Awards Announced
Newbery Medal
Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins (Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins)
Newbery Honor Books
Whittington by Alan Armstrong, illustrated by SD Schindler (Random House)
Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti (Scholastic Nonfiction, an imprint of Scholastic)
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale (Bloomsbury Children's Books)
Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Hudson Talbott (G.P. Putnam's Sons)
Caldecott Medal
The Hello, Goodbye Window illustrated by Chris Raschka, written by Norton Juster (Michael di Capua Books, an imprint of Hyperion Books for Children)
Caldecott Honor Books
Rosa illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Nikki Giovanni (Henry Holt and Company)
Zen Shorts written and illustrated by Jon J Muth (Scholastic Press)
Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-air Balloon Ride written and illustrated by Marjorie Priceman (An Anne Schwartz Book from Atheneum Books for Young Readers, Simon & Schuster)
Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems illustrated by Beckie Prange, written by Joyce Sidman (Houghton Mifflin Company)
Batchelder Award
Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic, Inc. for An Innocent Soldier written by Josef Holub, translated from the German by Michael Hofmann
Batchelder Honor Books
Phaidon Press Limited for Nicholas written by Reni Goscinny, illustrated by Jean-Jacques Sempi, and translated from the French by Anthea Bell
Bloomsbury Children's Books for When I Was a Soldier written by Valirie Zenatti and translated from the French by Adriana Hunter.
Sibert Medal
Secrets of a Civil War Submarine: Solving the Mysteries of the H.L. Hunley written by Sally M. Walker (Carolrhoda Books, Inc., a division of Lerner Publishing Group)
Sibert Honor Book
Hilter Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti (Scholastic Nonfiction, an imprint of Scholastic)
Belpri Author Medal
The Tequila Worm by Viola Canales (Wendy Lamb Books, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, a division of Random House)
Belpri Illustrator Medal
Doña Flor: A Tall Tale About a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart illustrated by Raul Colón and written by Pat Mora (Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, a division of Random House)
Belpri Author Honor Books
César: !Sí Se Puede! Yes, We Can! by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, illustrated by David Diaz (Marshall Cavendish)
DoñaFlor: A Tall Tale About a Giant Woman with a Great Big Heart written by Pat Mora and illustrated by Raul
Colón (Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House)
Becoming Naomi León by Pam Munoz Ryan (Scholastic Press)
Belpri Illustrator Honor Books
Arrorró, Mi Niño: Latino Lullabies and Gentle Games selected and illustrated by Lulu Delacre (Lee & Low Books, Inc.)
César: !Sí, Se Puede! Yes, We Can! illustrated by David Diaz, written by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand (Marshall Cavendish)
My Name is Celia/Me llamo Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz/La Vida de Celia Cruz illustrated by Rafael Lspez, written by Monica Brown (Luna Rising, a bilingual imprint of Rising Moon)
Carnegie Medal
Michael Sporn, Michael Sporn Animation, Inc. and Paul Gagne and Melissa Reilly, Weston Woods Studio, producers of the video "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers" written by Mordicai Gerstein
2007 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecturer
Kevin Henkes
Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal
Henry and Mudge and the Great Grandpas written by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Sucie Stevenson (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Books
Hi! Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold (Cartwheel Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.)
A Splendid Friend, Indeed by Suzanne Bloom (Boyds Mills Press)
Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa written by Erica Silverman and illustrated by Betsy Lewin (Harcourt, Inc.)
Amanda Pig and the Really Hot Day written by Jean Van Leeuwen and illustrated by Ann Schweninger (Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group)
Louise Erdrich awarded the 2006 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
Louise Erdrich has been awarded the 2006 Scott O'Dell Award by the O'Dell Foundation
for her novel The Game of Silence.
The Scott O'Dell Award is presented to a children's or young adult book published in English by a U.S. publisher and set in the Americas. Ms. Erdrich was selected as this year's winner by a standing committee, chaired by Hazel Rochman, Contributing Editor, YA Books, Booklist, including Ann Carlson, English and Fine Arts Librarian Oak Park and River Forest High School and Roger Sutton, Editor-in-Chief, The Horn Book. Established by the late historical fiction writer, Scott O'Dell, the award is administered by his wife, Elizabeth Hall.
A sequel to the National Book Award Finalist The Birchbark House, The Game of Silence finds our heroine Omakayas at age ten. Her family has
recovered from smallpox, but a greater menace-the white man's government-continues to threaten their existence and will irrevocably change their lives.
The second book in a series of three titles, The Game of Silence will be followed by another book that completes the story of Omakayas. The next three books in the series will be about Omakayas's son, and the final three will be about her granddaughter. Together, the three trilogies
will span 100 years in the life of the Ojibwe Nation.
"In addition to an abundance of details about life through the seasons, Erdrich deals with the wider meaning of family and Omakayas'
coming-of-age on a vision quest," wrote Booklist book critic and Scott O'Dell committee chair, Hazel Rochman.
Louise Erdrich is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe. She is the bestselling, nationally known author of such critically acclaimed books as the National Book Critics Circle Award-winning Love Medicine, and National Book Award finalist The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse. She is also the author of the picture book Grandmother's Pigeon, illustrated by Jim LaMarche, which Publishers Weekly called "magical" and The New York Times said "soars."
"The characters and stories in The Game of Silence, drawn from Louise Erdrich's personal family history, resonate with readers of all ages. We are delighted that the O'Dell Foundation has chosen to honor her work," said Tara Weikum, Executive Editor, HarperCollins Children's Books.
Scott O'Dell was a landmark writer of historical fiction for young readers with such bestsellers as Island of the Blue Dolphins (1960) and Sing Down the Moon (1970). "He established this award to encourage other writers -- particularly new authors -- to focus on historical fiction. He hoped in this way to increase the interest of young readers in the historical background that has helped to shape their country and their world," said his widow, Elizabeth Hall.
Ms. Erdrich will be presented with the award and a $5,000 prize at a ceremony in the spring of 2006.
[Thanks to HarperCollins for this article.]
2006 SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARDS
ANNOUNCED BY ASSOCIATION OF JEWISH LIBRARIES
Erica Silverman and Mordicai Gerstein, author and illustrator of Sholom's Treasure: How Sholom Aleichem Became a Writer, and Sarah Darer Littman, author of Confessions of a Closet Catholic, are the 2006 winners of the prestigious Sydney Taylor Book Award.
The winners were announced on January 9 at the Midwinter Meeting of the Association of Jewish Libraries in Manhattan. AJL's Sydney Taylor Book Award honors new books for children and teens that exemplify the highest literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience.
The award memorializes Sydney Taylor, author of the classic All-of-a-Kind Family series. The winners will receive their awards at the Association of Jewish Libraries convention in Cambridge, MA this June.
Silverman and Gerstein will receive the 2006 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award's Younger Readers Category for Sholom's Treasure: How Sholom Aleichem Became a Writer, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This picture book biography chronicles Sholom's childhood, revealing the influences that turned him into the great Yiddish writer who would give us "Fiddler on the Roof." The text and illustrations blend perfectly to bring Sholom to life as a lovable rascal. This is a vital, engaging, living-and-breathing portrait of one of modern Jewish culture's most famous and beloved champions. The book stands alone beautifully, and also makes an excellent introduction to Sholom Aleichem's own works. The book is recommended for grades 2-5.
Littman will receive the 2006 gold medal in the Sydney Taylor Book Award's Older Readers Category for Confessions of a Closet Catholic, published by Dutton Children's Books. The first-time author's oddly titled book won the hearts of the awards committee with its vivid, honest story of spiritual exploration. Justine Silver struggles to balance her family's expectations that she should be Jewish "but not too Jewish." Frustrated, she follows a Catholic friend's example by giving up Judaism for Lent, and thus begins a search for identity and belonging that will resonate with readers of all religions. By turns funny and heart-wrenching, this tenderly written novel celebrates family, friendship, and faith. The book is recommended for grades 4-8.
Eight Sydney Taylor Honor Books were named for 2006: four in the Older Readers' Category and four in the Younger Readers' Category. For Older Readers, the Honor Books are: Memories of Survival by Esther Nisenthal Krinitz published by Hyperion, The King of Mulberry Street by Donna Jo Napoli published by Wendy Lamb Books/Random House, The Travels of Benjamin of Tudela by Uri Shulevitz published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and Prince William, Maximilian Minsky and Me by Holly-Jane Rahlens published by Candlewick. For Younger Readers, the Honor Books are: The Journey That Saved Curious George by Louise Borden published by Houghton Mifflin, Ruth and Naomi by Jean Marzollo published by Little Brown and Company, Shlemiel Crooks by Anna Olswanger published by Junebug Books, and Kibitzers and Fools: Tales My Zayda Told Me by Simms Taback published by Viking.
In addition to the medal-winners, the Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee designated thirty Notable Children's Books of Jewish Content for 2006: eighteen in the Older Reader'' Category and twelve in the Younger Readers' Category. Notable titles, and more information about the Sydney Taylor Book Award, may be found online at <
http://www.sydneytaylorbookaward.org/>
[Thanks to the Association of Jewish Libraries for this article.]
