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| Countdown by Deborah Wiles (Scholastic Press, 2010) |
In the world of children's literature, there will be a BIG annual announcement made on January 10th! That's the day that the Newbery and Caldecott awards will be announced at the American Library Association's Midwinter Conference in San Diego. As you probably know, the Newbery is awarded for the children's book which was found to be the best written book published in the last year. The Caldecott is awarded for the book that is regarded as the best illustrated children's book published in the past year. I decided to focus this blog entry on the Newbery, with a "part 2" coming up soon on the Caldecott.
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One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia (Amistad, 2010) |
A few of the many news articles and blogs that give us a peek at the possible Newbery Medal Winners for 2011:
- In this article from Scripps News, children's literature expert Anita Silvey is referenced in this article which came out this afternoon called "Corner Books: Caldecott, Newbery contenders emerge."
- From Fuse #8, a blog from the School Library Journal, predicted in December on what might be the contenders for the Newbery. Click here to see their post and see if you've read or seen these books. You can find out more mock Newbery voting on SLJ's blogs by typing "Newbery 2011" in the site's search box. Numerous posts will come up from readers and bloggers aross the nation. You can also go to Fuse #8's "Mock Newbery Award" predictions.
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| The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan (Scholastic Press, 2010) |
What are my guesses for which books are in the running based on what I've had a chance to read? In no particular order, my pool of books that I think the picks should come from include Keeper by Kathi Appelt, Touch Blue by Cynthia Lord, Countdown by Deborah Wiles, Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman, One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia, and The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan. However, there are more critically acclaimed books from the past year that I have NOT had a chance to read that I am curious about such as Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson, The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schiltz, Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter, Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes, and A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner. Therefore, I can't really predict the proper winners. I'm excited to keep reading! :)
Do you agree with the predictions for this year's Newbery awards? Which ones have you read or seen? Feel free to leave a comment on your predictions and favorite books of the year! :)
P.S. - I recently planned a third grade literacy coaching lesson using Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman for mid-January! :) It will be my first time using the text that I received from Amazon the other day. :) I have enjoyed Sidman's other fabulous collections of poetry and love this one, too! Be sure to check in January for a blog post about my lesson! :)
Additional Links of Interest
American Library Association: This association awards the Newbery Medal annually. You can check out past winners by going to this link:
Anita Silvey: Check out children's literature expert on Facebook, Twitter (@anitasilvey), and her websites. She updates on all of these social networking tools quite often! It was thanks to her Facebook update today that I heard about this afternoon's Scripps news article. :) (Thank-you so much Anita Silvey! :)
- Anita Silvey's Website
- Anita Silvey's Book-A-Day Almanac online (This is a GREAT link for parents on Edline!)
Pam Munoz Ryan: You can visit Ryan's newly revised website to learn more about her books and read some interview responses. Ryan is a guest blogger for this post on Teaching Books. Click here to listen to her introduce and read an excerpt from her book The Dreamer. You can preview the a portion on the book through this Google books link, too. There is an official Teaching Guide from Scholastic as well, and you can download it as a PDF. In this Scholastic's On Our Mind You Tube video entry, Ryan was interviewed about the book and her inspirations.
Cynthia Lord: This link will take you to her blog, and this link will take you to her website. Lord has posted a Teacher's Guide to use with her book Touch Blue. Explore more of Lord's offerings for teachers and librarians by looking at the interview and blog links for her books on this page of her official website as well. This Google books link will take you to a preview of Touch Blue.
Rita Williams-Garcia: Preview One Crazy Summer through this widget from publisher Harper Collins. You can also listen to Rita Williams talk about her book in a very informal conversation, taped by her friend Kathi Appelt (small writing world!) at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. I love how hearing the author talk about their book brings an extra dimension of life and understanding to the reader's experiences.
Kathi Appelt: Here is Kathi Appelt's website link, and this link will take you to the blog portion of her site. You can preview the beginning of the text through this Google books link. (For fun, you can catch other video clips from Appelt on You Tube. She posted a few with Rita Williams-Garcia on fun aspects and observations with their real life friendship. I love her voice! She must be give an amazing read aloud. It makes me miss Vermont, too!)
Deborah Wiles: This link will take you to the author's blog, and this link will take you to her website. Through this link from Scholastic, you can download the publisher's discussion guide for Countdown. Also available on Scholastic's site is a sample of Chapter One that you can read online, and you can hear an audio read aloud sample through this link. You can also go to a multimedia page where the YouTube book trailer for Countdown is posted, as well as the "Duck and Cover" video from the early 1960s that school children saw. In addition, all of the music mentioned in the book is available as an iTunes playlist. What an innovative novel!
Enjoy exploring!!!
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