Yesterday was my SuperBowl, a day librarians and children’s book fans look forward to with so much anticipation and excitement–the ALA Youth Media Awards were announced!

For more background on these prestigious awards you can read my previous post, Get Ready for the Oscars of Children’s Books.

As with every year, some of the winning books are ones I’ve read that I cheered for happily and many others sounded fantastic and are now added to my very long TBR list and/or “books to order for the library” list.

Here is just a sampling of this year’s incredible winners. I hope you discover some new books for your “To Be Read” list as well!

The Caldecott Medal went to Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell. This mostly wordless picture book was the first book we read for our Mock Caldecott, so I was definitely cheering when it was announced! This is a wonderful read aloud because children need to use their imaginations to determine how the pictures are telling the story. A girl and a wolf are both lost in a snowstorm…can they each find their way home?

 

Hello Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly is the winner of the Newbery Medal. I realized I purchased this for the library, but hadn’t read it yet, so it’s now at the top of my list! The publisher calls it, “a funny and poignant neighborhood story about unexpected friendships. Told from four intertwining points of view—two boys and two girls—the novel celebrates bravery, being different, and finding your inner bayani (hero).”

You can also check out the book trailer from the author:

 

The Coretta Scott King Author Award went to Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson. I cannot wait to read this book from the author of Harlem’s Little Blackbird which is described as, “a powerful story about a girl striving for success in a world that too often seems like it’s trying to break her.” This book also won a Newbery Honor.

The Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award went to Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets by Kwame Alexander. This stunning book was part of our Mock Caldecott this year and I’m looking forward to all the ways we can use this one for Poetry Month (April).

La Princesa and the Pea by Juana Martinez-Neal is the Pura Belpré Illustrator Award winner and this familar story gets “a fresh twist in this charming bilingual retelling” according to the publisher. 

Lucky Broken Girl by Ruth Behar is the Pura Belpré Author Award winner is described as an  “unforgettable multicultural coming-of-age novel – based on the author’s childhood in the 1960s – a young Cuban-Jewish immigrant girl is adjusting to her new life in New York City when her American dream is suddenly derailed. ” You can see a book trailer from the author:

 

Charlie & Mouse by Laurel Snyder is the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Winner. “Four hilarious stories, two inventive brothers, one irresistible book! Join Charlie and Mouse as they talk to lumps, take the neighborhood to a party, sell some rocks, and invent the bedtime banana.” (from the publisher).

Twelve Days in May by Larry Dane Brimner is the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award winner. “Noted civil rights author Larry Dane Brimner relies on archival documents and rarely seen images to tell the riveting story of the little-known first days of the Freedom Ride.” (from the publisher).

 

 

For the full list of winners and to watch the video of the awards you can visit: ALA Youth Media Awards 2018. Happy Reading!