January 27, 2009

Caldecott & Newbery Award Winners

The 2009 ALA Youth Media Awards were announced Monday, January 26th at the Midwinter Meetings in Denver. Among the awards given, the John Newbery Medal and Randolph Caldecott Medals.

The 2009 Newbery Medal winner is The Graveyard Book,by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Dave McKean.

"A delicious mix of murder, fantasy, humor and human longing, the tale of Nobody Owens is told in magical, haunting prose. A child marked for death by an ancient league of assassins escapes into an abandoned raveyard, where he is reared and protected by its spirit denizens. "A child named Nobody, an assassin, a graveyard and the dead are the perfect combination in this deliciously creepy tale, which is sometimes humorous, sometimes haunting and sometimes surprising," said Newbery Committee Chair Rose V. TreviƱo."



2009 Newbery Honor Books:

The 2009 Caldecott Medal winner is The House in the Night, illustrated by Beth Krommes, written by Susan Marie Swanson.

"Richly detailed black-and-white scratchboard illustrations expand this timeless bedtime verse, offering reassurance to young children that there is always light in the darkness. Krommes' elegant line, illuminated with touches of golden watercolor, evoke the warmth and comfort of home and family, as well as the joys of exploring the wider world."


2009 Caldecot Honor Books are:



Book title links from this post go directly to the library catalog. Any titles not currently part of the juvenile collection have been ordered; orders for second copies of the Caldecott and Newbery award winners have been placed.