Thursday, January 29, 2009

Writers Speak Out on This Year’s Caldecott and Newbery Medal Winners

Commentary Thrives Regarding ALA Youth Media Award Winners

In “Surprise! The Newbery Goes to a Popular Book,” writers Debra Lau Whelan and Rick Margolis delight in this year’s Newbery Medal winner. Whelan and Margolis state in School Library Journal, “The Newbery Medal ended its slump. The committee that awards the nation’s top prize for children’s literature chose Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, marking the first time in four years that the award went to a book that’s critically acclaimed by both librarians and kids.”

The complete article is available online, including comments from Neil Gaiman and reactions to the other winners, at School Library Journal.

Read what children's literature expert Maria Salvadore has to say about the Caldecott Medal and this year’s winner (Beth Krommes for her illustrations in The House in the Night) on her Reading Rockets blog about reading, Page by Page.


In addition to sharing her perspectives on reading and children’s literature on her Reading Rockets blog, Maria is also a prized contributor to the ourwhitehouse.org website, which supplements the NCBLA’s award-winning anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out. Our White House was recognized as an ALA Notable Children's Book for All Ages this week.

In her annotated bibliography on ourwhitehouse.org titled “Presidents, the President’s House, and More: A Select List of Books (and a Few Web Sources) for Children and Young Adults,” Maria has compiled an extensive list of books and online resources that will not only enlighten, but also delight readers young and old as they seek to learn more about American history and the presidency.

No comments: