*UPDATED* Gantos, Raschka Awarded Newbery, Caldecott
RSSBy SLJ Staff
This story was updated at 2:45 PM, Jan 23rd. Caldecott award winner Chris Raschka thought he'd lost his cell phone. But luckily once he reached his studio, a 14 block walk from his home on Manhattan's Upper West Side, he immediately found it. The next thing he knew, a call came in on that just-retrieved phone informing Raschka that he'd won the prestigious prize. Here is the entire list of ALA's Youth Media Awards John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature: Dead End in Norvelt (Farrar) by Jack Gantos. For more information, read past interview. Two Newbery Honor Books: Inside Out & Back Again (HarperCollins) by Thanhha Lai. For more information, read our January 2012 cover story. Breaking Stalin's Nose (Holt) by Eugene Yelchin. illus. by author Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children: A Ball for Daisy (Random/Schwartz & Wade Bks) by Chris Raschka illustrated by the author is the 2012 Caldecott Medal winner. Three Caldecott Honor Books: Blackout (Hyperion/Disney) by John Rocco. illus. by author Grandpa Green (Roaring Brook) by Lane Smith. illus. by author. For more information, read our interview. Me...Jane (Little, Brown) by Patrick McDonnell. illus. by author Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults: Where Things Come Back (S & S/Atheneum) by John Corey Whaley. Four Printz Honor Books: Why We Broke Up (Little, Brown) by Daniel Handler. illus. by Maira Kalman. For more information, read our interview. The Returning (Dial) by Christine Hinwood Jasper Jones (Knopf) by Craig Silvey. For more information, read our interview. The Scorpio Races (Scholastic) by Maggie Stiefvater. For more information, read our interview. Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults: Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans (HarperCollins/Balzar + Bray) by Kadir Nelson. Two King Author Honor Books: The Great Migration: Journey to the North (HarperCollins/Amistad) by Eloise Greenfield Never Forgotten (Random/Schwartz & Wade Books) by Patricia C. McKissack Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award: Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom (Roaring Brook/A Neal Porter Bk) by Shane W. Evans. illus. by author. For more information, read our interview. One King Illustrator Honor Book: Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans (HarperCollins/Balzar + Bray) by Kadir Nelson. illus. by author. Coretta Scott King - Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement: Ashley Bryan. The award pays tribute to the quality and magnitude of beloved children's author Virginia Hamilton. Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience: Award for children ages 0 to 10: The jury chose not to award a book in this category because no submissions were deemed worthy of the award. Awards for Middle School (ages 9-13): Close to Famous (Viking) by Joan Bauer. Wonderstruck (Scholastic) by Brian Selznick. illus. by author. For more information, read our August 2011 cover story. Award for Teens (ages 14-18): The Running Dream (Knopf) by Wendelin Van Draanen. Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences: Big Girl Small (Farrar) by Rachel DeWoskin Zanesville (Little, Brown) by Jo Ann Beard The Lover's Dictionary: A Novel (Farrar) by David Levithan The New Kids: Big Dreams and Brave Journeys at a High School for Immigrant Teens (Free Pr) by Brooke Hauser The Night Circus (Doubleday) by Erin Morgenstern. For more information, read our interview. Ready Player One: A Novel (Crown) by Ernest Cline Robopocalypse (Doubleday) by Daniel H. Wilson Salvage the Bones (Bloomsbury) by Jesmyn Ward The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt: A Novel in Pictures (Ecco) by Caroline Preston The Talk-Funny Girl (Crown) by Roland Merullo Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in children's video: Paul R. Gagne and Melissa Reilly Ellard of Weston Woods Studios, Inc., producers of "Children Make Terrible Pets," are the Carnegie Medal winners. The video is based on the book written by Peter Brown, and is narrated by Emily Eiden, with music by Jack Sundrud and Rusty Young, and animation by Soup2Nuts. Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults: Susan Cooper is the 2012 Edwards Award winner. Her books include: The Dark Is Rising Sequence: Over Sea, Under Stone (Harcourt, 1965); The Dark Is Rising (1973); Greenwitch (1974); The Grey King (1975); and Silver on the Tree (1977, all S & S/Margaret K. McElderry). 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: Michael Morpurgo will deliver the 2013 lecture. Born in England, Morpurgo was teaching when he discovered the magic of storytelling and began writing. His books are noted for their imagination, power and grace. In 1976, he and his wife established the charity Farms for City Children. He is an officer of the Order of the British Empire and served as Britain's third Children's Laureate. His novel, War Horse (Kaye & Ward, 1982) has wowed theatergoers in London and New York, and movie audiences all over. Mildred L. Batchelder Award for an outstanding children's book translated from a foreign language and subsequently published in the United States. Soldier Bear (Eerdmans)by Bibi Dumon Tak is the 2012 Batchelder Award winner. Originally published in Dutch in 2008 as Soldaat Wojtek. illus. by Philip Hopman, tr. by Laura Watkinson. One Batchelder Honor Book also was selected: The Lily Pond (Delacorte) by Annika Thor. tr. by Linda Schenck. Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States: "Rotters" produced by Listening Library, an imprint of Random House Audio Publishing Group is the 2012 Odyssey Award winner. The book is written by Daniel Kraus and narrated by Kirby Heyborne. Four Odyssey Honor audiobooks also were selected: "Ghetto Cowboy," produced by Brilliance Audio, written by G. Neri and narrated by JD Jackson. "Okay for Now," produced by Listening Library, an imprint of Random House Audio Publishing Group, written by Gary D. Schmidt and narrated by Lincoln Hoppe. "The Scorpio Races," produced by Scholastic Audiobooks, written by Maggie Stiefvater and narrated by Steve West & Fiona Hardingham. "Young Fredle," produced by Listening Library, an imprint of Random House Audio Publishing Group, written by Cynthia Voigt and narrated by Wendy Carter. Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award honoring a Latino writer and illustrator whose children's books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience: Diego Rivera: His World and Ours (Abrams) by Duncan Tonatiuh, illus. by author, is the Belpré Illustrator Award winner. Two Belpré Illustrator Honor Books: The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred (Charlesbridge) by Samantha R. Vamos, illus. by Rafael López. Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match/Marisol McDonald no combina (Children's Book Press) by Monica Brown. tr. by Adriana Dominguez. illus. by Sara Palacios. Pura Belpré (Author) Award: Under the Mesquite (Lee & Low) by Guadalupe Garcia McCall, is the Belpré Author Award winner. Two Belpré Author Honor Books: Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck (Holt) by Margarita Engle. Maximilian and the Mystery of the Guardian Angel: A Bilingual Lucha Libre Thriller (Cinco Puntos) by Xavier Garza. illus. by author. Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children: Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade (Houghton Harcourt) by Melissa Sweet, is the Sibert Award winner. Four Sibert Honor Books were named: Black & White: The Confrontation between Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Eugene 'Bull' Connor (Calkins Creek) by Larry Dane Brimner Drawing from Memory (Scholastic) by Allen Say. For more information, see our interview. The Elephant Scientist (Houghton Harcourt) by Caitlin O'Connell and Donna M. Jackson, photos by Caitlin O'Connell and Timothy Rodwell Witches!: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem (National Geographic) by Rosalyn Schanzer. illus. by author Stonewall Book Award-Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children's & Young Adult Literature Award: Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy (S & S) by Bill Wright. The award is given annually to English-language children's and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered experience. Four Honor Books were selected: a + e 4ever (Lethe Press) by Ilike Merey. illus. by author Money Boy (Groundwood) by Paul Yee Pink (HarperTeen) by Lili Wilkinson With or Without You (S & S/Pulse) by Brian Farrey Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book: Tales for Very Picky Eaters (Clarion) written and illustrated by Josh Schneider, is the Geisel Award winner. Three Geisel Honor Books were named: I Broke My Trunk (Hyperion/Disney) by Mo Willems. illus. by author I Want My Hat Back (Candlewick) by Jon Klassen. illus. by author See Me Run (Holiday House) by Paul Meisel. illus. by author William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens: Where Things Come Back (S &S/Atheneum) by John Corey Whaley is the 2012 Morris Award winner. Four other books were finalists for the award: The Girl of Fire and Thorns (HarperCollins/Greenwillow) by Rae Carson Paper Covers Rock (Delacorte) by Jenny Hubbard Under the Mesquite (Lee & Low) by Guadalupe Garcia McCall Between Shades of Gray (Philomel) by Ruta Sepetys. For more information, see our interview. YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults, ages 12- 18 each year. The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery (Roaring Brook/Flash Point) by Steve Sheinkin, is the 2012 Excellence winner. Four other books were finalists for the award: Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom and Science (Clarion) by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos. For more information, read our interview. Bootleg: Murder, Moonshine, and the Lawless Years of Prohibition (Roaring Brook/Flash Point) by Karen Blumenthal Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way) (National Geographic) by Sue Macy Music Was It: Young Leonard Bernstein (Charlesbridge) by Susan Goldman Rubin
January 23, 2012
The audience roared its approval Monday morning in Dallas after hearing that author Jack Gantos's Dead End in Norvelt (Farrar) won the Newbery Medal and Chris Raschka's A Ball for Daisy (Random/Schwartz & Wade Bks) nabbed the Caldecott Medal. Raschka's book was a favorite going into the American Library Association's (ALA) Youth Media Awards.
Both awards were announced during ALA's midwinter meeting in Dallas, TX.
Gantos, reached by SLJ at home in Boston, MA, was about to head off to his local library where he planned to work on his next book. He had just fed his cat a snack when the call came in alerting him that he'd won the Newbery. "I was trying not to overthink it," Gantos said about the possibility of winning. "You try and compartmentalize this kind of day. And my thought was, just stick with the plan."
Gantos's story, Dead End in Norvelt, is set in Norvelt, PA, with a young Jack Gantos in 1962. Gantos in the book spends his summer writing obituaries with Miss Volker as the town's little old ladies begin dying at a fairly rapid rate. In our review, SLJ called the novel a "fast-paced and witty read."
Gantos, a much admired and beloved author, weaves a tale that Mary Fellows, president of the Association for Library Service to Children, called an "achingly funny romp" and a "screwball mystery." His story snagged the Newbery, awarded to the author for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children published in the U.S. during the previous year.
Raschka, who won the top illustration honor in 2006 for The Hello, Goodbye Window (Hyperion/Michael di Capua Bks) and a Caldecott Honor for Yo! Yes? (Orchard) in 1994, said he had been "blissfully ignorant" that the winners of this year's medal were to be announced this morning.
"I'm totally amazed," he said. "Sometimes I'm aware when this is going on. But being unaware is sometimes a good thing."
Raschka's story-without-words took the 75th Caldecott medal. It's a tale about a "little dog whose most prized possession is accidentally destroyed," said ALA's Fellows as she announced the award. There were double winners this morning as well, including John Corey Whaley, who took the Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature in addition to the William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens.
Whaley's Where Things Come Back (S & S/Atheneum) was an unexpected selection for the Printz Award, and tells a tale of 17-year-old Arkansas teen Cullen Witter whose discovery of a woodpecker helps lead the reader through this coming-of-age tale.
Whaley told SLJ he was "in complete shock," about winning the Printz. He had been driving to the ALA event from his home in Springhill, LA, because he knew he had won the Morris award. But when he received the call from the chair of the Printz committee, he had to pull off to the side of the road.
The room erupted into one of the biggest rounds of applause of the morning after hearing that Ashley Bryan had won the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. The award is granted every two years to an African American author or illustrator who has made a lasting contribution. Bryan, the first African American to both write and illustrate a children's book, is known for his titles Let it Shine (2007) and Beautiful Blackbird (2003, both S & S/Atheneum).
Illustrator Shane W. Evans won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for his book Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom (Roaring Brook/A Neal Porter Bk), which tells the story of slaves as they escape, "...run, rest, and finally celebrate their hard work," said Chrystal Carr Jeter, the chair of the award.
This year's Margaret A. Edwards Award (sponsored by SLJ) went to Susan Cooper, for her significant and lasting contribution to writing for teens. Born in England in 1935, Cooper, a Newbery medal and honor winner, was trained as a journalist before authoring books, including Over Sea, Under Stone (Harcourt, 1965), The Dark is Rising (1973), and The Grey King (1975, both S & S).
