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Monday, January 28, 2013

Special Edition…And the Winners Are….(check out the books that won the Caldecott, Newbery, Geisel and other awards!)

 

We announced the Bridgewater Library Mock Caldecott winners during the weekend …here are the REAL winners:

 

the randolph caldecott medal image

Caldecott 75th Anniversary Celebration!

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

 

Caldecott Medal Home Page!  2013 Medal Winner

The 2013 Caldecott Medal winner is This Is Not My Hat, written and illustrated by Jon Klassen, published by Candlewick Press.

In this darkly humorous tale, a tiny fish knows it’s wrong to steal a hat. It fits him just right. But the big fish wants his hat back. Klassen’s controlled palette, opposing narratives and subtle cues compel readers to follow the fish and imagine the consequence.

“With minute changes in eyes and the slightest displacement of seagrass, Klassen’s masterful illustrations tell the story the narrator doesn’t know,” Caldecott Chair Sandra Imdieke said.

 

2013 Honor Books

Creepy Carrots!, illustrated by Peter Brown, written by Aaron Reynolds and published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

Jasper the rabbit loves carrots until he notices they are everywhere. He is convinced they’re coming for him! Pronounced shadows, black borders and shaded edges enhance this ever so slightly sinister tale with a distinctly cinematic feel. This is one serving of carrots children will eagerly devour.

Extra Yarn, illustrated by Jon Klassen, written by Mac Barnett and published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

A selfish archduke threatens to halt a little girl's transformation of a colorless town and steal her box of magical yarn.  Klassen's innovative digital technique results in shifts of color that signal character change and critical turns of plot -all done with just the right stitches of humor.

Green, illustrated and written by Laura Vaccaro Seeger and published by Neal Porter Books, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press

In this original concept book, Seeger engages all the senses with her fresh approach to the multiple meanings of “green.” Using thickly-layered acrylics, word pairings and cleverly placed die cuts, she invites readers to pause, pay attention and wonder.

One Cool Friend, illustrated by David Small, written by Toni Buzzeo and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group

Energetic line and dizzying perspective combine for a rollicking tale of Father, Elliot and a highly improbable pet (or two). Buzzeo’s text, brimming with sly wordplay, earns its perfect counterpoint in Small’s ink, watercolor and pencil illustrations with chilly details and visual jokes that invite many repeated readings.

Sleep Like a Tiger, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Mary Logue and published by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Surrounded with dreamlike images of crowns, ornate patterns and repeated visual motifs, her parents coax her into bed. Using mixed media artwork on wood enhanced with computer illustrations, this is a whimsical story with universal appeal.

Click here for Caldecott Medal Winners and Honor Books, 1938-Present

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

“The One and Only Ivan,” written by Katherine Applegate, is the 2013 Newbery Medal winner. The book is published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers.

 

Three Newbery Honor Books also were named: “Splendors and Glooms” by Laura Amy Schlitz and published by Candlewick Press; “Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon” by Steve Sheinkin and published by Flash Point, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press; and “Three Times Lucky” by Sheila Turnage and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group.

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

“Up, Tall and High!” written and illustrated by Ethan Long is the Seuss Award winner. The book is published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group.

 

 

Three Geisel Honor Books were named: “Let’s Go for a Drive!” written and illustrated by Mo Willems, and published by Hyperion Books for Children, an imprint of Disney Book Group; “Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons” by Eric Litwin, created and illustrated by James Dean and published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers; and “Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover,” written and illustrated by Cece Bell and published by Candlewick Press.

Click here for teen, non-fiction and other award winners.

 

From NPR: A Colorful Anniversary: The Caldecott Medal Turns 75

by LYNN NEARY      Listen to the Story

The Polar Express won the Caldecott Medal in 1986, and was turned into an animated movie with Tom Hanks in 2004.

The Polar Express won the Caldecott Medal in 1986, and was turned into an animated movie with Tom Hanks in 2004.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Some children's book illustrators might not have gotten a lot of sleep over the weekend. That's because they might have been wondering if this could be the year they win one of the grand prizes of children's literature: the Randolph Caldecott Medal.

English painter and book illustrator Randolph Caldecott (1846-1886), for whom the award is named.

English painter and book illustrator Randolph Caldecott (1846-1886), for whom the award is named.

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

This year is the 75th anniversary of the Caldecott, which is given to the most distinguished children's picture book of the year. The winner is being named Monday morning at a meeting of the American Library Association.

Retired children's librarian Rita Auerbach, who chaired the 2010 Caldecott award committee, says picture books allow children who are not yet readers to tell themselves the story. They "give children a sense of pictorial possibility — a way to imagine words that they might not imagine on their own," she says.

The Caldecott Medal has been given to a long list of children's books, from Make Way for Ducklings and Madeline's Rescue to Where the Wild Things Are and The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

Kevin Henkes won in 2005 for Kitten's First Full Moon.

Kevin Henkes won in 2005 for Kitten's First Full Moon.

HarperCollins Children's Books

"It's a little like winning the Nobel Prize, in that forever afterward you are 'Caldecott-winning illustrator,' " Auerbach says. "That phrase accompanies your name wherever your name appears, and that's a quite wonderful thing."

As important as the honorific may be, the Caldecott has another advantage. It has a big impact on sales — more so than most literary awards. Chris Van Allsburg won in 1982 for Jumanji, and he says he didn't quite want to believe he was in the running. "I always believe that you can curse your possible good fortune by anticipating it. So a much better mindset is to tell yourself you couldn't possibly get it, but on some level believe that it might still happen," he laughs. "So that's a hard place to get to mentally, but I'm capable of doing it."

Van Allsburg won a second Caldecott in 1986 for The Polar Express, which has become a beloved children's classic, especially popular around Christmas. "Years ago I signed it for parents giving it to their children, and their children have subsequently become parents themselves, so now I am signing it for that generation, so that's a terrific feeling."

Jon Klassen's This Is Not My Hat has won the 2013 Caldecott Medal.

Monkey See
Tell Us: Which Of These Picture Books Is Worth A Caldecott?

Cover detail: A Ball For Daisy

Author Interviews
A Ball (And A Caldecott) For 'Daisy' The Dog

Kevin Henkes has created a series of books about whimsical little kids who just happen to be mice: Chrysanthemum, Sheila Ray the Brave and, perhaps most famously, Lily, of Lily's Purple Plastic Purse. So it was somewhat ironic that he won his Caldecott for Kitten's First Full Moon, a book about the natural enemy of mice. "It is funny, I think — the bulk of my work, the thing I am most well-known for are the mouse books, but I'll take it," he says, laughing.

Like Van Allsburg, Henkes writes as well as illustrates his books. He says he loves the way words and pictures can play against one another. "When it's done right, it can be so beautiful," he says. "And I think when it's done right and you see those words and those pictures together, those particular words and those particular pictures, once you see them you can't separate them anymore because they really become one."

Both Henkes and Van Allsburg say they're happy their books have helped young children learn to read. Van Allsburg, who started as a sculptor, says he never expected to get fan mail from teachers. "They say, 'Mr. Van Allsburg, your books have a kind of challenge and a puzzle and a mystery to them that seem to stimulate the desire for the kids to read, and they've been enormously helpful in getting kids who are reluctant readers to become enthusiastic readers,' " he says. "I think that's just naturally what will happen if you've got a great story and it's got some great pictures along with it. "

 

And, finally, who knew there was a Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day?!?(A birthday party hit in our house was to tape lots of bubble wrap to the floor, put on the music and dance!)

Banner 201210

Bubble wrap is the best.  It's that packing material that comes in clear plastic sheets covered with little round bumps full of air.  When you pinch a bubble it makes this perfect popping sound, so you can't help but pop the bubble next to it, and the next, and the next.  If you have a really big sheet with the bigger 1-inch bubbles, you can lay it on the floor and jump on it to pop lots of bubbles at once.  Even adults can't stop themselves, so it's no surprise that there's a Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day (today).  Let's show our enthusiasm by counting up the pop potential.

Wee ones: If you have a sheet of 16 bubbles and you pop 1 bubble, how many bubbles are left to pop? Bonus: What if you pop one more - how many left now?

Little kids: The bubbles are usually lined up in a hexagon pattern like a beehive. If you tear off a piece of bubble wrap and the 5 rows have 3 bubbles, then 4 bubbles, then 3, 4, and 3, how many bubbles do you have?  Bonus: What if you have six rows alternating 5 and 6 bubbles each? (Hint: you can add together 2 rows, then figure out how many of those sets you have...)

Big kids: The big sheets of bubble wrap can keep you very busy. If you get a 20-row sheet where half the rows have 11 bubbles each and half the rows have 10 each, how many bubbles do you have?  Bonus: It's such a bummer when someone else has already popped a bunch of the bubbles. If Snickers and Hershey, the Bedtime Math guinea pigs, each pop 1/6 of the bubbles on your sheet, how many bubbles do they leave for you?

Answers:

Wee ones: 15 bubbles left.  Bonus: 14 bubbles left.

Little kids: 17 bubbles.  Bonus: 33 bubbles (11 bubbles in each 5-6 pair).

Big kids: 210 bubbles.  Bonus: Together they've popped 1/3, or 70 bubbles, so there are 140 unpopped bubbles left for you.

Bedtime Math

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