Children’s book award season will soon be upon us. On January 18, 2010, librarians, authors, and children’s literature enthusiasts will be glued to their computers (those of us not lucky enough to attend the announcements in person) to find out the winners of the Newbery, Caldecott, Printz, Coretta Scott King, Pura Belpré and other youth media awards bestowed by the American Library Association. As I am both a librarian and an enthusiast, I thought I would share with you my completely non-scientific, uneducated, random, gut-feeling picks for two of the awards:
When You Reach Me
- Newbery Medal: Stead, Rebecca. When You Reach Me. I would have LOVED this book as a girl. As an adult, I loved it. Miranda, a New York City 6th grader, relates certain incidents in her life after being asked to do so in four strange anonymous notes. Who’s sent the notes, why do they want her to write a letter, and why does this person know things about Miranda’s life, her friends, and the future? The story is like nothing I’ve ever read before, and yet, I felt something warm and familiar about the characters and story. Confusing, heartwarming, realistic and fantastical all at the same time. Read it, and see if you can figure it out.
The Lion and The Mouse
- Caldecott Medal: Pinkney, Jerry. The Lion and the Mouse. In a nearly wordless picture book, Pinkney retells the Aesop’s fable about a mouse who returns a lion’s favor when the lion finds himself trapped in a net. The gorgeous watercolor illustrations give us all the information we need without words, and as the Caldecott medal is all about the illustrations, this one should be a shoe-in for at least an honor. It’s simply a beautiful book, one of those that you’d buy for your kids and hang on to for years, even after they’ve long grown up. It’s a share-with-your-grandkids kind of book (which I will share with mine, if I ever have any). Oh, and as there are so few words, it’s a great one for a child to “read” to an adult (hello, narrative skills!).
I’m often completely off base, nor have I read all of the books that are getting awards buzz, so by no means should you go to Vegas put any wagers on my picks. This is just what I liked best. What are your picks? I didn’t do the Printz because I haven’t read enough YA (I’m still waiting on my copy of Catching Fire), but I’d be interested to hear what you think!
missmaryliberry.com 
I’m reading “When you reach me” right now!