Publications about books for children and young adults
Susan Cooper (winner of this year’s Margaret A. Edwards Award) received the Newbery Medal in 1976 for The Grey King, the fourth entry in her Authurian legend–inspired fantasy series The Dark Is Rising. Guess which of the titles below is her favorite Newbery-winning novel. a) The High King by Lloyd Alexander (1969) b) The Westing [...]
By Ashley Bryan To be honored in the name of Virginia Hamilton, a person and artist I loved, opens personal feelings and the meaning of her lifetime achievement award. Virginia remains an ongoing inspiration in my life. I have recollections of time spent with her when the warmth and light of her personality enriched those [...]
Beth Krommes received the 2009 Caldecott Medal for The House in the Night, written by Susan Marie Swanson. Her black, white, and gold scratchboard art perfectly complements the poetic bedtime tale. Guess which of the titles below is the illustrator’s favorite Caldecott winner. a) Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes (2005) b) My Friend [...]
Here’s a sneak peek at the new, beautiful July/August 2012 special awards issue of The Horn Book Magazine! If you’re going to ALA, you can pick up your free copy at The Horn Book/School Library Journal/Library Journal Booth #2234. Supplies are limited, so stop by anytime for a ticket; the Magazines will be available for [...]
“If this book doesn’t win the Caldecott Medal I’m going to kill myself.” I heard that from Zena Sutherland, quoting Ursula Nordstrom, while Zena and I were at Philadelphia’s Rosenbach Museum in 1982, viewing an exhibition of the complete original art for the book in question, Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are. That book [...]
In 2002 Linda Sue Park won the Newbery Medal for A Single Shard, the tale of a ten-year-old orphan called Tree-ear who apprentices to a master potter. Guess which title below is her favorite Newbery-winning novel. a) Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins (2006) b) Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (1978) c) I, Juan [...]
In a much talked about opinion piece published in School Library Journal in 2008, former Horn Book editor Anita Silvey asked, “Has the Newbery lost its way?” She made it clear that she thought it had, after interviewing “more than 100 people—including media specialists, children’s librarians, teachers, and booksellers—in 15 states across the country.” A [...]
This year’s winners of the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway medals—the UK’s Newbery and Caldecott equivalents—were announced yesterday. The awards are presented by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), and this year’s choices are unprecedented, with the medals going to the author and illustrator of the same work. From CILIP’s press release: Not [...]
Lois Lowry received the 1990 Newbery Medal for Number the Stars, set in 1943 Nazi-occupied Copenhagen. She won again in 1994 for her now-classic dystopian middle-grade novel The Giver. Which of the titles below is her favorite Newbery-winning book? a) Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz (2008) b) [...]
2012 BGHB honoree Erin E. Stead received the 2011 Caldecott for A Sick Day for Amos McGee (written by husband Philip C. Stead). When Amos, a kindly zookeeper, is stuck home with a cold, his charges visit to cheer him up. Guess which of the titles below is the illustrator’s favorite Caldecott winner. a) Sylvester and [...]
