Today is one of THE most important day in Children's Literature....it's Awards Day!!!!

Today is one of the most exciting days each year! It's the final day of the American Library Association's Annual Mid-winter Conference, which means AWARDS!!!! This is the day when well-known awards such as the Newbery and the Caldecott and the Printz are given out, as well as awards not as well-known to the everyday average reader, such as the William C. Morris Award for Debut novels, the Alex Award for adult novels with teen appeal, the Coretta Scott King Award for African American authors and illustrators who embrace their culture and values, among many others!

For a complete list of Award Winners, visit the ALA Website!

Every year, there are lists made and people guessing at potential winners. (This year, none of the books I thought were under consideration made the lists except the Printz winner!)

Today, I'll be highlighting the biggest award winners, because you'll need to make sure to add them to your TRB list!

Every year, these awards make history and become books in the classroom with permanent places at the bookstore,  but this year made REAL history.

It's rare for one book to win both the Caldecott (for most distinguished picture book) AND the Newbery (for most distinguished children's book).

Meet the latest book to win both major awards, LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET by Matt de la Peña with illustrations by Christian Robinson. It won the Newbery Award and received a Caldecott Honor!


I've actually been wanting to read Matt de la Peña ever since I was at a group panel and he talked about/read from I WILL SAVE YOU. I don't remember if I didn't buy it because the store was sold out or because I was buying too much that day (or even already had a blind buy because I won't buy more than one author blind at an event).  It's sadly STILL on my TBR. *hangs head in shame* Now I have even more reason to read him and need to add MARKET to my TBR!!!!!

Newbery Honors went to:
*THE WAR THAT SAVED MY LIFE by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
*ROLLER GIRL by Victoria Jamieson
*ECHO by Pam Muñoz Ryan

THE WAR THAT SAVED MY LIFE also won the Odyssey Award for best audiobook (narrated by Jayne Entwistle, and ECHO won an Odyssey Honor.

Caldecott Honors went to:

*LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET by Matt de la Peña
*VOICE OF FREEDOM: Fannie Lou Hamer: The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement by Carole Boston Weatherford
*TROMBONE SHORTY by Bryan Collier

WAITING was also chosen as a Theodore Seuss Geisel Award Honor. TROMBONE SHORTY won the Coretta Scott Kind Award. THIS ONE SUMMER is a graphic novel...History in the Making, folks!!


FINDING WINNIE: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick and Sophie Blackall took home the Caldecott win! I never knew that Winnie the Pooh was inspired by a REAL bear, one that was involved in WWI. Did you? I have to get my hands on this!!

Moving on to the world of YA, the Michael L. Printz Award went to BONE GAP by Laura Ruby, which was also a National Book Award Finalist!!!!! I've been wanting to read this since before it came out, but haven't had the chance. It's a MUST for 2016!!! I feel proud because last summer,  I was asked to choose summer reading titles for a local school and this was one of the titles I chose!

There were only two Honors this year:

*OUT OF DARKNESS by Ashley Hope Pérez
*THE GHOSTS OF HEAVEN by Marcus Sedgwick

(Ahhh, I have GHOSTS on my nightstand....um...and have for a while? Eep!!! Better get on it!!!)

I also especially love the William C. Morris Award for Debut novelists in YA. This year,  I own or want to read all of these! I just need to read faster!!!!

The Morris went to the highly buzzed about SIMON VS THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA by Becky Albertalli (with Honors to BECAUSE YOU'LL NEVER MEET ME by Leah Thomas, CONVICTION by Kelly Loy Gilbert, THE SACRED LIES OF MINNOW BLY by Stephanie Oakes, and THE WEIGHT OF FEATHERS by Anna-Marie McLemore).

I was also really happy that Jerry Pinkney received achievement awards from both Laura Ingalls Wilder and Coretta Scott Virginia Hamilton!

Finally, I was ecstatic to hear that David Levithan received the Margaret A Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement in Writing for Young Adults!!! He's amazing to listen to at events and when you go to events that DON'T feature him, everyone is still talking about how amazing he is! Well-deserved, don't you think?

I have a LOT of  new books to read. How about you!?

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