their supernatural gift shows
itself. For some it is 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 Mib's
turns 13, her poppa ends up in the hospital after a car accident. The
morning of her birthday Mib's 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 - this is where the real fun begins and the unforgettable
adventure takes off! Not thinking through the plan, Mib's discovers
that the bus is not heading straight to town. The
driver has some deliveries to make along the way which turns the relatively
short trip into an overnight saga. During the journey Mib's discovers
a lot about herself and realizes that she might not be the only one
with a secret.
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. When an author’s
first published novel is this 'savvy' one can only look forward to the
future.
After Tupac & D Foster
by Jacqueline Woodson
Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 160 pages
Publisher: Putnam Young Adult (January 10, 2008)
Publisher's synopsis:
D Foster showed up a few months before Tupac got shot that first time and left us the summer before he died.
The day D Foster enters Neeka and her best friend’s lives, the world
opens up for them. D comes from a world vastly different from their
safe Queens neighborhood, and through her, the girls see another side
of life that includes loss, foster families and an amount of freedom
that makes the girls envious. Although all of them are crazy about
Tupac Shakur’s rap music, D is the one who truly understands the place
where he’s coming from, and through knowing D, Tupac’s lyrics become
more personal for all of them.
The girls are thirteen when D’s
mom swoops in to reclaim D—and as magically as she appeared, she now
disappears from their lives. Tupac is gone, too, after another
shooting; this time fatal. As the narrator looks back, she sees lives
suspended in time, and realizes that even all-too-brief connections can
touch deeply.
Randolph Caldecott Medal
Most distinguished American picture book for children.
The House in the Night
by Susan Marie Swanson (Author), Beth Krommes (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; None edition (May 5, 2008)
Publisher's synopsis:
A spare, patterned text and glowing pictures explore the origins
of light that make a house a home in this bedtime book for young
children. Naming nighttime things that are both comforting and
intriguing to preschoolers—a key, a bed, the moon—this timeless book
illuminates a reassuring order to the universe.
Randolph Caldecott Honor Books
A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever
by Marla Frazee
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books (March 1, 2008)Publisher's synopsis:
When James and Eamon go to a week
of Nature Camp and stay at Eamon's grandparents' house, it turns out
that their free time spent staying inside, eating waffles, and
playing video games is way more interesting than nature. But sometimes things work out best when they don't go exactly as planned.
In this moving and hilarious celebration of young boys, childhood
friendships, and the power of the imagination, Marla Frazee captures
the very essence of summer vacation and what it means to be a kid.
How I Learned
Geography
by Uri Shulevitz
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (April 1, 2008)Publisher's synopsis:
Having fled from war in their troubled homeland, a boy and his
family are living in poverty in a strange country. Food is scarce, so
when the boy’s father brings home a map instead of bread for supper, at
first the boy is furious. But when the map is hung on the wall, it
floods their cheerless room with color. As the boy studies its every
detail, he is transported to exotic places without ever leaving the
room, and he eventually comes to realize that the map feeds him in a
way that bread never could.
The award-winning artist’s most
personal work to date is based on his childhood memories of World War
II and features stunning illustrations that celebrate the power of
imagination. An author’s note includes a brief description of his
family’s experience, two of his early drawings, and the only surviving
photograph of himself from that time.
A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos
Williams
by Jen Bryant (Author), Melissa Sweet (Illustrator)
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 34 pages
Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers (July 9, 2008)
Publisher's synopsis:
In this picture book biography of William Carlos Williams, Bryant's
engaging prose and Sweet's stunning mixed-media illustrations celebrate
the amazing man who found a way to earn a living and to honor his
calling to be a poet. Full color.
Click here for the full news release of all of the ALA Youth Media Awards for 2009.
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