More on the Newb and Cald
January 29, 2009
Winners on the Today Show
January 27, 2009
Here’s a link to the Today Show interviews of 2009’s Caldecott and Newbery winners. Gaiman says The Graveyard Book was inspired by the Jungle Book, which I hadn’t heard before or made the connection.
Gaiman’s reaction…
January 27, 2009
to winning the Newbery can be found on his blog, here.
And the winners are…
January 26, 2009
Newbery: The Graveyard Book by Gaiman; Honors: The Underneath, The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle, Savvy, and After Tupac & D Foster. We own multiple copies of all of these except The Surrender Tree, which I ordered copies of this morning as well as additional copies of the others.
Caldecott: The House in the Night by Swanson. Honors: A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever, How Ilearned Georgraphy, and A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams. I ordered extra copies of all of these including the William Carlos William title which we have had on back order for awhile.
Theodor Seuss Geisel: Are You Ready to Play Outside? by Willems. Honors: Chicken said, ‘Cluck!’, One Boy, Stinky, and Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator. We own all of these except Wolfsnail, which is now on order.
Sibert: We are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Nelson. Honors: Bodies from the Ice and What to do About Alice? We are the Ship was also won the Coretta Scott King Award for authors and was a CSK illustrator honor book. We seem to be missing a couple of our We are the Ship books, so I’ve ordered additional copies of it and copies of Bodies from the Ice, which we don’t currently own.
Coretta Scott King author award: We are the Ship. Honors: poetry book The Blacker the Berry, Keeping the Night Watch and YA novel Becoming Billie Holiday.
Coretta Scott King illustrator award: The Blacker the Berry illustrated by Thomas. Honors: We are the Ship, Before John was a Jazz Giant, and The Moon Over Star.
CSK/Steptoe New Talent Author Award: Shandra Strickland, illustrator of Bird. We don’t currently own copies of this title, but I’ve put some on order this morning.
Schneider Family Book Award: for young children: Piano Starts Here: The Young Art Tatum; and for middle school: Waiting for Normal.
Pura Belpre author award: The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom. Honors: Just in Case, YA novel Reaching Out, and The Storyteller’s Candle.
Pura Belpre illustrator award: Just in Case. Honors: Papa and Me, The Storyteller’s Candle, and What can you do with a Rebozo?
Batchelder Award: Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit. Honors: Garmann’s Summer, and YA novel Tiger Moon.
******YA Awards*******
Printz: Jellicoe Road by Marchetta. Honors: Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing…volume II, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, Nation, and Tender Morsels.
William C Morris Award: A Curse as Dark as Gold by Bunce.
Hunger Games 2
January 22, 2009
Publishers Weekly announced that the follow-up to Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games will be called Catching Fire, (cover above,) and will hit the shelves September 8, 2009. The final book in the trilogy will be pubbed sometime in 2010. Yea, I can’t wait!
New Lucky book features double the scrotum!
January 16, 2009
Newbery award winner, The Higher Power of Lucky, has a sequel coming out, Lucky Breaks. Not satisfied with the kerfuffle created by including the word scrotum once in a children’s book, Patron has managed to work it in TWICE in this follow-up!
Movie News
January 15, 2009
I read this morning that Henry Selick who directed and wrote the screenplay for the soon-to-be-released Coraline (in 3-D!) will be directing an adaptation of Philip Pullman’s Count Karlstein. I love Philip Pullman but I’ve never read this one, and I’m sure (local Portlander) Selick will be able to make it magical on the big screen.
I added a Where the Wild Things Are “trailer” to the books to movie page. It’s not an official trailer, but gives an idea of the feel of the film. I read an interview with director Spike Jonze recently and it seems that the differences between his vision and Warner Bros’ expectations have been smoothed out and Jonze is happy with the final product.
I moved Ender’s Game from the 2008 release date to a TBA date. I can’t find any information on what’s going on with this film, so we’ll have to wait and see if it will be made into a film eventually.
My Best of 2008
January 4, 2009
I’m not going to attempt to predict the award winners here and there are soooo many great books I didn’t get a chance to read this year, so I know my list is incomplete. These are the juvenile and young adult books that I read in 2008 that stood out to me as great reads. I’d love to hear what your favorites are, too!
Top 5 picture books: Wave, In a Blue Room, A Couple of Boys have the Best Week Ever, Black Book of Colors, A Visitor for Bear
Best books for younger readers: Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School and Other Scary Things, Benny and Penny in Just Pretend
Top 5 middle grade: The Underneath, Savvy, Graveyard Book, Brooklyn Bridge, Sound Off! The Adventures of Daniel Boom AKA Loud Boy
Top 5 nonfiction: We are the Ship, Nic bishop Frogs, The Trouble Begins at 8, What to do About Alice?, How Strong is it? A Mighty Book About Strength
Top 5 YA: Paper Towns, My Most Excellent Year, Sweethearts, I know it’s Over, Lock and Key
Best graphic novels: Jellaby, Japan Ai (YA)
Best new series: Darkside by Tom Becker
Best realistic fiction: Waiting for Normal
Best mystery: London Eye Mystery
Best historical fiction (YA): Newes from the Dead
Most original, not sure how to categorize or who to give this book to: My Dad’s a Birdman
Best fluff YA: Luxe series
Best Sci Fi (YA): The Adoration of Jenna Fox
Best picture book that addresses a childhood issue: My Travelin’ Eye, Honorable mention: Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears
Best novel in poems: Diamond Willow
Best book I haven’t finished: inkdeath
Best book that lived up to the hype: Hunger Games
Book that did not live up to the hype: Little Brother
Best audio: Once Upon a Time in the North, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks (YA) (Honorable mention: Book Thief and Keturah and Lord Death: these were not published this year but I listened to them both this year and they were excellent)
Sequel I’m most afraid to read because the first one was so scary: The Dead and the Gone
Book I most wanted to throw in the trash after finishing: Breaking Dawn
Top 5 I should have read by now: What I saw and How I Lied, The Spectacular Now, The Willoughbys, Chains, Tales of Beedle the Bard
Best of 2008
January 3, 2009
I’m collecting the Best children’s books of 2008 lists here for your enjoyment. Then tomorrow, I hope to post my own top reads of 2008! Did I miss a great list? Let me know!
Publishers Weekly (scroll to the bottom to see the children’s picks)
Kirkus (these are pdfs, scroll down to Best Children’s Books and Best Young Adult Books)
New York Times and here
AudioFile’s best audiobooks
and a HUGE collection of lists to work your way through
