Surprise! The Newbery Goes to a Popular Book
RSSBy Debra Lau Whelan and Rick Margolis -- School Library Journal, 01/26/2009
The Newbery Medal ended its slump. The committee that awards the nation’s top prize for children’s literature chose Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book (HarperCollins), marking the first time in four years that the award went to a book that’s critically acclaimed by both librarians and kids.
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Neil Gaiman wins this year's Newbery. |
“The Newbery is far and away probably the most important,” he says. “It means you are seen as being part of a group of books that are of quality and ensures survival over the years. You are part of some kind of strange literary canon, that maybe you’ve written a book that will outlive you.”
Indeed, Gaiman says he’s been reading all the controversy about “whether the Newbery is out of touch” or “what kind of books should win the Newbery.” Regardless, he adds, “I’m thrilled.”
Little did Gaiman know, but his tweet upon hearing the news has generated its own controversy. “F---!!!! I won the F---ING NEWBERY THIS IS SO F---ING AWESOME. I thank you” Gaiman wrote on his Twitter site, neilhimself.
News about the tweet traveled quickly around the Denver convention center, where the American Library Association announced its children and young adult literary awards this morning. And some librarians were already expressing disappointment, saying such language was inappropriate.
For those wondering whether U.K.-born author is eligible for the award, yes he is. The Newbery is open to Americans or residents, and Gaiman's lived in the U.S. for the last 16 years.
Meanwhile, the packed audience at the Four Seasons ballroom was pleased to hear that the Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children went to a book that explores the origins of light, The House in the Night (Houghton), illustrated by Beth Krommes and written by Susan Marie Swanson.
However, some were disappointed that Wabi Sabi, (Little Brown) (about a cat that sets out to find the origins of its name) illustrated by Ed Young and written by Mark Reibstein, was completely overlooked.
Perhaps the biggest surprise was the winner of Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults, which went to Melina Marchetta, author of Jellicoe Road (HarperTeen). The book, about a teenager who was abandoned by her mother when she was 11, wasn’t on many people's radar screen. Another shocker was the fact that Suzanne Collins’s fantasy novel The Hunger Games (Scholastic) and Kristin Cashore’s Graceling (Harcourt), about a teenage warrior girl, didn’t even make it as Printz honor books.
The crowd cheered as Kadir Nelson’s We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball (Jump at the Sun) walked away with two major awards: the Robert F. Sibert Medal for most distinguished informational book for children and the Coretta Scott King Author Award, which recognizes an African-American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults. The book was also named a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book.
Another big crowd pleaser was the announcement that K. T. Horning, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC), will deliver the May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture at a winning host site. The honor recognizes someone who has made a significant contribution to the field of children's literature.
The audience applauded loudly Laurie Halse Anderson, this year’s Margaret A. Edwards Award winner, honoring her outstanding lifetime contribution to writing for teens for Catalyst (Viking, 2002), Fever 1793 (S & S, 2000), and Speak, a 2000 Printz Honor Book.
Mo Willems, who’s received three Caldecott honors for Don’t Let Pigeon Drive the Bus! (2004), Knuffle Bunny (2005), and Knuffle Bunny Too (2008), is winner of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished book for beginning readers for two consecutive years. His Are You Ready to Play Outside? (2008) nabbed the top Geisel award this year, and last year it won for There Is a Bird on Your Head! (2007, all Hyperion).
Sherman Alexie, who won the 2007 National Book Award, Young People’s Literature, for his autobiographical The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Little, Brown, 2007), may have been snubbed at last year’s ALA literary awards. But not this time, the author won the Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production for the audiobook version of the same book.
The following is a list of all ALA Youth Media Awards for 2009:
Newbery Honor Books
The Underneath (Atheneum) by Kathi Appelt
The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom (Holt) by Margarita Engle
Savvy (Dial) by Ingrid Law
After Tupac & D Foster (Putnam) by Jacqueline Woodson
Caldecott Honor Books
A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever (Harcourt), written and illustrated by Marla FrazeeHow I Learned Geography (Farrar, Straus), written and illustrated by Uri Shulevitz
A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams (Eerdmans), illustrated by Melissa Sweet and written by Jen Bryant
Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults.
Melina Marchetta, author of Jellicoe Road(HarperTeen)
Printz Honor Books
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II, The Kingdom on the Waves (Candlewick) by M.T. Anderson
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks (Hyperion) by E. Lockhart
Nation (HarperCollins) by Terry Pratchett
Tender Morsels (Knopf) by Margo Lanagan
Coretta Scott King Author 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 (Jump at the Sun), written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award
The Blacker the Berry (Amistad), illustrated by Floyd Cooper and written by Joyce Carol Thomas
King Author Honor Books
The Blacker the Berry by Joyce Carol Thomas and illustrated by Floyd Cooper
Keeping the Night Watch (Holt) by Hope Anita Smith and illustrated by E.B. Lewis
Becoming Billie Holiday (Wordsong) by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Floyd Cooper
King Illustrator Honor Books
We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Before John Was a Jazz Giant (Holt) by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Sean Qualls
The Moon Over Star (Dial) by Dianna Hutts Aston and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award
Shadra Strickland, illustrator of Bird (Lee & Low), written by Zetta Elliott
Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody the artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.
For Young Children: Piano Starts Here: The Young Art Tatum (Schwartz & Wafe), written and illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker and published by Schwartz & Wade Books
For Middle School: Waiting for Normal (HarperCollins) by Leslie Connor
For Teens: Jerk, California (Speak), written by Jonathan Friesen
Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished book for beginning readers. Are You Ready to Play Outside? (Hyperion), written and illustrated by Mo Willems
Geisel Honor Books
Chicken said, ‘Cluck! (HarperCollins) by Judyann Ackerman Grant and illustrated by Sue Truesdell
One Boy (Roaring Press), written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Stinky (Little Lit Library), written and illustrated by Eleanor Davis
Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator (Boyd Mills) by Sarah C. Campbell, with photographs by Sarah C. Campbell and Richard P. Campbell
Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults. Laurie Halse Anderson is the recipient, honoring her outstanding lifetime contribution to writing for teens for Catalyst (Viking); Fever 1793 (S & S), and Speak (Penguin), a 2000 Printz Honor Book
Pura Belpré Awards honoring Latino authors and illustrators whose work best portrays, affirms and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in children's books.
Belpré Illustrator Award: Just in Case illustrated (Roaring Brook) by Yuyi Morales
Belpré Author Award: The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom (Holt) by Margarita Engle
Belpré Illustrator Honor Books for illustration
Papá and Me (Rayo) illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez, written by Arthur Dorros
The Storyteller’s Candle / La velita de los cuentos (Children’s Book Press), illustrated by Lulu Delacre, written by Lucía González
What Can You Do with a Rebozo? (Tricycle Press), illustrated by Amy Córdova, written by Carmen Tafolla
Belpré Author Honor Books
Just in Case (Roaring Brook), written by Yuyi Morales
Reaching Out (Houghton) by Francisco Jiménez
The Storyteller’s Candle / La velita de los cuentos (Children’s Book Press) by Lucía González
Robert F. Sibert Medal for most distinguished informational book for children.
We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Sibert Honor Books
Bodies from the Ice: Melting Glaciers and Rediscovery of The Past (Houghton) by James M. Deem
What to Do About Alice?: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy! (Scholastic) by Barbara Kerley and illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham
Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in children's video.
Paul R. Gagne and Melissa Reilly of Weston Woods Studios, producers of March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World
Mildred L. Batchelder Award for the most outstanding children’s book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States.
Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, (Arthur A. Levine) originally published in Japanese, written by Nahoko Uehashi and translated by Cathy Hirano.
Batchelder Honor Books:
Garmann’s Summer (Eerdmans), originally published in Norwegian, written by Stian Hole, translated by Don Bartlett
Tiger Moon,(Amulet), originally published in German, written by Antonia Michaelis, translated by Anthea Bell
Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production.
Recorded Books, producer of the audiobook The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, written and narrated by Sherman Alexie
Odyssey Honor Audiobooks
Curse of the Blue Tattoo: Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady written by L.A. Meyer, narrated by Katherine Kellgren and produced by Listen & Live Audio, Inc.
Elijah of Buxton, written by Christopher Paul Curtis, narrated by Mirron Willis and produced by Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group
I’m Dirty!,” written by Kate & Jim McMullan, narrated by Steve Buscemi and produced by Weston Woods Studios, Inc./Scholastic
Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale” written and narrated by Carmen Agra Deedy and produceded by Peachtree Publishers
Nation, written by Terry Pratchett, narrated by Stephen Briggs and produced by HarperChildren’s Audio/HarperCollins Publishers.
Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences.
City of Thieves (Viking) by David Benioff
The Dragons of Babel (Tor) by Michael Swanwick
Finding Nouf (Houghton) by Zoë Ferraris
The Good Thief (Dial) by Hannah Tinti
Just After Sunset: Stories (Scribner) by Stephen King
Mudbound (Algonquin Bks.) by Hillary Jordan
Over and Under (Thomas Dunne Bks.) by Todd Tucker
The Oxford Project (Welcome Bks.) by Stephen G. Bloom, photographed by Peter Feldstein,
Sharp Teeth (Harper) by Toby Barlow
Three Girls and Their Brother (Crown) by Theresa Rebeck
May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture recognizing an individual who shall prepare a paper considered to be a significant contribution to the field of children's literature, and then present the lecture at a winning host site.
The 2010 Arbuthnot Lecture will be delivered by Kathleen T. Horning, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC).
The Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, established in 1954, honors an author or illustrator whose books are published in the United States and have made a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.
Ashley Bryan has been named the 2009 Wilder Award winner. His numerous works include Dancing Granny, Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pum, and Beautiful Blackbird
William C. Morris Award. A Curse Dark as Gold (Arthur A. Levine), written by Elizabeth C. Bunce
For more information on the ALA youth media awards and notables, please visit the ALA Web site at www.ala.org.
