The Awards

Snicker. I love Ms. Yingling's take on the awards. As last year, I'm just talking about the ones in which I have interest. There's a lot of shiny stickers and, while I am sure they are all wonderful books with great merit, a shiny sticker doesn't guarantee inclusion at my library. I got a budget, ya know.

• Newbery Medal. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. I haven't read this and have only mild interest in doing so, but I did purchase it for the library, considering the amount of buzz it was creating. We bought it in August and it has circulated 6 times and is currently checked out, which is pretty good circulation.
• Newbery Honor. Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose. I read this a while ago when it won a National Book Award and found it fascinating. I ordered it because I like the combination of historical narrative and first-person quotes. It's not here yet and I'm not sure whether it will go in juvenile or young adult non-fiction.
• Newbery Honor. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly. I reviewed this earlier and purchased a copy for our library. I am not totally boycotting historical fiction and I will buy books that have a limited audience, which I would say this does. We've had it since last July and it's gone out 5 times, which I would say is due a lot to the excellent cover and I also posted it as a librarian pick on our bulletin board.
• Newbery Honor. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin. I've seen some buzz on this, but never read it and didn't really get a feel from the reviews whether or not it will "go" in our library. I've put a copy on hold from another library and will take a look.
• Newbery Honor. The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick. I'm with Ms. Yingling on this one. I hate the cover and I can't think of any kids who will be interested in this one, although I admit that Freak the Mighty does circulate a lot. Then again, I think it's on several required reading lists.
• Caldecott Medal. The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney. I thought it was ok. I'm not a hugeous Pinkney fan. We bought our copy in October and it's been out 7 times, but it sat on the new shelf for a loooong time before it went out.
• Caldecott Honor. All the World illustrated by Marla Frazee, written by Liz Garton Scanlon. I loved, loved, loved A Couple of Boys. I was wary of this one at first, but loved it when I saw it. I just ordered it a little while ago, it's not here yet.
• Caldecott Honor. Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Joyce Sidman. The reviews didn't incline me towards purchasing it. But I will borrow it from another library and take a look.
• Batchelder Award. A Faraway Island written by Annika Thor, translated by Linda Schenck. It's on my to read list, b/c I'm interested in Scandinavian history during WWII, but I don't see it having enough general appeal to add to our library
• Batchelder Honor. Big Wolf and Little Wolf written by Nadine Brun-Cosme, illustrated by Olivier Tallee, translated by Claudia Bedrick. I thought it was pretty weird. Not something I plan to buy or can see our patrons being interested in.
• Batchelder Honor. Eidi written by Bodil Bredsdorff, translated by Kathryn Mahaffy. I loved Crow-Girl and have been eagerly awaiting this one. But I cannot see it having enough general appeal to justify adding it. Sigh.
• Batchelder Honor. Moribito II: Guardian of the Darkness Written by Nahoko Uehashi, illustrated by Yuko Shimizu, translated by Cathy Hirano. Mmmm, I've seen a lot of buzz out it's popularity, but it just doesn't strike me as something that will circulate well.
• Carnegie Award. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! produced by Paul R. Gagne, Weston Woods Studios, and Mo Willems. I don't generally buy Weston Woods movies, because they're expensive and don't circulate enough to justify the expense. But I will get this one, b/c it is Mo Willems and I have seen it and it is hilarious.
• Geisel Award. Benny and Penny in the Big No-No!" written and illustrated by Geoffrey Hayes. Geisels now, Geisels I will buy. As it happens, we already own this one. At least partly because Geoffrey Hayes wrote or illustrated one of my most beloved childhood books, Patrick Eats His Dinner. Incidentally, we put our easy reader comics in the easy readers, instead of the juvenile graphic novels. Sort of. I am working on separating them. Not that there's much to separate. We've had it since May and it's only gone out 9 times, but that's b/c it was in juvenile gns and it checks out more now that I moved it.
• Geisel Honor. I Spy Fly Guy! written and illustrated by Tedd Arnold. A very popular series here, I have them all! We've had this one since October and it's gone out 3 times.
• Geisel Honor. Little Mouse Gets Ready written and illustrated by Jeff Smith. This one was put into juvenile graphic novels, but I am moving it to easy reader. We've only had this since December, but it's gone out 2 times and is currently checked out.
• Geisel Honor. Mouse and Mole: Fine Feathered Friends written and illustrated by Wong Herbert Yee. Classic animal friends model easy reader. I've ordered this, the latest, and we own the others.
• Geisel Honor. Pearl and Wagner: One Funny Day written by Kate McMullan, illustrated by R.W. Alley. We don't have all this series, but I'm working on it. This particular one is very funny. We got it in August and it's gone out 7 times.
• Sibert Medal. Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream" written by Tanya Lee Stone. I read it and it was interesting, but I don't need any more history in this area right now. Hope to add it someday, when I've filled in the other gaps in my nonfiction collection.
• Sibert Honor. The Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer's Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors written by Chris Barton, illustrated by Tony Persiani. We've had this since October and it's gone out 3 times, very good for a non-fiction, especially a picturebook biography.
• Sibert Honor. Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 written and illustrated by Brian Floca. I bought all the space books my budget would allow but didn't get this one. Shrug.
• Sibert Honor. Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice written by Phillip Hoose. Already talked about this one.
• Alex Awards. I thought Lev Grossman's Magicians was boring and pretentious and Gail Carriger's Soulless was hilarious, although the sex makes it definitely for older teens. Unless our adult svs librarian buys David Small's Stitches, it won't be in our library because I've got a long list of teen graphic novels to buy before I invest in other people's therapeutic art.
• Printz Award. Going Bovine by Libba Bray. It sounds funny. Not my cup of tea though. We've had it since October and it's gone out twice, which is about average to good for a YA book.
• Printz Honors. Don't own any. Might get Yancey's Monstrumologist. Might not.
• Coretta Scott King Award. Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal, written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson. Now this, I am thrilled to see. Finally, a history book about African Americans that doesn't include jazz, the Civil War, or Civil Rights and has an actual plot, not just a "concept picturebook". By concept book I mean stuff that doesn't have a plot. I am full up on all those subjects and genres and what we have barely circulates as it is. This I am buying. I reviewed it here.
• Coretta Scott King Honor. Mare’s War by tanita s. davis. It looks good, but historical fiction just doesn't go well here.
• other Coretta Scott King awards. See above.
• Pura Belpre. All our bilingual books go in Spanish and I have no money for Spanish this year. It's not a highly circulating area.

So, that's my collection development stance on the awards. As you may gather, I'm not one of those who get real excited about the whole thing. Congrats to the authors though, as I said they're all excellent books with great qualities.