2017 Odyssey Award

2017 Odyssey Award

For best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults.

Winner:

Anna and the Swallow Man

by Gavriel Savit

narrated by Allan Corduner

Krakow, 1939.  A million marching soldiers and a thousand barking dogs.  This is no place to grow up.  Anna Lania is just seven years old when the Germans take her father, a linguistics professor, during their purge of intellectuals in Poland.  She's alone.

And then Anna meets the Swallow Man.  He is a mystery, strange and tall, a skilled deceiver with more than a little magic up his sleeve.  And when the soldiers in the streets look at him, they see what he wants them to see.

The Swallow Man is not Anna's father - she knows that very well - but she also knows that, like her father, he's in danger of being taken, and like her father, he has a gift for languages: Polish, Russian, German, Yiddish, even Bird.  When he summons a bright beautiful swallow down to his hand to stop her from crying, Anna is entranced.  She follows him into the wilderness.

2017 Odyssey Award Honor Recording:

Ghost

by Jason Reynolds

narrated by Guy Lockard

Dream On, Amber

by Emma Shevah

narrated by Laura Kirman

Nimona

by Noelle Stevenson

narrated by Rebecca Soler, Jonathan Davis, Marc Thompson, January LaVoy, Natalie Gold, Peter Bradbury and David Pittu

What did you think about "Anna and the Swallow Man"?  Did you enjoy it?  What did you like about it?  Do you think one of the other books should have won?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!

2017 Mildred L. Batchelder Award

2017 Mildred L. Batchelder Award
For an outstanding children's book translated from a foreign language and subsequently published in the United States.

Winner:

Cry Heart But Never Break

by Beatrice Alemagna

originally published in Danish, written by Glenn Ringtved, illustrated by Charolotte Pardi, and translated by Robert Moulthrop

Aware their grandmother is gravely ill, four siblings make a pact to keep death from taking her away.  But Death does arrive all the same, as it must.  He comes gently, naturally.  And he comes with enough time to share a story with the children that helps them to realize the value of loss to life and the importance of being able to say goodbye.

2017 Mildred L. Batchelder Award Honor Books:

Over the Ocean

by Taro Gomi, translated by Taylor Norman

originally published in Japanese

As Time Went By

by Jose Sanabria, translated by Audrey Hall

originally published in German

The Ballad of a Broken Nose

by Arne Svingen, translated by Kari Dickson

originally published in Norwegian

What did you think about "Cry Heart But Never Break"?  Did you enjoy it?  What did you like about it?  Do you think one of the other books should have won?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!

2017 Schneider Family Book Award (Ages 11-13)

2017 Schneider Family Book Award (Ages 11-13)

For books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience.

Winners:

As Brave As You

by Jason Reynolds

Genie's summer is full of surprises.  The first is that he and his big brother, Ernie, are leaving Brooklyn for the very first time to spend the summer with their grandparents all the way in Virginia-in the COUNTRY!  The second surprise comes when Genie figures out that their grandfather is blind.  Thunderstruck and - being a curious kid - Genie peppers Grandpop with questions about how he covers it so well (besides wearing way cool Ray-Bans).

How does he match his clothes?  Know where to walk?  Cook with a gas stove?  Pour a glass of sweet tea without spilling it?  Genie thinks Grandpop must be the bravest guy he's ever known, but he starts to notice that his grandfather never leaves the house - as in NEVER.  And when he finds the secret room that Grandpop is always disappearing into-a room so full of songbirds and plants that it's almost as if it's been pulled inside-out - he beings to wonder if his grandfather is really so brave after all.

See Also: 2017 Schneider Family Book Award (Ages 0-10)

What did you think about "As Brave As You"?  Did you enjoy them?  What did you like about them?  Do you think one of the other books should have won?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!

2017 Schneider Family Book Award (Ages 0-10)

2017 Schneider Family Book Award (Ages 0-10)

For books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience.

Winner:

Six Dots: The Story of Young Louis Braille

written by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Boris Kulikov

Louis Braille was just five years old when he lost his sight.  He was a clever boy, determined to live like everyone else, and what he wanted more than anything was to be able to read.

Even at the school for the blind in Paris, there were no books for him.  So he invented his own alphabet - a whole new system for writing that could be read by touch.  A system so ingenious that it is still used by the blind community today.

See Also: 2017 Schneider Family Book Award (Ages 11-13)

What did you think about "Six Dots?  Did you enjoy it?  What did you like about it?  Do you think one of the other books should have won?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!

2017 Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award

2017 Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award

Recognizing an African American Illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults

Winner:

Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
illustrated and written by Javaka Steptoe

Somewhere in Brooklyn, a little boy dreams of being a famous artist, not knowing that one day he would make himself a king.

Jean-Michael Basquiat and his unique, collage-style paintings rocketed to fame in the 1980s as a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the art world had ever seen.  But before that, he was a little boy who saw art everywhere: in poetry books and museums, in games an din the words that we speak, and in the pulsing energy of New York City.  Now, award-winning illustrator Javaka Steptoe's vivid text and bold artwork echoing Basquiat's own introduce young readers to the powerful message that art doesn't always have to be neat or clean -- and definitely not inside the lines -- to be beautiful.

2017 Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Award Honor Books

Freedom in Congo Square

illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, written by Carole Boston Weatherford

Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life

illustrated and written by Ashley Bryan


In Plain Sight

illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, written by Richard Jackson




What did you think about "Radiant Child"?  Did you enjoy it?  What did you like about it?  Do you think one of the other books should have won?
Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!

2017 Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award

2017 Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award

Recognizing an African American Author of outstanding books for children and young adults

Winner:

March: Book Three
by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin

Welcome to the stunning conclusion of the award-winning and best-selling MARCH trilogy.  Congressman John Lewis, an American icon and on of the key figures of the civil rights movement, joins co-writer Andrew Aydin and artist Nate Powell to bring the lessons of history to vivid life for a new generation, urgently relevant for today's world.

By the fall of 1963, the Civil Rights Movement has penetrated deep into the American consciousness, and as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, John Lewis is guiding the tip of the spear.  Through relentless direct action, SNCC continues to force the nation to confront its own blatant injustice, but for every step forward, the danger grows more intense: Jim Crow strikes back through legal tricks, intimidation, violence, and death.  The only hope for lasting change is to give voice to the millions of Americans silenced by voter suppression: "One Man, One Vote."



2017 Coretta Scott King (Author) Award Honor Books:

As Brave As You
by Jason Reynolds


Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life
by Ashley Bryan






What did you think about "March: Book Three"?  Did you enjoy it?  What did you like about it?  Do you think one of the other books should have won?
Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!

2017 Randolph Caldecott Medal

2017 Randolph Caldecott Medal

For the most distinguished American picture book for children

Winner:

Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
illustrated and written by Javaka Steptoe

Somewhere in Brooklyn, a little boy dreams of being a famous artist, not knowing that one day he would make himself a king.

Jean-Michael Basquiat and his unique, collage-style paintings rocketed to fame in the 1980s as a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the art world had ever seen.  But before that, he was a little boy who saw art everywhere: in poetry books and museums, in games an din the words that we speak, and in the pulsing energy of New York City.  Now, award-winning illustrator Javaka Steptoe's vivid text and bold artwork echoing Basquiat's own introduce young readers to the powerful message that art doesn't always have to be neat or clean -- and definitely not inside the lines -- to be beautiful.

2017 Caldecott Honor Books:

Leave Me Alone!

illustrated and written by Vera Brosgol

Freedom in Congo Square

illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, written by Carole Boston Weatherford

Du Iz Tak?

illustrated and written by Carson Ellis

They All Saw A Cat
illustrated and written by Brendan Wenzel

What did you think about "Radiant Child"?  Did you enjoy it?  What did you like about it?  Do you think one of the other books should have won?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!

2017 John Newbery Medal

Once again we will be featuring award winning books from the Youth Media Awards.  Check back daily for new posts!


2017 John Newbery Medal 

For the most outstanding contribution to children's literature

Winner:

The Girl Who Drank the Moon

by Kelly Barnhill

Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest.  They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town.  But the witch in the forest, Xan, is kind.  She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon.  Xan rescues the children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey.

One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic.  Xan decides she must raise this girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own.  As Luna's thirteenth birthday approaches, her magic begins to emerge -- with dangerous consequences.  Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch.  Deadly birds with uncertain intentions flock nearby.  A volcano, quiet for centuries, rumbles just beneath the earth's surface.  And the woman with the Tiger's heart is on the prowl...

2017 Newbery Honor Books:

Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life

by Ashley Bryan

The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog

by Adam Gidwitz

Wolf Hollow

by Lauren Wolk

What did you think about "The Girl Who Drank the Moon"?  Did you enjoy it?  What did you like about it?  Do you think one of the other books should have won?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!

Love Your Library! Bookmark Contest Winners

CONGRATULATIONS

to the winners of our

Love Your Library! Bookmark Contest

Grade K-2 Winners:

                    

                        Hannah W.                                       Alexa T.

Grade 3-5 Winners:

Sara R.

Meghan M.

Click on any of the bookmarks to be taken to a printable version!

Program Photos!

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We have photos from programs through January of this year!

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