Julie Just, in the New York Times, has compiled lists of books that have won either one of the two medal winners or one of the many honour books. Since in England, we probably won't ever see these books on our shelves, it is interesting to have a sense of what is winning in the States and why. And if they move us, buy them when we are visiting or on line at Amazon.com or other international book sellers. We have our own prizes in England but I heard recently that the Smartie Prize for childrens literature has gone under because people don't want candy advertisements on books. That makes a lot of sense to me!
For more substantial reviews you can go to the New York Times' website at www.nytimes.com.
2006 RANDOLPH CALDECOTT MEDAL FOR ILLUSTRATION
Chris Raschka, for "The Hello, Goodbye Window"
The Hello, Goodbye Window
By Norton Juster, illustrated by Chris Raschka.
Michael di Capua/Hyperion, $15.95.
"In this sunny portrait of familial love, a little girl tells us about
her everyday experiences visiting her grandparents' house."
FOUR CALDECOTT HONOR BOOKS
Rosa
By Nikki Giovanni, illustrated by Bryan Collier.
Henry Holt, $16.95.
"With Giovanni's spare, elegant prose and Collier's iconic illustrations, celebrates the quiet courage of Rosa Parks."
Zen Shorts
By Jon J. Muth.
Scholastic, $16.95
"Muth's story of inquisitive siblings befriending a wise panda is told
through luminous watercolors interwoven with three lessons."
Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride
By Marjorie Priceman.
Anne Schwartz/Atheneum, $16.95.
"An aerial adventure over 18th-century France," involving "three animals swept up in the winds of history."
Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems
By Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Beckie Prange.
Houghton Mifflin, $16.95.
"Eleven joyful songs of everyday pond life throughout the seasons," in
a "combination of visual drama, poetry and scientific facts."
2006 JOHN NEWBERY MEDAL
Lynne Rae Perkins, for "Criss Cross"
Criss Cross
By Lynne Rae Perkins.
Greenwillow Books, $16.99
"Follows the lives of four 14-year-olds in a small town," and
"deftly captures the tentativeness and incompleteness of adolescence."
NEWBERY HONOR BOOKS
Whittington
By Alan Armstrong, illustrated by S. D. Schindler.Random House, $14.95
"Weaves together three tales: Whittington the cat's arrival on
Bernie's farm, his retelling of the traditional legend of his
14th-century namesake, and one boy's struggle to learn to read."
Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow
By Susan Campbell Bartoletti.
Scholastic Nonfiction, $19.95.
Explores Hitler's rise to power "through the first-hand experiences of
young followers . . . a powerful addition to Holocaust literature for
children."
Princess Academy
By Shannon Hale
Bloomsbury USA, $16.95.
The girls of a mountain village are sent away to princess school when
the prince of the realm must choose a bride. "A fresh approach to the
traditional princess story."
Show Way
By Jacqueline Woodson. Illustrated by Hudson Talbott.
Putnam, $16.99.
A "magnificent poem" that "tells the story of slavery, emancipation and
triumph" for each generation of the author's maternal ancestors.
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