Looking into our crystal ball on January 3....
The Caldecott Medal goes to the best picture book; this year
the competition for the award is wide open. Lisa is rooting for Float by Daniel Miyares, a wordless adventure starring a boy, a
boat, and a rainy day. My favorite is pretty wet, too: Water is Water, a beautiful
book about the water cycle by Miranda Paul with illustrations by Jason Chin.
Lisa also liked The Marvels, another
long, extensively illustrated novel by Brian Selznick, who won a Caldecott for
a similar book a few years ago. A book we both liked, the poignant Last Stop on Market Street, by Matt Le
Pena with pictures by Christian Robinson, has been touted as the title to beat.
We’ll see!
Ah, the Newbery, for the most distinguished contribution to
children’s literature. This year has been a bit unusual; there is one title
that has enchanted every librarian who’s read it: The War That Saved My Life. A
novel by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley set in World War II Britain, it follows the
travails and triumphs of young Ada and Jamie. I loved it, Lisa loved it, you’ll
love it, it’s a classic in the making – but will the Newbery committee agree?
OK, there were in fact other
children’s novels published in 2015 that might snag an award. Standouts were: Echo by Pamela Munoz Ryan, a set of
three stories linked by a musical theme; Listen,
Slowly by Thanhha Lai, about an American girl travelling to Vietnam with
her grandmother to investigate the mysterious fate of her grandfather; Goodbye, Stranger, Rebecca Stead’s depiction
of middle-school social life; and Full
Cicada Moon, a novel-in-verse about a black Japanese teenager, raised in
Berkeley, now adjusting to life in Vermont in 1969.
Lisa and I are feeling more confident about the Printz Award,
given to books exemplifying literary excellence for teens. Lots of possibilities
this year, starting with our first choice, Bone
Gap by Laura Ruby, a captivating blend of myth, romance, and thriller, seasoned
with a soupcon of horror. We also loved The
Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma, an intense read about three girls linked
by violence, and The Hired Girl by
Laura Amy Schlitz, with its appealing heroine.
Challenger Deep by Neal
Shusterman provides uncommon insight into schizophrenia, while Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by
Becky Albertalli offers laughs galore with her coming-of-age, coming-out saga.
And let’s not forget 2 great nonfiction titles: the riveting history of the
Vietnam War recounted in Steven Sheinkin’s Most
Dangerous, and the story of the horrendous siege of Leningrad presented in Symphony for the City of the Dead by M.
T. Anderson.
Let's see how we do on January 11!
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