And the Caldecott, Newberry, Morris, and Printz winners are...

  I have been looking forward to this morning and anxiously awaiting the announcement of several Children and Young Adult book awards. The Young Media Awards are like the Oscars for many librarians, including myself. The awards took place at the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting at San Diego, California. Although there are many awards honored today, I was looking forward to finding out the winners for the Caldecott, Newberry, Morris, and of course the Michael L. Printz Award. You can find the other winners on the Association for Library Services to Children website and the Young Adult Library Services website (YALSA).

The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of  Randolph Caldecott, who was a nineteenth-century English illustrator. The award is given annually by the Association for Library Service to Children to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.

Winner of the 2011 Caldecott Medal is:

A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead and illustrated by Erin E. Stead.

Honorees of the 2011 Caldecott are:

Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave by Laban Carrick Hill and illustrated by Bryan Collier

Interrupting Chicken written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein The Newberry Medal was named in the honor of John Newberry, who was an eighteenth century British bookseller. Like the Caldecott, it is also awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

Winner of the 2011 Newberry Medal is:

Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

Honorees of the 2011 Newberry are:

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

Heart of a samurai : based on the true story of Nakahama Manjiro by Margi Preus

Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm

Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Rick Allen

The William C. Morris YA Debut Award was first awarded in 2009 by YALSA. The award is given to a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature.

Winner of the 2011 Morris Award is: 

Freak Observer by Blythe Woolston 

Honorees of the 2011 Morris Award are:

Hush by Eishes Chayil

Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey

Hold Me Closer, Neromancer by Lish McBride
Crossing the Tracks by Barbara Stuber

 The Michael L. Printz Award was named in the honor of Michael L. Printz, a school librarian in Topeaka, Kansas, who was a long-time active member of the Young Adult Library Services Association. The Michael L. Printz Award is an award given annually by the Young Adult Library Services Association to a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature.

Winner of the 2011 Michael Printz Award is:

 

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Honorees of the 2011 Printz Award are:

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

Nothing by Janne Teller

Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick

Stolen by Lucy Christopher

  Well, the library associations have spoken. What do you think of these book awards? Will you read the books that have won and have been honored? I, personally, was a little suprised by Ship Breaker winning the Printz. It's a well written book, however, I didn't find anything really exceptional about it. I do have most of the other books already on my tbr pile. I guess, I will post them up higher just to see what made them so special.