The Newbery Medal: Jack Gantos for Dead End in Norvelt
The Caldecott Medal: Chris Raschka for the wordlessly wonderful A Ball for Daisy
The Printz Award: John Corey Whaley for Where Things Come Back.
Congratulations to winners and honorees of these and other awards (such as the Alex Awards, Coretta Scott King award, Pura Belpre award). You can view the complete list on the ALA website, or follow interviews with these accomplished authors in the New York Times or Associated Press coverage.
I hadn’t finished my TBR list before the Oscar Nominees dominated the headlines. Had our book awards been eclipsed by Hollywood in less than 24 hours? Not exactly.
Kid lit is a powerful phenomenon. I happily noted that two Best Picture nominees are based on children’s books: Hugo and War Horse. One is a 2008 Caldecott Medal winner: Hugo, based on The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick. War Horse, by Michael Morpugo was first published 30 years ago, and this historical fiction novel remains as engaging now as then.
No matter the perpetually changing publishing scenarios, children’s books thrive in many formats, and continue to be a great contribution to the world of entertainment and education of children and adults alike. These 2012 Youth Media Award winners and honorees deservedly enjoy a boost in sales and media coverage. Given time, some of these books will be back as movies, plays, or maybe even a Yahoo photo headline. Good luck and best wishes to them all.
Which unread title will you read first? (I’m starting with Dead End in Norvelt: funny and quirky so far.) Of those you read, which are your favorites? And the million dollar question: which one will become a movie?
A doubt A BALL FOR DAISY will be a movie, but it sure does have a great story! Love it.
ReplyDeleteI'm on a waiting list at the library for DEAD END in NORVELT (bet there was no waiting list before Monday's announcement!)
It sounds as quirky and humorous as HOLES. I hope it has the same depth.
I hope so too Gale. Dead End is good for the first few chapters at least.
ReplyDeleteAnd while A Ball for Daisy may not be a movie, Pinkalicious and Click Clack Moo have been plays in Morristown. And of course Where the Wild Things Are and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs did make it to the big screen, which I would not have expected.
I enjoyed DEAD END IN NORVELT, but like many others, was surprised not to see OKAY FOR NOW in that Newbery list.
ReplyDeleteI'm still working my way through National Book Award finalists. I'm currently reading CHIME, and definitely see it as movie potential.
I was disappointed that SCORPIO RACES didn't win the Printz. I thought it was an almost perfect novel. But at least it got an honor. I will be stunned if it doesn't become a movie. I also hoped for at least a Newbery Honor for THE GIRL WHO CIRCUMNAVIGATED FAIRYLAND IN A SHIP OF HER OWN MAKING. It was such an original book, a kind of instant classic. The one I'm looking forward to reading is DEAD END IN NORVELT. It's been on my list for ages and now it's at the top of the pile.
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