The winners of the children’s book awards were
announced by the American Library Association on Monday and as with other years
there were big surprises as well as satisfying acknowledgement of many of my
favorites.
 |
| image via ala.org |
Each year there are a few winners that I
strongly disagree with and it reminds me that one of the things I love about
books is that there is always something for everyone. Some of my favorite book group
discussions have been when opinions were the most polarized and
vehement.
This year’s Newbery
winner, “The One and Only Ivan,” was not one of my top ten. Although I have enjoyed the author,
Katherine Applegate, the same K.A. Applegate who authored the Animorph series,
and have felt for years that she deserved more attention.
“Three Times Lucky” by Sheila Turnage, one of three
honor books was one of my favorites of the year.
“This is Not My Hat,” illustrated and
written by Jon Klassen is the Caldecott winner and I think won on the merits of
the preceding book, “I Want My Hat Back.”
I do enjoy both
books but I think the first is the strongest. Five is an unusually large number of
Caldecott Honor Books but I found “Extra Yarn,” written by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon
Klassen to be charming. “Creepy Carrots,” illustrated by Peter Brown, written by Aaron Reynolds has been a
huge hit with children.
“Sleep Like a Tiger,” illustrated by
Pamela Zagarenski, written by Mary Logue, another Caldecott Honor Book is a
gentle, simile filled bedtime book that elicits the warm, snuggly feelings
perfect for falling into sweet dreams.
I won’t try to list
all the award winners but if you are interested take time to log onto the ALA
website and check them out:
What are your favorites?
-Anita
No comments:
Post a Comment