Thursday, February 14, 2013

Valentine's Day


It's Valentine's Day... a day for pink, hearts, candy, and most importantly, to celebrate those who mean the most to you. Who's the most special person in your life?

To celebrate, here are some of my all time favorite picture books about Valentine's Day, friendship, and love:

Smitten by David Gordon

Froggy's First Kiss  by Jonathan London

Henry in Love by Peter McCarty

Valentine Friends by Ann Schweninger

Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney

A Kiss Like This by Mary Murphy

I Love You as Big as the World by David Van Buren

Friday, February 1, 2013

Awards, awards, awards!

The 2013 award-winners are here! The American Library Association (ALA) officially announced the top books, video and audiobooks for children and young adults on Monday of this week at its midwinter meeting in Seattle, Washington. This list includes the Newbery, Caldecott, and Printz awards! And here they are!

The winner of the 2013 John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature is:

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

And the three Newbery Honor Books are:

Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz

Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin

Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage


This year's winner of the The Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children is:

This Is Not My Hat illustrated and written by Jon Klassen
And the five Caldecott Honor Books are:
Creepy Carrots! illustrated by Peter Brown and written by Aaron Reynolds

Extra Yarn illustrated by Jon Klassen and written by Mac Barnett

Green illustrated and written by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

One Cool Friend illustrated by David Small and written by Toni Buzzeo

Sleep Like a Tiger illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski and written by Mary Logue

The 2013 Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults is:

In Darkness by Nick Lake
Four Printz Honor Books also were named for this year and they are:

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Dodger by Terry Pratchett

The White Bicycle by Beverley Brenna

For the full list of this year's award-winners, including the Geisel Award, Coretta Scott King Awards, and Laura Ingalls Wilder Award read the American Library Asscociation's press release here.
 
Copyright 2009 Laura Druda