Collection Development: ALA Awards 2021

This is a round-up of ALA award-winning titles, read, reviewed, and purchased as at the time of this writing. I don't consider the ALA awards (or any awards) as automatic buys, but I will look at them and I usually buy the Newbery and Caldecott at least.

Newbery

• When you trap a tiger by Tae Keller (Asian/Pacific)
• I considered this one, but passed over it - I'll buy it now, although I'm still not sure I'll get a lot of circ from it.
• All thirteen by Christina Soorntorvat (also Sibert) (also YALSA nf)
• Nice to see a nonfiction title win! I've heard a lot of buzz for this and was considering it - I'll go ahead and get it now.
• Box by Carole Weatherford
• Several copies in the system - I've got other books on Henry Box Brown and I'm more interested in promoting the new book about William Still right now.
• Fighting words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
• Purchased - I have it in young adult, which includes my middle school titles.
• We dream of space by Kelly Erin Entrada
• I really liked Hello Universe, but the kids did not. At all. So I skipped this one. It's available in the consortium.
• Wish in the dark by Christina Soorntorvat
• Another one I considered, but skipped. It's available in the consortium.

Caldecott

• We are water protectors by Carole Lindstrom
• I bought this one b/c it was requested by a patron.
• Place inside me by Zetta Elliott
• I hadn't heard of this one - I'll take a look and see if my teachers might want to use it for their social-emotional stories.
• Cat man of Aleppo by Irene Latham
• The reviews for this one didn't grab me at all - I'll take another look though.
• Me and Mama by Cozbi Carera (also CSK)
• I skimmed this one, but it didn't click for me.
• Outside in by Deborah Underwood
• Beautiful, but I probably won't get it.

Coretta Scott King

• Before the ever after by Jacqueline Woodson
• Purchased. Brown Girl Dreaming is hugely popular with my readers.
• All the days past all the days to come by Mildred Taylor
• I've been weeding her books for lack of circ, so I'm unlikely to purchase a new one
• King and the dragonflies by Kacen Callendar
• Cover didn't grab me - I couldn't think of an audience for it.
• Lifting as we climb: Black women's battle for the ballot box by Evette Dionne
• I'm using this for our 7th grade info unit, but I didn't buy a copy myself. It's a bit dense, text-wise.
• R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin queen of soul by Carole Boston Weatherford
• I don't buy picture book biographies of musicians. They absolutely do not circ for me.
• Magnificent homespun brown by Samara Cole Doyon
• I bought this one - loved the illustrations
• Exquisite: The Poetry and Life of Gwendolyn Brooks by Suzanne Slade (also Sibert)
• I also don't buy picture book biographies of authors/poets, especially those with a primarily adult audience.
• Legendborn by Tracy Deonne
• I've got very limited teen money this year, but it's a pretty eye-catching cover and I'd considered it before... well, it's available in the consortium. I think I've already spent my ya fiction money through March.

Printz

• Everything sad is untrue by Daniel Nayeri
• I normally don't buy the Printz, but this one is more middle school, which is my audience, and I was previously considering it. Will purchase now.
• Apple: skin to the core by Gansworth
• I was thinking of this one for our YA NF - will go ahead and get it.
• Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang
• Purchased, although I don't know that it's circ'd much.
• Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh
• Looks of more interest to older readers, of whom I don't have a lot. Skip.
• We Are Not Free by Traci Chee
• Purchased - I can circulate as much WWII fiction as publishers can supply.

Schneider

• I talk like a river by Jordan Scott
• Just got this one - it's beautiful and I think the outdoor part of the story will resonate with a lot of my readers.
• All the Way to the Top: How One Girl’s Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything by Annette Bay Pimentel
• This book rocks and I purchased it right away and have been handing it out freely to all and sundry.
• Itzhak: A Boy who Loved the Violin by Tracy Newman
• I broke my rule about not buying biographies of musicians b/c I thought this story stood well on its own. I expect to circulate it mainly to teachers.
• Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte
• Purchased for the teen collection.
• Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen! by Sarah Kapit
• I thought about this one, but didn't end up getting it - I think I will go ahead and get it now though.
• When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed
• I bought this and actually put it into my section of middle grade memoirs and true stories, instead of keeping it with Jamieson's other work. It seems to have worked out fine, since it's almost always checked out.
• This Is My Brain in Love by I.W. Gregorio
• I have to be really picky about teen stuff this year - skipped this one.

Pura Belpré

• ¡Vamos! Let’s Go Eat by Raúl Gonzalez
• It's available in my consortium but honestly I don't care for the art and I'd like to see Latinx titles that are not set in the Southwest.
• Sharuko: El Arqueólogo Peruano/Peruvian Archaeologist Julio C. Tello
• I don't buy a lot of picture book biographies. Skipped this one.
• Efrén Divided by Ernesto Cisneros
• I put this one on and off my list - I'll go ahead and get it now.
• The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez by Adrianna Cuevas
• Purchased - I've been promo'ing it to kids as being similar to Rick Riordan Presents.
• Lupe Wong Won’t Dance by Donna Barba Higuera
• Missed this one - it sounds great and I'm absolutely buying it.
• Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez
• Purchased. I don't know that it's circulated much, but I haven't had access to the teens to push it as a sports book.
• Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera
• Hadn't heard of this one before, but I won't purchase - the cover doesn't click for me.
• We Are Not from Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez
• Purchased

Sibert

• Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera by Candace Fleming
• Purchased
• How We Got to the Moon by John Rocco (also YALSA nf)
• Purchased

Stonewall

• We Are Little Feminists: Families by Archaa Shrivastav
• Not available in my consortium or via my vendor
• Beetle & The Hollowbones by Aliza Layne
• Didn't buy
• Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram
• Didn't buy
• Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
• Didn't buy
• You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
• Purchased

Geisel

• See the Cat: Three Stories About a Dog by David LaRochelle
• Bought two copies and wish I had more!
• The Bear in My Family by Maya Tatsukawa
• Haven't heard of this one at all - will take a look
• Ty’s Travels: Zip, Zoom! by Kelly Starling Lyons
• Purchased
• What About Worms!? by Ryan T. Higgins
• Purchased 2 copies and could use more! Huge hit in my book club.
• Where’s Baby? by Anne Hunter
• Cute, but I don't see it as an early reader at all...

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults

• The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh by Candace Fleming
• Purchased, but it's a doorstopper, I don't know if I'll get any actual teens to read it.
• The Cat I Never Named: A True Story of Love, War, and Survival by Amra Sabic-El-Rayess
• Purchased
• You Call This Democracy? by Elizabeth Rusch
• Hadn't heard of this one, but it's owned in the consortium and my teen nonfiction readers aren't interested in activism or politics, unless they're in WWII!

Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature

• Paper Son: The Inspiring Story of Tyrus Wong, Immigrant and Artist by Julie Leung
• Didn't buy it - it's in the consortium
• Danbi Leads the School Parade by Anna Kim
• I don't think I've seen this one - will take a look and maybe purchase.
• Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park
• Purchased
• This Light Between Us by Andrew Fukuda
• Purchased. Like I said, my teens will read anything WWII.
• Displacement by Kiku Hughes
• Just got this.

Sydney Taylor Book Award

• Welcoming Elijah: A Passover Tale with a Tail,” by Lesléa Newman
• I can't justify buying this, but I do love Susan Gal's illustrations...
• Turtle Boy by M. Evan Wolkenstein
• I just don't think it would go
• Dancing at the Pity Party by Tyler Feder
• I looked at this but thought it really was adult and it was purchased for our adult gn collection.
• I Am the Tree of Life: My Jewish Yoga Book,” by Mychal Copeland
• Miriam at the River by Jane Yolen
• I ordered this, but it never came and I ended up canceling the order. Might try again.
• No Vacancy by Tziporah Cohen
• Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
• The Blackbird Girls by Anne Blankman
• Purchased
• They Went Left by Monica Hesse
• A WWII book I missed! This sounds a little like Vesper Stamper's What the night sings, but more organized and in-depth.