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Showing posts with label ala awards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ala awards. Show all posts

02 February 2013

If I had $100

 
Inspired by Andi, of Andi's ABC's (Accessories, Books and Clothes) post, Monopoly Money Monday (and a Barenaked Ladies song), I thought, "What if I had $100 to spend?  What books or bookish things would I buy?"

I'm going to try to make this a weekly post, usually on Saturdays, because, let's face it, I can spend $100 on books/bookish things REALLY quickly and easily!  And, if I go over, there's always next Saturday!

Of course, there are no shipping charges or tax.  It's my fantasy money, and I've decided!  

Clicking on the image *should* take you directly to that link

Because this week the ALA Youth Media Awards winners were announced, my post today is filled with award winning books that I haven't read yet!

Back to Front and Upside Down
$12.48

Product Details
$10.24
Product Details
$11.92

Product Details
$11.55
Product Details
$10.61

Green
$10.61

This Is Not My Hat
$8.99
and I'd have to buy the previous

I Want My Hat Back
$9.75
The One and Only Ivan
$11.20

Total: $97.35  Again, money left over.  Maybe a Big Gulp and a candy bar?  Not quite enough for a Starbucks Caramel Apple Cider :( 

29 January 2013

My blow by blow recap of the ALA Award Winner Announcements

ALA Youth Media Awards, January 28, 2013, #ALAyma
image from ALA Youth Media Awards site

In a season of awards shows, one stands out for me.  Yes, I love the pretty dresses of the People's Choice, the Grammys, and the Oscars.  I love when celebrities talk unedited and wind up sounding kind of dumb.  I love when someone loses, and they cut to their face, and they either make a nice face and smile graciously for the winner, or they mouth, "WHAT", like some people do.

However, there is one award show that always makes me happy (even if I don't always agree with the winners).  The ALA Youth Media Awards...otherwise known (to me) as the Caldecotts, the Newberys (Nerberies?), the Printzs, and all those other.

Yesterday, we had the day off because of ice (woo...I'll take it!) so I was able to watch the announcements.  I wrote down my reactions for you (I was going to record them, but lets face it, I was still in my mismatched PJ's..plus, I couldn't figure out how to on my husband's mac)  I was tempted to wear my pearls and fancy tiara, but squashed that (quickly).

Ok, so here is my blow by blow breakdown of the ALA Youth Media Awards... (with links to Amazon).  For the official list, click here

~Alex Award---unfortunately, I haven't heard of any of the winners/honorees.  This doesn't bode well...am now slightly nervous for Geisel, Caldecott and Newbery announcement.

~The Schneiders---I can't wait to read BACK TO FRONT, UPSIDE DOWN by Claire Alexander.
Why wasn't WONDER nominated or a winner?

~A big, fat DUH to Kadir Nelson being a Coretta Scott King honoree for I HAVE A DREAM

~So that guy announcing the various YALSA awards was HILARIOUS!  He certainly livened the announcements up! 

~Was excited for Kristin Barnaby and WONDER SHOW being a William C. Morris honoree.  I met her in November (I think) when she was part of a signing nearby.

~I love that ARTEMIS FOWL: THE LAST GUARDIAN by Eoin Colfer was an Odyssey Award honoree (best audiobooks).  I love that series!  I thought it was really interesting that THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green won best audiobook.  Don't kill me when I say this, but I didn't really like the book.  But, I would be willing to give the audiobook a try.  Maybe it's different when it's someone else's voice reading it!
Skipper fell asleep.  He doesn't get as excited about this as I do. 
 ~The Michael Printz award---I've never heard of ARISTOTLE AND DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE, but *spoiler alert*, it comes up several times.  I have heard really good things about CODE NAME VERITY, and really need to pick it up to read.  I've never heard of IN DARKNESS, so that's another I'll have to check out.

~I loved that the lady did the Pura Belpre Awards in both English and Spanish.  I'd love to be on this committee!  I want to know how to get on it!  How can I join?  I've never heard of the books chose, but its all good!

~I took a bathroom break here, WHY WASN"T I MORE PREPARED!?!?!? I almost missed, in my opinion, the top 3 awards!  No worries, I made it...

~The Geisel Award (for excellence in early readers...that's not the official designation, but its something like that)...
   honorees
     ~LET'S GO FOR A DRIVE by Mo Willems
     ~PETE THE CAT AND HIS FOUR GROOVY BUTTONS by James Dean
     ~RABBIT AND ROBOT by CeCe Bell
     ~and winner: UP!  TALL!  AND HIGH! by Ethan Long

At this point, I'm fairly humming with excitement, so Skipper wakes up and starts barking because he thinks something is wrong.

Caldecott Awards (in case you live under a rock, these are for best illustrations)
   Honorees:
       ~CREEPY CARROTS  by Aaron Reynolds and illustrated by Peter Brown
       ~EXTRA YARN by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen
       ~GREEN by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
       ~ONE COOL FRIEND by Toni Buzzeo and illustrated by David Small
       ~SLEEP LIKE A TIGER by Mary Logue and illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski
   Winner:
       ~THIS IS NOT MY HAT by Jon Klassen
A double win!  Honoree and Winner!  SCORE!  I LOVE all the books!  Great job!  

And now....I'm so nervous, I may need another bathroom break....
The Newbery
   Honorees:
         ~SPLENDORS AND GLOOMS by Laura Amy Schlitz
         ~BOMB!  THE RACE TO BUILD-AND STEAL-THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS WEAPON by Steve Sheinkin (audiobook only.  I couldn't find the regular book on amazon)
         ~THREE TIMES LUCKY by Sheila Turnage
    Winner
          ~THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN by Katherine Applegate!!!!!!!!!!  I screamed and did a little dance.  

I'm a little sad that WONDER by RJ Palacio didn't win any awards, but hey, you can't win them all!  What did you guys think? 



18 May 2012

My thoughts on 2012 ALA award winners

I got the idea to read every 2012 ALA award winner and honoree that I could get my hands on based on the Newbery/Caldecott challenge issued by Mr. Schu (@mrschureads)---(he's reading ALL the award winners since the conception on the prize). 

So far, I've read a pretty fair amount of the winners:
*Grandpa Green
*Tales for Very Picky Eaters
*A Ball for Daisy
*Hurricane Dancers
*The Returning
*Breaking Stalin's Nose
*Where Things Come Back
*I started, but haven't finished yet, The Scorpio Races

and I'm torn....I like the picture books (Caldecott, Geisel awards) but I haven't enjoyed a single Newbery or Printz winner.  I don't know why this is, but I'm really happy I'm not on those committees! 

I really liked Grandpa Green (Lane Smith).  I thought the story was endearing and the pictures wonderful.  I almost cried in the middle of Barnes and Noble reading it. 

I took A Ball for Daisy (Chris Rashka) to school with me to show my students.  Because it was a wordless book, I had them write the story based on the pictures.  They loved the book, and the activity. 

Like I stated above, I started The Scorpio Races (Maggie Stiefvater) the day the awards were announced in January.  I didn't like it.  I couldn't get into it.  Will I try again this summer?  Probably, but only when my TBR pile is severely reduced.

I thought Where Things Come Back (John Corey Whaley) was really hard to get into, and I honestly didn't care about any of the characters.  I only finished it because I was proctoring a state standardized test and didn't have anything else to do/read. 

The Returning, Hurricane Dancers, and Breaking Stalin's Nose were just "meh".  They weren't bad, but in my opinion, they weren't that super awesome spectacular either.  I'm not sure how many kids would actually read any of them.

So maybe thats where my thought train is heading (jump on if you dare...), that sometimes on committees we choose books that we, as adults like, and sometimes forget our target audience. 

29 January 2012

In My Mailbox....still no snow!

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi, The Story Siren, in which you post about whatever books or bookish things you got that week.  This week, I got:
(bought)
-The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (autographed!) (Printz honoree)
-Harry Potter Bag
From the library:
-Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
-Hurricane Dancers by Margarita Engle (Pura Belpre author honoree)
-The Returning by Christine Hinwood (Printz honoree)
-Tales for Very Picky Eaters by Josh Schneider (Geisel winner)
-A Ball for Daisy by Chris Rashka (Caldecott winner)

23 January 2012

Happy Awards Day!

Today is a BIG book day---the day that the American Library Association announces the top books (print, audio & video) for children and young adults.

Here is a link to the list of winners:  2012 ALA Award Winners  Congratulations! 

I think my personal reading challenge will be to read all the Newbery, Caldecott, Printz Pura Belpre and Geisel Award winners and runners up for this year (I know all you other #nerdybookclub members are already reading the old ones, but there are a lot on this list that I haven't read yet!)

10 January 2011

Its award season!

And you don't even have to break out your fancy dress or make a goofy speech!

Today (Monday, January 10), the American Library Association named its 2011 top books, audiobooks and videos for children and young adults.  Following is a list of the "big" winners (if you would like to see a list of all the winners and honorees, click the link above):


John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature.
“Moon over Manifest,” written by Clare Vanderpool, is the 2011 Newbery Medal winner. The book is published by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc.






Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children
“A Sick Day for Amos McGee,” illustrated by Erin E. Stead, is the 2011 Caldecott Medal winner. The book was written by Philip C. Stead, and is a Neal Porter Book, published by Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing.
Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults
“Ship Breaker,” written by Paolo Bacigalupi, is the 2011 Printz Award winner. The book is published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African American author of outstanding books for children and young adults
“One Crazy Summer,” written by Rita Williams-Garcia is the 2011 King Author Book winner. The book is published by Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.






Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award recognizing an African American illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults
“Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave,” illustrated by Bryan Collier, is the 2011 King Illustrator Book winner. The book was written by Laban Carrick Hill and published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc




Pura Belpré (Author) Award honoring a Latino writer whose children’s books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience
“The Dreamer,” written by Pam Muñoz Ryan, is the 2011 Belpré Author Award winner. The book is illustrated by Peter Sís and published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.
Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award honoring a Latino illustrator whose children’s books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience
“Grandma’s Gift,” illustrated and written by Eric Velasquez, is the 2011 Belpré Illustrator Award winner. The book is published by Walker Publishing Company, Inc., a division of Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc.

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book
“Bink and Gollie,” written by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee and illustrated by Tony Fucile is the 2011 Seuss Award winner. The book is published by Candlewick Press.
Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences
“The Reapers Are the Angels: A Novel,” by Alden Bell, published by Holt Paperbacks, a division of Henry Holt and Company, LLC
“The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake: A Novel,” by Aimee Bender, published by Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc.
“The House of Tomorrow,” by Peter Bognanni, published by Amy Einhorn Books, an imprint of G.P. Putnam’s Sons, a division of the Penguin Group
“Room: A Novel,” by Emma Donoghue, published by Little, Brown and Company a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
“The Vanishing of Katharina Linden: A Novel,” by Helen Grant, published by Delacorte, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.
“The Radleys,” by Matt Haig, published by Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
“The Lock Artist,” by Steve Hamilton, published by Thomas Dunne Books for Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press
“Girl in Translation,” by Jean Kwok, published by Riverhead Books, an imprint of the Penguin Group
“Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard,” by Liz Murray, published by Hyperion
“The Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep and Never Had To,” by DC Pierson, published by Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc.
And my personal fav....
 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children. The 2011 winner is Tomie dePaola, author and illustrator of over 200 books, including: “26 Fairmont Avenue” (Putnam, 1999), “The Legend of the Poinsettia” (Putnam, 1994), “Oliver Button Is a Sissy” (Harcourt, 1979) and “Strega Nona” (Prentice-Hall, 1975).