And the winner is...

(If you are having trouble seeing the pictures, click to go directly to The Pithy Python)

Just about now, you were probably asking yourself, What books won the big awards this year? For types like me, the anticipation and announcement of the Newbery, Caldecott and Coretta Scott King Awards is more thrilling than the Superbowl, the Oscars and the Westminster Dog Show rolled into one. I read the blogs, the magazines and the hot-shot prognosticators. It is shockingly possible that money changes hands. Certainly I buy books in hopes of having the winner on hand. The envelopes, please.

For the most distinguished contribution to children's literature, the Newbery Award:

Beloved author Jack Gantos finally got the gold. I have been raving about his Joey Pigza series forever. Good for him. Did I buy it in advance? No. Was it totally under the radar on the mock vote blogs? Yes. Have I ordered it? Duh. And it sounds both hilarious and touching:
In the historic town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania, 12-year-old Jack Gantos spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help an elderly neighbor with a most unusual chore involving the newly dead, molten wax, twisted promises, Girl Scout cookies, underage driving, lessons from history, typewriting, and countless bloody noses.




Newbery Honor Award. Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai. Bought it. Read it. Loved it. Through a series of poems, a young girl chronicles the life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam and resettle in Alabama.Her experiences with American food, religions, and school are gripping and poignant, especially when she says it might have been easier to stay in Saigon with the bombs dropping than to endure the taunts of young Alabamans.





Newbery Honor Award. Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin. Whoa! Totally missed it, despite the fact that my ears perk up when I hear of books about Russia; I fell in love with all things Russian in elementary school after reading a biography of Catherine the Great. I can't wait to read it. In the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union, ten-year-old Sasha idolizes his father, a devoted Communist, but when police take his father away and leave Sasha homeless, he is forced to examine his own perceptions, values, and beliefs.




And the Caldecott, for the most distinguished illustrations:

A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka. His second gold medal. A wordless story about joy and loss. Daisy the dog is heartbroken when her favorite toy ball is destroyed while she is playing with another dog, but she realizes she has gained something, too. On order. Somehow Raschka's work doesn't strike a chord with me but I look forward to seeing his latest.





Caldecott Honor Award. Blackout by John Rocco. Stunning-- and it's already flying out the door. A summer’s power outage draws an urban family up to their building’s roof and then down to the street for an impromptu block party. Rocco illuminates details and characters with a playful use of light and shadow in his cartoon-style illustrations. He delivers a terrific camaraderie-filled adventure that continues even when the electricity returns.





Caldecott Honor Award. Grandpa Green by Lane Smith. Hooray! Bought this one in time for Grandparent's Day and loads of our kids already adore it. Elaborate topiary sculptures give visual form to memories in a wildly fanciful garden tended by a child and his beloved great-grandfather. Using an inspired palate, Lane Smith invites readers to tour a green lifetime of meaningful moments.




Caldecott Honor Award. Me, Jane by Patrick McDonnell. Hooray! Bought it & taught it. Holding her stuffed toy chimpanzee, young Jane Goodall observes nature, reads Tarzan books, and dreams of living in Africa and helping animals. I tell kids how they can become the next Jane Gooddall if they follow these instructions:
1. Keep your curiosity about nature alive.
2. Get outside for chunks of time every day.
3. Don't let electronics and media ruin your sense of wonder in the natural world.
4. Find a passion and follow it.


And the Coretta Scott King Awards...

The Author Award PLUS the Illustrator Honor Award: Kadir Nelson, for Heart & Soul: The Story of America and African-Americans. This modest and lovely artist, who once said at a conference that he was unsure of his writing! The audacity of getting this complex history into a single volume with his powerful and exquisite illustrations is mind-boggling. I'm reading it aloud to upper elementary children right now and they find it gripping. So do I.






The Illustrator Award: Shane Evans, for Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom. I've ordered it and am eager to see this new take on a subject that continues to mesmerize our students.
A family silently crawls along the ground. They run barefoot through unlit woods, sleep beneath bushes, take shelter in a kind stranger's home. Where are they heading? They are heading for Freedom by way of the Underground Railroad.




And two author honor awards given to two highly acclaimed writers and previous honorees:

Eloise Greenfield, The Great Migration. It's on the way. Looks superb.








Patricia McKissack, Never Forgotten. Bought it and am taking it home NOW. McKissack is a national treasure who makes my job easier with her sensitive portrayals of the African-American experience in its myriad unfoldings.





See the entire list of 2012 Notable Books!
And, by the way, congratulations to Roaring Brook Press for reaping so many honors yet again. Simon Boughton, husband of our beloved friend, library muralist and illustrator extraordinaire Elaine Clayton, truly knows how to spot a great children's book.