Registration Open for the OLA/WLA Mock Newbery

Registration is now open for the OLA/WLA 2010 Mock Newbery. You can register here. Cost is $15, and that covers lunch and snacks. FVRL employees will, of course, need permission from their supervisors to attend.  Attendance is limited, so I would encourage you to register sooner rather than later!

OLA/WLA Mock Newbery

Any day now registration will be open for the OLA/WLA Mock Newbery.  We’re in the final stages of creating the reading list.  We’re trying to select outstanding books of different genres and for different age groups so that we will have some great books to discuss and compare.  I’m excited that we’ll have past and current Newbery committee members talking about their experiences.  It should be a great day!  (Saturday, January 9th.)

I finally got around to reading When You Reach Me, one of the most (Newbery) buzzed-about books of the year.  I tried to listen to it on audio, but that wasn’t the best format for the book.  Once I started reading it, it went fast and was a very enjoyable read.  I certainly wouldn’t be disappointed if it won the Newbery, but it seems to me that the most buzzed about books don’t usually take home the medal.  Maybe it will be an honor book?  Right now I’m reading Grace Lin’s Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.  It’s a beautiful book, both the writing and illustrations, and I’m really enjoying it.  I’m not sure it will be a kid-favorite, but I can see librarians and teachers loving it.  On the younger side, I read How Oliver Olson Changed the World and have Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters in my to-be-read-soon pile.

Interested in more Mock Newbery discussions?  Check out the following:

School Library Journal’s Heavy Medal Blog (they’re currently debating When You Reach Me)

Allen County Public Library’s Mock Newbery Blog (they have Mock Blogs for the Sibert, Caldecott, Printz, CSK, and Geisel awards.)

Eva Perry Mock Newbery Book Club Blog (I like this one because actual kids comments on the books!)

Fuse #8’s Halfway Mark Predictions

And while you’re at it, check out the official criteria for the award and Anita Silvey’s controversial SLJ article, Has the Newbery Lost Its Way?

What have you read this year that you thought was Newbery-worthy?

Graveyard Book wins the Hugo Award

The Newbery Award-winning children’s book, The Graveyard Book, has won the Hugo Award for best Science Fiction or Fantasy novel. Not best CHILDREN’S novel. The best novel. Congrats to Neil Gaiman!

YRCA Winners Announced!

Junior division – The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, by Kate Dicamillo.

Intermediate division – The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, by John Boyne.

Senior division – New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer.

If you liked Slumdog Millionaire…

I just finished the 2009 Batchelder Honor book, Tiger Moon by Antonia Michaelis. The Batchelder Award is given by ALA’s Association of Library Service to Children to the publisher of an outstanding children’s book originally published in a foreign language in a foreign country and translated into English.

Tiger Moon is set in India and is a story inside a story. A boy with a tiger, a princess awaiting her hero, gods, demons, and the magical, mystical feeling that India inspires. I thought this was a great story and would be appreciated by adults as well as teens. While the plot isn’t similar to Slumdog and it is sent during the British occupation of India, I think that readers who loved the movie and are looking for their next India-fix will enjoy it. The story was also a bit reminiscent of the adult novel, The Life of Pi.

**I should note that Tiger Moon was originally published in German.**

FVRL’s Mock Newbery 2010?

I had such a great time at FVRL’s Mock Printz a couple of weeks ago, I’ve been inspired to look into the possibility of holding a Mock Newbery next January. I’m in the initial exploratory stages, but I’ve already started my reading, just in case. I read 11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass and am just finishing Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson. 11 Birthdays was good, but not great. It reminded me so much of Groundhog’s Day (the movie,) and I kept waiting for her to make some reference to the film, but she didn’t. Peace, Locomotion is great so far, and you know how Newbery loves to honor JW. The thing to think about with Peace, Locomotion, is that it is a sequel, so does it stand on its own or do you need to have read Locomotion? If it doesn’t stand on its own, it wouldn’t be considered for the Newbery. So far, I think it stands on its own. What are you reading? Anything Newbery worthy?

More on the Newb and Cald

Publishers Weekly interviews Caldecott winning artist Krommes here and Newbery winner Gaiman here.  Of particular note is Krommes talking about her scratchboard technique of illustrating and Gaiman hinting at possible sequels to The Graveyard Book.

Gaiman’s reaction…

to winning the Newbery can be found on his blog, here.

And the winners are…

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.

Best of 2008

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!

School Library Journal

Publishers Weekly (scroll to the bottom to see the children’s picks)

Booklist

Horn Book

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