And the Winner Is . . . The Printz Award

The Michael L. Printz Award is given annually for excellence in literature written for young adults. 

2014 Printz Award Winner
Midwinter Blood by  Marcus Sedgwick
Doomed love circles back through the centuries in a series of seven intricately plotted, interlocking stories set on a mysterious, isolated island. Forgetting and remembering, blessed and cursed, modern and ancient, these dualities brilliantly infuse the novel’s lush landscape.

Printz Honor Books
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Unlikely love blossoms on the bus when two unique, exceptional souls find strength in each other’s differences in Rowell’s emotionally charged and hopeful novel.

Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal

Impeccably researched and darkly disturbing, this complex literary tale reveals the sordid side of palace life in a 16th century Scandinavian kingdom where the royal family, the Lunedies, is cursed by a mysterious illness, and political machinations cast doubt on who will rule.

Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner
In Sally Gardner’s explosively original dystopian novel, Standish Treadwell and his grandfather show quiet defiance in the face of the oppressive, merciless Motherland. The cleverly parallel illustrations highlight a story as offbeat and perceptive as Standish and his mismatched eyes.

Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool
Jack Baker, uprooted suddenly after his mother’s death, and Early Auden, the strangest of boys, meet at a Maine boarding school. Their friendship culminates in a treacherous quest and unexpected self-discovery. Vanderpool delivers an emotionally powerful novel in an untamed setting as the boys head up river in search of the Great Appalachian Bear.

And the Winner Is . . . The Caldecott Award

This year's annual children's award book were announced yesterday.  Today, I'm going to share the winners of the Caldecott Award and the Theodor Geisel Award.

The Caldecott Award is given each year to the most distinguished American picture book for children.

2014 Caldecott Award Winner
Lightship written & illustrated by Brian Floca

All aboard! Accompany a family on an unforgettable weeklong train trip from Omaha to Sacramento in 1869. Brian Floca’s dramatic watercolor, ink, acrylic and gouache illustrations incorporate meticulously-researched portraits of the train, the travelers and the crew as they traverse the American landscape on the new transcontinental railroad.

Caldecott Honor Books
Journey written & illustrated by Aaron Becker

Finding a magical red crayon, a bored and lonely girl draws a new door on her bedroom wall that leads her to a wondrous but perilous new world. Her drab, sepia-toned, humdrum reality gives way to sumptuous, lushly-hued watercolor and pen and ink landscapes.

Flora and the Flamingo written & illustrated by Molly Idle

The budding relationship between an awkward young girl and a graceful flamingo is revealed through carefully orchestrated flaps. The minimalist setting, limited color palette, use of white space and page turns create a timeless and joyful visual experience.  The call-and-response of this balletic duet is cinematic and comedic.

Mr. Wuffles written & illustrated by David Wiesner

Mr. Wuffles finds a new toy that is actually a tiny spaceship in this nearly wordless science fiction tale of epic and miniature proportions. Crisp watercolor and India ink illustrations shine in an innovative graphic novel, picture book hybrid featuring hidden worlds, alien languages and one peeved cat.

The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award is given annually to the most distinguished beginning reader book.

 2014 Geisel Award Winner

The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizolli

A watermelon-loving crocodile becomes distraught after swallowing a seed, believing it will grow inside of him. Told in straight-forward, accessible vocabulary, this innovative look at a childhood fear by debut author Greg Pizzoli creates engaging three-spot color illustrations that are as fresh as a cool slice of watermelon.

Geisel Honor Books

Ball by Mary Sullivan

A ball-obsessed pup desperately waits for his owner to return to continue their play. The earliest reader will be empowered by the one-word text melded with action-packed sequential art.

A Big Guy Took My Ball by Mo Willems

Gerald comes to Piggie’s aid when a big guy takes away the ball she found. The classic schoolyard encounter has a wry twist and satisfying resolution in Willems’ hands. Color coded speech bubbles and expressive cartoon illustrations will delight the reader.

Penny and Her Marble by Kevin Henkes

Penny has second thoughts after picking up a beautiful, blue marble from her neighbor’s yard. Was it wrong to take this treasure? Penny’s moral dilemma is explored with emotional truth in four brief chapters. Henkes’ soft-hued watercolors perfectly capture Penny’s joy and agony.

Who-Dun-Its for Kids

Looking for a good mystery?  Check out one of the following . . .

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd
When Ted and Kat's cousin Salim disappears from the London Eye ferris wheel, the two siblings must work together--Ted with his brain that is "wired differently" and impatient Kat--to try to solve the mystery of what happened to Salim.

I Put a Spell on You by Adam Selzer
When Gordon Liddy Community School's resident tattletale-detective, Chrissie Woodward, realizes that the adults are out to fix the big spelling bee, she transfers her loyalty to her fellow students and starts collecting evidence. Told through in-class letters, administrative memos, file notes from Chrissie's investigation, and testimony from spelling bee contestants.

The Potato Chip Puzzles by Eric Berlin
Winston and his friends enter an all-day puzzle contest to win fifty-thousand dollars for their school, but they must also figure out who is trying to keep them from winning. Puzzles for the reader to solve are included throughout the text.

Sensible Hare and the Case of Carrots by Daren King
When Mazy Rabbit arrives at the Hare Detective Agency, she asks Sensible Hare to find her missing suitcase of carrots.

In Search of King Arthur

The legend of King Arthur is one of the most well-known tales.  Stories of Camelot, King Arthur, Merlin, and the Knights of the Round Table are always popular.  Here are some great takes on the King Arthur tale for teens. . . .

Avalon High by Meg Cabot
Having moved to Annapolis, Maryland, with her medievalist parents, high school junior Ellie enrolls at Avalon High School where several students may or may not be reincarnations of King Arthur and his court.

I Am Mordred: A Tale from Camelot by  Nancy Springer
When Mordred learns the identity of his father, he struggles with feelings of hatred, but also fights the fate which determines that he kill the good and gracious king.

The Squire's Tale by Gerald Morris
In medieval England, fourteen-year-old Terence finds his tranquil existence suddenly changed when he becomes the squire of the young Gawain of Orkney and accompanies him on a long quest, proving Gawain's worth as a knight and revealing an important secret about his own true identity.

Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Sandell
In fifth-century Britain, Elaine, who lives with her family in the military encampments of Arthur's army, describes her perceptions of war and the people around her as she becomes involved in the struggle against the Saxons.

Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve
When her village is attacked and burned, Gwyna seeks protection from the bard Myrddin, who uses Gwyna in his plan to transform young Arthur into the heroic King Arthur.

1, 2, 3, Read to Me: Counting Books for Young Children

One of the more popular requests we get at the Children's Desk is for counting books.  Here are some of my favorites . . .

Let's Count Goats by Mem Fox
Encourages counting skills with humorous illustrations of goats.

Mouse Count by Ellen Stoll Walsh
Ten mice outsmart a hungry snake.

Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin
Pete the cat loves the buttons on his shirt so much that he makes up a song about them, and even as the buttons pop off, one by one, he still finds a reason to sing.

The Right Number of Elephants by Jeff Sheppard
A counting book in which a little girl relies on the help of some eager elephants.

Soup for One by Ethan Long
A little fly who anticipates enjoying a big bowl of hot soup is unexpectedly joined by a sequence of interlopers who help themselves to his lunch one by one until their number reaches ten.

Ten Terrible Dinosaurs by Paul Stickland
One by one, ten dinosaurs at play become fewer and fewer as various things happen to them.

Books So Good . . . They Won an Award

The Newbery Medal is awarded each year to the most distinguished children's book from the past year.  The year's winner will be announced in a couple weeks.  While we are waiting for the announcement, here are a few of my favorite Newbery Medal winners from past years.

The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron
Fearing that her legal guardian plans to abandon her to return to France, ten-year-old aspiring scientist Lucky Trimble determines to run away while also continuing to seek the Higher Power that will bring stability to her life.

Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
When he finds a lost beagle in the hills behind his West Virginia home, Marty tries to hide it from his family and the dog's real owner, a mean-spirited man known to shoot deer out of season and to mistreat his dogs.

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
After his parents die, Jeffrey Lionel Magee's life becomes legendary, as he accomplishes athletic and other feats which awe his contemporaries.

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
Twelve-year-old Abilene Tucker is the daughter of a drifter who, in the summer of 1936, sends her to stay with an old friend in Manifest, Kansas, where he grew up, and where she hopes to find out some things about his past.

Guys Read

Check out these great teen books for boys . . .

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
After being interrogated for days by the Department of Homeland Security in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco, California, seventeen-year-old Marcus, released into what is now a police state, decides to use his expertise in computer hacking to set things right.

Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel
In 1973, when a renowned Canadian behavioral psychologist pursues his latest research project--an experiment to determine whether chimpanzees can acquire advanced language skills--he brings home a baby chimp named Zan and asks his thirteen-year-old son to treat Zan like a little brother.

The Rag and Bone Shop by Robert Cormier
Trent, an ace interrogator from Vermont, works to procure a confession from an introverted twelve-year-old accused of murdering his seven-year-old friend in Monument, Massachusetts.

King of the Screwups by K.L. Going
After getting in trouble yet again, popular high school senior Liam, who never seems to live up to his wealthy father's expectations, is sent to live in a trailer park with his gay "glam-rocker" uncle.

Shhhh! It's Time for Bed

Are you looking for a new book to read to your child before bedtime?  Check out one of these great books . . .

Polar Bear Night by Lauren Thompson
After wandering out at night to watch a magical star shower, a polar bear cub returns home to snuggle with her mother in their warm den.

Little Hoot by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Little Hoot wants to go to bed early, like all of his friends do, and he is hopping mad when Mama and Papa Owl insist that he stay up late and play.

How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen
Mother and child ponder the different ways a dinosaur can say goodnight, from slamming his tail and pouting to giving a big hug and kiss.

Again by Emily Gravett
At bedtime, Cedric the dragon wants his mother to read his favorite book again, and again, and again.

Snow! Snow! And More Snow! - Part 3

Well, I've shared some of my favorite picture books and teen books about snow.  Now it's time for some chapter books . . .

The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura and her family must survive a winter in which it is one blizzard after another.  The trains are stuck in the snow and they can't get any more supplies.  The coal is all gone as is the wood.  And there is precious little food left. 

The Leanin' Dog by K.A. Nuzum
Dessa and her father have been grieving her mother's death.  Dessa isn't allowed to go into town or even really leave the yard of their house.  Then an injured dog arrives and helps Dessa and her father to move on.


The Snow Spider by Jenny Nimmo
Gwyn was given five gifts by his grandmother on his ninth birthday in the hopes that they will show him how to become a magician.  When he releases the gifts to the winds he is given a spider in return -- a special spider that shows him a snowy, icy land where his sister seems to have gone.

Snow! Snow! And More Snow! - Part 2

We still have snow on the ground and they are calling for yet more snow tonight.  So I thought, I would continue to share some of my favorite snow stories -- this time for teens. . .

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George
I love this retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon.  It takes place in the frozen north and features a girl simply named Lass who agrees to live with a bear for a year.  Eventually falling in love with the bear, Lass must travel "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" to save him from the Troll Queen.

Trapped by Michael Northrop
This book tells the story of what happens when Scotty and his friends are trapped in the school during a blizzard with several other students.  They foolishly decided to stay and work on a shop class project rather than go home when school was let out early.  Now they are trapped in the school with no heat, no food, and no water.  And then the roof starts to creak from the huge amount of snow on it and they must decide whether to stay or attempt to get help.

Snow! Snow! And More Snow!

This past weekend we were hit with one of the biggest snow events we've had in the St. Louis area in quite a few years.  In fact, it was so snowy that we had to cancel our "Snow Story Times" at the library.  While stuck in the house watching the snow fall, it made me think of all my favorite books that feature snow.  Here are a few of my favorite picture books for children featuring snow . . . .

It's Snowing! by Olivier Dunrea
This quiet, gentle book about a mother that shares a snowy evening with her baby is probably my absolute favorite story about the snow.  It reminds me of my childhood when my family would gather at my grandma's house and we would go sledding late into the night.  For some reason, sledding after dark was more fun than sledding during the day.

Snow by Uri Shulevitz
This is probably my second favorite snow book.  It tells the story of a boy that insists that it is going to snow even though his family, the television, and the radio say it will not.  The sparsely told story is accompanied by wonderful illustrations that convey the magic that a snowstorm holds for a child.

Winter Woes by  Marty Kelly
This book is absolutely hilarious.  The boy narrator is excited to go out to play in the snow until he thinks of all the horrible things that can go wrong.  This book is guaranteed to illicit giggles from any child reading it.

My Favorite Books, Part 3

Here are some of my favorite chapter books for kids from 2013 . . .

Fyre by Angie Sage
Book 7 of the Septimus Heap series
Septimus must battle the remnants of the Dark Domaine, which will remain until the power of the evil Two-Faced Ring is destroyed forever. To accomplish that, the ancient Alchemie Fyre must be relit -- a task that sends Septimus to the very origins of Magyk and Physik, testing both his skills, and his loyalties to ExtraOrdinary Wizard, Marcia Overstrand, and Alchemist Marcellus Pye.

Prince Puggly of Spud by Robert Paul Weston
When Prince Puggly attends a ball in the Kingdom of Spiff, he is laughed at by all the Spiffs, except for the Princess of Spiff who helps him teach her fellow Spiffian citizens a lesson.

The 13-Story Treehouse by Andy Griffiths
Follows the efforts of Andy and Terry to meet a latest book deadline despite numerous distractions in their sophisticated tree house home, including flying cats, giant bananas, and sea monsters pretending to be mermaids.

The Boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech
Discovering a speech-disabled boy asleep on their porch, young couple John and Marta forge a loving bond with the child and come to think of him as their own while wondering about his mysterious past and enjoying the world through his eyes.

My Favorite Books, Part 2

Here are some of my favorite books for teens from 2013 . . .

Nameless: A Tale of Beauty and Madness by Lili St. Crow
Raised in luxury as the pampered, adopted heiress of Enrico Vultusino, godfather of the Seven -- the powerful Families that rule magic-ridden New Haven -- Camille knows that she is not really Family. Unlike them, she is a mortal with a past that lies buried in trauma. Then she meets the mysterious Tor and begins to uncover the secrets of her birth.

This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith
Perfect strangers Graham Larkin and Ellie O'Neill meet online when Graham accidentally sends Ellie an e-mail about his pet pig, Wilbur. The two 17-year-olds strike up an e-mail relationship from opposite sides of the country and don't even know each other's first names. What's more, Ellie doesn't know Graham is a famous actor, and Graham doesn't know about the big secret in Ellie's family tree. When the relationship goes from online to in-person, they find out whether their relationship can be the real thing.

Being Henry David by Cal Armistead
Seventeen-year-old 'Hank,' who can't remember his identity, finds himself in Penn Station with a copy of Thoreau's Walden as his only possession and must figure out where he's from and why he ran away.

Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff
Sixteen-year-old Boy Nobody, an assassin controlled by a shadowy government organization, The Program, considers sabotaging his latest mission because his target reminds him of the normal life he craves.