FIVE THINGS: About Children’s Book Awards
By Detroit Free Press
Jan. 25–The Caldecott, Newbery and Coretta Scott King awards are major annual ones.
CALDECOTT
The Ralph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book was named for Randolph Caldecott, a Victorian-era British illustrator.
This year’s winner, announced Monday, is “Flotsam,” written and illustrated by David Wiesner. It’s about a boy who finds an underwater camera full of photos.
In 2001, Michigander David Small won the Caldecott for “So You Want to Be President.”
Grand Rapids native Chris Van Allsburg won two Caldecotts in the 1980s, for “Jumanji” and “The Polar Express.”
NEWBERY
The John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature was named for another Brit, an 18th-Century bookseller. This year’s winner is “The Higher Power of Lucky” by Susan Patron, about a 10-year-old girl living in a tiny California town.
Past Michigan winners include Flint native Christopher Paul Curtis’ “Bud, Not Buddy” and “The Watsons Go to Birmingham — 1963″ and “Criss Cross” by Suttons Bay resident Lynne Rae Perkins.
CORETTA SCOTT KING
This award for an African-American author and illustrator was named for the civil rights activist and wife of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This year’s winners are “Copper Sun” by Sharon Draper, about a 15-year-old slave. Kadir Nelson won best illustrator for “Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led her People to Freedom.”
Christopher Paul Curtis’ “Bud, Not Buddy” won in 2000.
OTHERS FOR KIDS
“The Deaf Musicians” by Pete Seeger and Paul DuBois Jacobs won the Schneider Family Book Award for embodying the artistic expression of a disability.
The Theodor Seuss Geisel Beginning Reader Award went to “Zelda and Ivy: The Runaways” by Laura McGee Kvasnosky.
TEEN BOOK AWARDS
Lois Lowry won the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in young adult literature.
The Michael L. Printz Award for young adult lit went to “American Born Chinese” by Gene Luen Yang.
More book awards, given by the American Library Association, and winners can be found at www.ala.org.
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Copyright (c) 2007, Detroit Free Press
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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