December 29, 2010

Potential Winners

At this time of year, children's literature lovers play a guessing game as to which books will win the coveted Caldecott and Newbery Medals. The winners will be announced at the American Library Association's Midwinter conference in early January; until then, lots of guessing will take place.

Here's my Scripps Howard News Service column on the potential winners for these major children's literature awards:

It's time for the annual guessing game played by children's literature lovers: Which books will win the coveted Caldecott and Newbery Medals?
Librarians, teachers, parents and other children's book fans try to divine which children's book will be chosen in January as the best-illustrated (Caldecott) or the best-written (Newbery). It's a big deal: Winning the Caldecott or Newbery Medal brings instant fame and fortune.
Suspense will continue to build until the actual award winners are announced Jan. 10 at the American Library Association's Midwinter Conference. But lots of people are making guesses, often in mock Caldecott and Newbery contests organized by libraries across the country, including the Allen County (Ind.) Public Library, the Brooklyn Public Library and the Dayton (Ohio) Metro Library System.
In the popular blog called Heavy Medal, the moderators -- California librarians/children's book experts Nina Lindsay and Jonathan Hunt -- annually lead a five-month online discussion of potential Newbery Medal winners. (Find their blog at: http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/heavymedal/2010/09/13/welcome-back/)
Some years, there are obvious winners. This year, however, there are really no sure bets for either medal.
<">The more I read, and the more I listen to others, I think there could be a lot of surprises this year, said children's book expert Anita Silvey, whose latest project is the online Children's Book-A-Day Almanac (http://childrensbookalmanac.com/).
<">We have for each category, many fine books, but everyone in their best of the year lists seems to disagree about the most outstanding books.
Here -- drawn from various sources -- are some of the best bets for the 2011 Caldecott and Newbery Medal:
CALDECOTT:
Amy Kellman, a Pittsburgh-based children's literature consultant, believes that it is a good year for the Caldecott, adding that she particularly likes 13 Words, written by Lemony Snicket and illustrated by Maira Kalman, and City Dog, Country Frog, written by Mo Willems and illustrated by Jon Muth, as 2011 Caldecott Medal possibilities.
In fact, City Dog, Country Frog appears to be one of the top contenders for the 2011 Caldecott. Art & Max, written and illustrated by David Wiesner, is another likely possibility; if Art & Max is chosen, Wiesner would win an unprecedented fourth Caldecott.
Other potential Caldecott winners include:
- Ballet For Martha: Making Appalachian Spring, written by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan and illustrated by Brian Floca.
- A Pocketful of Posies, written and illustrated by Sally Mavor.
- Mama Miti, written by Donna Jo Napoli and illustrated by Kadir Nelson.
- Snook Alone, written by Marilyn Nelson and illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering.
- Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors, written by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Beckie Prange.
- A Sick Day for Amos McGee, written by Philip Stead and illustrated by Erin Stead.
- Chalk, written and illustrated by Bill Thomson.
- Here Comes the Garbage Barge, written by Jonah Winter, with illustrations by Red Nose Studio.
NEWBERY:
Perhaps the most often-mentioned 2011 Newbery possibility is One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia.
Other Newbery contenders include a mix of fiction and, in an unusual twist, non-fiction. Although there have been nonfiction Newbery winners, they still are rare.
Even more unusual is the fact that a picture book, City Dog, Country Frog has been touted as a possible Newbery winner (as well as a potential Caldecott winner).
<">It is possible for a picture book to be honored for its text -- it just hasn't happened very frequently, Silvey said.
Interestingly, a book of poetry, Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night, written by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Rick Allen, won the mock Newbery contest of the Heavy Medal blog this year.
Another poetry book, Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse, written by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Josee Masse, also has attracted attention as a potential Newbery winner.
While poetry books have captured the Newbery in the past - examples include Good Masters, Sweet Ladies in 2008 and Joyful Noise in 1989 - poetry winners remain atypical, however.
Here's a rundown of other potential 2011 Newbery winners:
- The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger.
- Keeper by Kathi Appelt.
- They Called Themselves the K.K.K., by Susan Bartoletti.
- Sir Charlie by Sid Fleischman.
- A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz.
- The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter.
- Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes.
- The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan, with illustrations by Peter Sis.
- Countdown by Deborah Wiles

Posted by at December 29, 2010 08:34 PM
Recent Entries
Dry Cleaners, Nail Salons, 99¢ Stores
St. Patrick's Day Crafts
LEGO Club on Sunday, March 6
Bedtime Stories on Tuesday, Mar. 1
Meet Bob Shea
LEGO Club on Sunday, Feb. 21
Circle Time Canceled
Crafts for Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year on Feb. 7
Bedtime Stories on Tuesday, Feb. 2
Kwame Alexander
Other Web Logs
News
Books
Children's Room
Teen Book Buzz
Archives
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
December 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
May 2005
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
Takoma Park city seal THE LIBRARY IS A DEPARTMENT OF THE CITY OF TAKOMA PARK
Call the desk at 301-891-7259
Contact the director by e-mail