ALA Midwinter 2013: The Awards Edition

This is the same thing I did for Cybils finalists last week. I will say having people to sit with during the awards makes it lots more fun but after all the screaming and whooping and clapping and disco lights are over, what is already on my shelves and what will I add?

Caldecott
For, I think the first time ever, I own all the Caldecott honors and winner. It was a very populist list this year! I usually buy all or most of them anyways, unless there's a poetry book.

• Winner: This is not my hat by Jon Klassen (purchased in October, circ'd 10 times, currently chkd out)
• Honor: Creepy carrots by Peter Brown (purchased in August, circ'd 10 times)
• Honor: Extra yarn by Mac Barnett (purchased January 2012, circ'd 8 times)
• Honor: Green by Laura Seeger (purchased June, circ'd 11 times)
• Honor: One cool friend by Toni Buzzeo (purchased January 2012, circ'd 9 times, currently chkd out)
• Honor: Sleep like a tiger by Mary Logue (purchased November, circ'd 2 times, currently chkd out)

Newbery

This is a little more dicey. I always buy the winner, but not necessarily the honors.

• Winner: One and only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
• Personally, I think that no new books about gorillas need to be written after L. M. Boston's Stranger at Green Knowe. However, I guessed that this would win something and put it on my order list for February - and I was right.
• Honor: Splendors and Glooms by Laura Schlitz
• I can't even get Night Fairy to circ and I have fairy fans! Pass on this one.
• Honor: Bomb by Steve Sheinkin (IT DESERVES ALL THE SHINY) (purchased in September, has circ'd 6 times and is currently chkd out)
• Honor: Three times lucky by Sheila Turnage
• ehhhh, I looked at this one but it's Southern quirky and...no. Unless somebody specifically asks for it.

Printz

Sometimes I buy them, sometimes I don't.

• Winner: In Darkness by Nick Lake
• I didn't think I'd heard of this, but then we went to the Bloomsbury booth afterwards and she described it to me and I thought "ohhhh yeah, I remember reading the reviews about this." I didn't buy it because it did not sound like something the teens would pick up off the shelf. I am not the only person in my consortium who felt this way - only two high school libraries and three public libraries own it. I don't feel the need to buy it because there are copies available and probably others will buy it now that it's won an award.
• Honor: Code name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (Purchased June, circ'd 9 times, currently chkd out)
• Honor: Dodger by Terry Pratchet (Purchased by adult by accident in June, cir'd 4 times, currently chkd out) (I would not have chosen to buy this, Pratchett isn't a big circ in our teen section, and neither are Dickensian books)
• Honor: The white bicycle by Beverley Brenna
• Uh...no. The cover kills it. I don't know what the book is about and it doesn't matter. The cover is never going to let it off the shelf.

Geisel

I buy them! Sometimes they choose picture books, which kinda throws me (do I move them to easy reader?) but usually I already own them all.

• Winner: Up! Tall! and High! by Ethan Long (purchased for easy readers in July, circ'd 12 times)
• Honor: Let's go for a drive by Mo Willems (purchased for easy readers in September, circ'd 11 times, currently chkd out)
• Honor: Pete the cat and his four groovy buttons by Pete Litwin (purchased for picture books in May, circ'd 13 times, currently chkd out)
• Honor: Rabbit and Robot: the sleepover by Cece Bell (purchased for easy readers in September, circ'd 7 times, currently chkd out)

Sibert

I usually buy all of these, the nonfiction they choose tends to be things that will circulate.

• Winner: Bomb by Steve Sheinkin (IT DESERVES ALL THE SHINY) (purchased in September, has circ'd 6 times and is currently chkd out)
• Honor: Electric Ben by Robert Byrd
• And then they go and pick a picture book biography. Some of the nonfiction picture book Cybils panelists really liked this one and the cover is certainly a grabber, but pic bios just will not circ.
• Honor: Moonbird by Phillip Hoose (purchased in July, circ'd 8 times)
• Honor: Titanic: Voices from the disaster by Deborah Hopkins
• I had already decided to buy this from Cybils.

Pura Belpre

Sometimes these circ, sometimes they don't. I have the same problems with these as the Coretta Scot King awards - too many of them are genres that don't circulate well. I don't, by the way, mean that I think they should pick more popular books or whatever - I don't really care. I'm lucky enough to be in a big consortium so if I don't get one, several other people will (there are some areas with more diverse populations or their communities like to read different things) I just will choose not to buy them because they don't circulate well.

• Author award: Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe by Benjamin Saenz
• This sounded a bit too literary for my teens, but the cover isn't bad and it's won enough different awards and honors that I will go ahead and purchase it. I will wait until April and get the paperback though.
• Illustrator award: Martin de Porres by Gary D. Schmidt
• No more picture book biographies. Pass.

Coretta Scott King

These awards generally don't do well at our library. I am really reluctant to buy high concept picture books, any additional books on civil rights, or picture book biographies as all of them have poor circulation.

• Illustrator award: I, too, am America by Langston Hughes, illustrated by Bryan Collier
• I have decided not to purchase this one. Double whammy of poetry and high concept.
• Honor: HORSE by Christopher Myers
• Looked at it, but it won't circulate here. Too urban, too basketball, too old an audience to understand what's going on.
• Honor: Ellen's Broom by Daniel Minter
• Too old for my picture book audiences. It won't circ - would probably do well in a school library.
• Honor: I have a dream illustrated by Kadir Nelson
• I went back and forth on this one - I will go ahead and buy it.
• Author award: Hand in Hand ten black men who changed America by Andrea Pinkney
• This one I will purchase. I looked on Amazon and the print doesn't look too small. I don't know how well it will circulate - biographies tend to only go out if they're about one person and 100 pages long, but this one sounds interesting.
• Honor: Each kindness by Jacqueline Woodson
• I had some serious reservations about this book and it's really too long for a picture book, but I do think people would read it, so I will go ahead and purchase it.
• Honor: No Crystal Stair by Vaunda Michaeux Nelson
• I read this and enjoyed it, but it won't circulate in our teen collection. Didn't purchase.

Odyssey
After looking at last year's circulation statistics, I have decided that the teens are not getting any more audiobooks and the kids are only getting audio books on playaway and mp3 cd.

• Winner: The fault in our stars by John Green
• Purchased the book, will not buy the audio.
• Honor: Artemis Fowl the last Guardian 
• I have some of these on audio, but their popularity has died down. I don't think I even bought the book. Pass.
• Honor: Ghost Knight by Cornelia Funke
• This sounds fun and it's available on playaway. Put it on my audio wish list.
• Honor: Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama
• No more teen audiobooks for the foreseeable future.

William C. Morris

These are usually pretty popular titles, but as always I can only buy a limited number of teen books.

• Winner: Seraphina by Rachel Hartman (Donated in September, circ'd 4 times)
• Finalist: Wonder Show by Hannah Barnaby
• Steampunk doesn't circ here.
• Finalist: Love and other perishable items by Laura Buzo
• Ehhhh, my teens really prefer lighter romances, more along the lines of Sarah Dessen. Pass.
• Finalist: After the snow by S. D. Crockett (Purchased through Junior Library Guild in May, circ'd 7 times, currently chkd out)
• Finalist: Miseducation of Cameron Post by emily danforth
• Went back and forth on this one, finally comes down to - I can't buy everything and this one isn't going to be bought.

Schneider

I'll almost always buy the younger of these, teen titles kinda depends.

• Children's: Back to front and upside down by Claire Alexander
• I debated buying this but ultimately wasn't impressed enough with the art. I will go ahead and get it, but probably not until March.
• Middle School: Dog called homeless by Sara Lean (purchased in January, still being cataloged)
• Teen: Somebody please tell me who I am by Harry Mazer
• I looked at this, but didn't buy it. I'll put it on the voting window and see if the teens are interested.

Stonewall

We have quite a few GLBTQ books, especially for a small community. Personally, I feel that to have a more diverse and balanced collection we need more inspirational titles and books with a religious outlook (hence my stopping at Zondervan, where they gave me a nice stack of teen titles). I will buy some, especially if they are of the "great teen fiction where a character happens to be gay" variety.

• Winner: Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe by Benjamin Saenz
• This sounded a bit too literary for my teens, but the cover isn't bad and it's won enough different awards and honors that I will go ahead and purchase it. I will wait until April and get the paperback though.(yes I copied that from above)
• Honor: Drama by Raina Telgemeier (purchased 2 copies in August, 11 circs, 1 copy currently chkd out)
• Honor: Gone, Gone, Gone by Hannah Moskowitz
• no, just don't have the budget to buy everything.
• Honor: October Mourning by Leslea Newman
• I'll put this on our voting board to see if any teens are interested.
• Honor: Sparks by Adams
• Flux stuff is interesting, but the cover on this I don't think will go well. No.

Other Random Awards and Comments

• Yalsa Nonfiction winner: Yay! Bomb deserves ALL THE SHINY
• Mildred Batchelder winner: My family for the war by Anne Voorhoeve
• This sounds interesting, but the cover will kill it dead on the shelf. Did not purchase.
• Alex Awards: I was pleased to see My Friend Dahmer. We debated adding that to the adult collection and now that it has a shiny sticker it will be easier to defend.
• Carnegie: Anna, Emma and the Condors
• I liked the clip, which reminded me of The Fox and the Child, so I went to buy it on Amazon and it's $25 from a third-party seller. Checked Midwest Tape and it's $50! Guess we won't be getting this one...