American Library Association Announces 2007 Literary Award Winners

SEATTLE, Jan. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Library Association (ALA) today announced the top books and video for children and young adults -- including the Caldecott, King, Newbery and Printz awards -- at its Midwinter Meeting in Seattle. The ALA also provided a live Web cast of the press announcement, which is archived and available at http://www.unikron.com/ala-webcast.

A list of all the 2007 literary award winners follows:

-- John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature:
The Higher Power of Lucky, written by Susan Patron, is the 2007 Newbery Medal winner. The book is illustrated by Matt Phelan and published by Simon & Schuster/Richard Jackson.
Three Newbery Honor Books were named: Penny from Heaven, written by Jennifer L. Holm and published by Random House; Hattie Big Sky, by Kirby Larson, published by Delacorte Press; and Rules, by Cynthia Lord, published by Scholastic.

-- Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture
book for children:
Flotsam, illustrated by David Wiesner, is the 2007 Caldecott Medal winner. The wordless book is published by Clarion. Two Caldecott Honor Books were named: Gone Wild: An Endangered Animal Alphabet, written and illustrated by David McLimans, and published by Walker, and Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Carole Boston Weatherford and published by Hyperion/Jump at the Sun.

-- Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for
young adults:
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang is the 2007 Printz Award winner. The book is published by First Second, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership.
Four Printz Honor Books were named:
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation; v. 1: The Pox Party by M. T. Anderson, published by Candlewick; "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green,
published by Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.; "Surrender" by Sonya Hartnett, published by Candlewick Press; and "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak, published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children's Books.

-- Coretta Scott King Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults:
Copper Sun, written by Sharon Draper, is the King Author Book winner. The book is published by Simon & Schuster/Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
One King Author Honor Book was selected:
The Road to Paris written by Nikki Grimes and published by G.P. Putnum's Sons, a division of PenguinYoung Readers Group.

Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, is the King Illustrator Book winner. The book was written by Carole Boston Weatherford and published by Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children.
Two King Illustrator Honor Books were selected:
Jazz, illustrated by Christopher Myers, written by Walter Dean Myers and published by Holiday House Inc.; and Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes illustrated by Benny Andrews, edited by David Roessel and Arnold Rampersad, and published by Sterling Publishing Co. Inc.

-- Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award:
Standing Against the Wind, written by Traci L. Jones is the Steptoe winner. The book is published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

-- Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody the artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences:
The Deaf Musicians, written by Pete Seeger and poet Paul DuBois Jacobs, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie and published by G. P. Putnam's Sons wins the award for children ages 0 to 10.
"Rules," written by Cynthia Lord and published by Scholastic Press is the winner in the middle-school category (age 11-13).
"Small Steps," written by Louis Sachar and published by Delacorte Press, is the winner in the teen category (age 13-18).

-- Theodor Seuss Geisel Beginning Reader Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book:
"Zelda and Ivy: The Runaways," written and illustrated by Laura McGee Kvasnosky is the Geisel Award winner. The book is published by Candlewick Press.
Three Geisel Honor Books were named:
"Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride," written by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen and published by Candlewick Press; "Move Over, Rover!" written by Karen Beaumont, illustrated by Jane Dyer and published by Harcourt Inc.; and "Not a Box," written and illustrated by Antoinette Portis and published by HarperCollins.

-- Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults:
Lois Lowry, author of "The Giver," is the 2007 Edwards Award winner. "The Giver" is published by Walter Lorraine Books/Houghton Mifflin Company.

-- Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children:
Author-illustrator James Marshall is the 2007 Wilder Award winner. Marshall was the author and illustrator of the "George and Martha" books, the "Fox" easy reader series, "The Cut-Ups" and "Goldilocks and the Three Bears."

-- Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children:
"Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon," written by Catherine Thimmesh, is the 2007 Sibert Award winner. The book is published by Houghton.
Three Sibert Honor Books were named:
"Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights Movement," written by Ann Bausum and published by National Geographic; "Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest of New Guinea," written by Sy Montgomery, photographs by Nic Bishop and published by Houghton; and "To Dance: A Ballerina's Graphic Novel," written by Siena Cherson Siegel, artwork by Mark Siegel and published by Simon & Schuster/Richard Jackson (hardcover) and Simon & Schuster/Aladdin.

-- Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in children's video:
Author/illustrator Mo Willems and Weston Woods Studios, producers of "Knuffle Bunny," are the 2007 Carnegie Medal winners. The DVD is based on Willems' book "Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale" and is performed by Willems, his wife Cheryl and their daughter Trixie. It is directed and animated by MaGiK Studio, with music by Scotty Huff and Robert Reynolds.

-- Mildred L. Batchelder Award for the most outstanding children's book translated from a foreign language and subsequently published in the United States:
Delacorte Press is the winner of the 2007 Batchelder Award for "The Pull of the Ocean." Originally published in France in 1999 as "L'enfant Ocean," the book was written by Jean-Claude Mourlevat and translated by Y.Maudet.
Two Batchelder Honor Books also were selected:
"The Killer's Tears," published by Delacorte Press, and "The Last Dragon," published by Hyperion/Miramax.

-- Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences:
"The Book of Lost Things," written by John Connolly and published by Simon & Schuster/Atria
"The Whistling Season," written by Ivan Doig and published by Harcourt
"Eagle Blue: A Team, A Tribe, and A High School Basketball Season in Arctic Alaska," written by Michael D'Orso and published by Bloomsbury
"Water for Elephants," written by Sara Gruen and published by Algonquin
"Color of the Sea," written by John Hamamura and published by Thomas Dunne.
"The Floor of the Sky," written by Pamela Carter Joern and published by the University of Nebraska
"The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game" written by Michael Lewis and published by Norton
"Black Swan Green," written by David Mitchell and published by Random House
"The World Made Straight," written by Ron Rash and published by Henry Holt
"The Thirteenth Tale," written by Diane Setterfield and published by Simon & Schuster/Atria

-- May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture recognizing an individual of distinction in the field of children's literature, who then presents a lecture at a winning host site:
David Macaulay will deliver the 2008 lecture. Macaulay's work varies from the Caldecott Medal-winning "Black and White" to the satiric fiction of "Motel of the Mysteries."

Recognized worldwide for the high quality they represent, ALA awards guide parents, educators, librarians and others in selecting the best materials for youth. Selected by judging committees of librarians and other children's literature experts, the awards encourage original and creative work. For more information on the ALA youth media awards and notables,
please visit the ALA Web site at http://www.ala.org/mw07winners.


SOURCE American Library Association

Related links:
# http://www.unikron.com/ala-webcast
www.technorati.com Blogs Linking to this News Release at Technorati
Issuers of news releases and not PR Newswire are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content. Terms and conditions, including restrictions on redistribution, apply.
Copyright © 1996-2007 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved.
A United Business Media company.
Personalized Children's Books