Last week the American Library Association announced the top books for children and young adults.
The John Newberry Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature was awarded to Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village written by Laura Amy Schlitz. In this title thirteenth-century England comes to life through a series of 21 interconnected monologues that introduce characters, which range in age from 10-15, that live in and around an English manor.
The Caldecott Medal is presented to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children, this year recipient is Brian Selznick for The Invention of Hugo Cabret. The black & white pencil illustrations evoke the images of silent films which the book pays homage to. The title character, Hugo is a young orphan secretly living in the walls of a train station where he labors to complete a mysterious invention left by his father. In a work of more than 500 pages, the suspenseful text and wordless double-page spreads narrate the tale in turns.
The Michael L. Printz award for excellence in literature written for young adults was presented to Geraldine McCaughrean for The White Darkness. Fourteen year-old Symone’s excting vacation to Antartica turns into a struggle for desperate survival when her uncle’s obsessive quest leads them into danger in the frozen wilderness.
To read more about these award winners and other award books for children and young adults click here.
Submitted by R. Gutierrez, Librarian.