Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Award Announcements

Throw the confetti; blow your horns; the announcements were made on Monday, in Dallas, of the most distinguished books for young people. I was thrilled by the announcements, although I did not read a lot of these books, so I can't really comment on them until I do. What I can write is that I am positive the committees gave thoughtful deliberation to all the titles that were excellent. It is hard to make a final choice, as I had quite a few titles that I was hoping to see win.

Here are the winners for the big awards:
Newbery Award: Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos
Caldecott Award: A Ball For Daisy by Chris Raschka
Printz Award: Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley
Sibert Award: Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet

What I can tell you is that I saw original art for Balloons Over Broadway and A Ball for Daisy in New York City. The Society of Illustrator's always has a show in November of the very best children's illustrations. Both of the books were represented and Sweet's collages were incredible. Her collages are hung in a box because they are 3-dimensional with her different materials. I was very impressed with the colors and the size of the different elements. This is a story of the man who made the giant Macy's Thanksgiving parade balloons. Raschka's illustrations are filled with lines and curves, action and joy. How is he able to do this in a wordless book? His art propels the story with emotion and personality.

We'll have more quest reviews tomorrow!

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