Children's and Young Adult Awards Announced!

Every year, the American Library Association gives out awards for outstanding achievement in children's and young adult literature. The awards were announced bright and early this morning and I am so pleased with the choices. Probably the most distinguished awards are the John Newbery Medal and the Randolph Caldecott Medal. The Newbery is given for most outstanding writing in a children's novel and this year it went to Rebecca Stead's marvelous book When You Reach Me. It is a phenomenal story that is smart, thought-provoking, and downright goosebump-inducing at the end. I am not going to go into details about the story, because this is a book you should approach knowing nothing in advance. I read it a while back and it is by far my favorite book from this year. We have it here at the library, in the Young Adult section under YA/STE, so come in today to check out or reserve your copy. The Caldecott Medal is awarded for the most outstanding picture book. This year it went to Jerry Pinkney's great picture book The Lion and the Mouse. The illustrations in the almost wordless book are truly gorgeous and do a beautiful job of telling Aesop's classic fable. This book is located in the picture books under E/PIN. There were many other awards announced as well this morning. You can see a list of all of the winners and honorees here at the ALA website.