Newbery, Caldecott Awards--2012

The results are in, ladies and gentlemen! This morning, at the ALA mid-winter conference in Dallas, the 2012 Youth Media Awards were announced. I'm proud to say that I've reviewed a couple of these works in the past year and noted their worthiness in one way or another--and I'm EXTRA glad to see one of my all-time favorite authors win the Margaret A. Edwards award for lifetime achievement. I keep meaning to review Susan Cooper's fantasy series, but haven't had the time to do her justice. Thankfully, others are also recognizing her! (I should admit that she featured prominently in my MA thesis, so perhaps "doing her justice" in blog form would take me a while.... )

I'm not necessarily recommending these works; remember, a committee made up of people chose these works. The National Book Award and the Boston Globe-Hornbook Award have been announced within the past few months as well. It's worth reading these books and knowing "what's hot" and "what's not."

At any rate, here is the shortlist of the most well-known awards. Check the link above to see the full list. If a book has been reviewed on this blog, I'll link to it below.

Newbery (most outstanding contribution to children's literature)

• Winner: Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos
• Honor: Inside Out and Back Again by Thanha Lai
• Honor: Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin

Caldecott (most distinguished American picture book for children)

• Winner: A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka
• Honor: Blackout by John Rocco (I've been meaning to review this one--it's GREAT)
• Honor: Grandpa Green by Lane Smith
• Honor: Me...Jane by Patrick McDonnell

Printz (excellence in literature written for young adults)

• Winner: Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley
• Honor: Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
• Honor: The Returning by Christine Hinwood
• Honor: Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
• Honor: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

I'll be checking out these and other award winners when I get the chance and will then review them here! I've also read/reviewed Between Shades of Grey which was an honor book for the award for first novels.