2012 Children's Book Award Winners Announced

By Seira Wilson

 

This morning I got up at 5 a.m. to see (via webcast) the 2012 winners of the biggest awards in children's publishing--the American Library Association (ALA) awards.  The film industry has their Golden Globes^® and their Oscars^®, and we have the Caldecott and Newbery Medals, the Coretta Scott King Award, and the Michael J. Printz Award.  Unlike most other book awards, the major children's book awards given by the ALA have no lists of finalists or nominees.  It's a surprise every single year (with plenty of speculation beforehand) and I kind of love the secrecy.  This year's announcement had both the unexpected and the "ah, of course" books on the lists (including some 2011 Best of the Month titles)--you just never know who is going to win what. Congratulations to this year's winning and honored authors and illustrators:

 

2012 Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children:

• Winner!: A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka


• Honor: Blackout by John Rocco


• Honor: Grandpa Green by Lane Smith


• Honor: Me...Jane by Patrick McDonnell

 

2012 Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature:

• Winner!: Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos


• Honor:  Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai


• Honor:  Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin

 

 

2012 Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults:  

• Winner!: Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley


• Honor:  Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman


• Honor:  The Returning by Christine Hinwood


• Honor:  Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey


• Honor:  The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

 

2012 Coretta Scott King Author Award recognizing an African American author of outstanding books for children and young adults:

• Winner!: Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson


• Honor:  The Great Migration: Journey to the North by Eloise Greenfield


• Honor: Never Forgotten by Patricia McKissack

 

2012 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award:

• Winner!: Underground by Shane W. Evans


• Honor: Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans by Kadir Nelson

 

 

2012 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book:

• Winner!:  Tales for Very Picky Eaters  by Josh Schneider


• Honor:  I Broke My Trunk! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) by Mo Willems


• Honor:  I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klaussen


• Honor: See Me Run by Paul Meisel

 

 

2012 Pura Belpré Award honoring a Latino writer whose children's books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience:

• Author Winner!: Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall


• Honor: Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck by Margarita Engle


• Honor: Maximilian & the Mystery of the Guardian Angel: A Bilingual Lucha Libre Thriller by Xavier Garza

 

• Illustrator Winner!: Diego Rivera: His World and Ours by Duncan Tonatiuh


• Honor: The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred illustrated by Rafael Lopez


• Honor:  Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match / Marisol McDonald no combina illustrated by Sara Palacios

 

Quite a list, no?  Did some of your favorites win a medal or honor this year or do you have some that would have made the cut if you were judging?  I'd love to hear your thoughts. --Seira