ALA Winners Announced

The 2007 winners of various American Library Association’s Youth Media Awards were announced at the Seattle Trade and Convention Center on Monday. Like the Oscars, there are a lot of awards and winners. We’ll just hit the highlights. If you want to see more, the ALA Web site has published the full list.

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature:
• The Higher Power of Lucky, by Susan Patron (Simon & Schuster), is the 2007 Newbery Medal winner.

Three Newbery Honor Books were named:
• Penny from Heaven, by Jennifer L. Holm (Random House)
• Hattie Big Sky, by Kirby Larson (Delacorte Press)
• Rules, by Cynthia Lord (Scholastic)

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children:
• Flotsam, illustrated by David Wiesner (Clarion)
Two Caldecott Honor Books were named:
Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet, written and illustrated by David McLimans (Walker)
• Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Carole Boston Weatherford (Hyperion/Jump at the Sun)

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults:
• American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (First Second/Roaring Brook Press/Holtzbrinck) is the 2007 Printz Award winner
Four Printz Honor Books were named:
• The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation; v. 1: The Pox Party, by M. T. Anderson (Candlewick)
• An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green (Dutton/Penguin)
• Surrender, by Sonya Hartnet (Candlewick Press)
• The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak (Alfred A. Knopf/Random House Children’s Books)

Coretta Scott King Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults:
• Copper Sun, by Sharon Draper (Simon & Schuster/Atheneum Books for Young Readers) is the King Author Book winner.
One King Author Honor Book was selected:
• The Road to Paris, written by Nikki Grimes (G.P. Putnum’s Sons/Penguin Young Readers Group)

King Illustrator Book winner:
• Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Carole Boston Weatherford (Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children).
Two King Illustrator Honor Books were selected:
• Jazz, illustrated by Christopher Myers, written by Walter Dean Myers (Holiday House)
• Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes, illustrated by Benny Andrews, edited by David Roessel and Arnold Rampersad (Sterling Publishing)

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award:
• Standing Against the Wind, written by Traci L. Jones (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody the artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences:
• The Deaf Musicians, written by Pete Seeger and poet Paul DuBois Jacobs, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (G. P. Putnam’s Sons) wins the award for children ages 0 to 10.

• Rules, written by Cynthia Lord (Scholastic Press) is the winner in the middle-school category (age 11-13). “

• Small Steps, written by Louis Sachar (Delacorte Press) is the winner in the teen category (age 13-18).

Theodor Seuss Geisel Beginning Reader Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book:
• Zelda and Ivy: The Runaways, written and illustrated by Laura McGee Kvasnosky (Candlewick Press).
Three Geisel Honor Books were named:
• Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride, written by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen (Candlewick Press)
• Move Over, Rover! written by Karen Beaumont, illustrated by Jane Dyer (Harcourt)
• Not a Box, written and illustrated by Antoinette Portis (HarperCollins)