Friday 15 January 2016

2016 YALSA Bests for Young Adults recognize numerous youngCanLit titles


Each year, YALSA presents lists of best fiction, popular paperbacks, amazing audiobooks and great graphic novels for Young Adults after the American Library Association's Midwinter Meeting.  The books, recommended for ages 12-18, meet the criteria of both good quality literature and appealing reading for teens. The lists comprises a wide range of genres and styles, including contemporary realistic fiction, fantasy, horror, science fiction and non-fiction.

It was a banner year for youngCanLit with six titles included in the Best Fiction for Young Adults (there was only one last year), two titles amongst the Great Graphic Novels for Teens, and three in the Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Of the 64 titles included, the following youngCanLit titles were recognized:

The Truth Commission 
by Susan Juby
Razorbill Canada


Calvin
by Martine Leavitt
Groundwood Books


When Everything Feels Like the Movies
by Raziel Reid
Arsenal Pulp


All the Rage
by Courtney Summers
St. Martin's Press


The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B
by Teresa Toten
Doubleday Canada/Random House Canada


The Emperor of Any Place
by Tim Wynne-Jones
Candlewick





Child Soldier: When Boys and Girls Are Used in War
by Jessica Dee Humphreys and Michel Chikwanine
Illustrated by Claudia Davila
Kids Can Press


SuperMutant Magic Academy
by Jillian Tamaki
Drawn & Quarterly




In Real Life
by Cory Doctorow
Illustrated by Jen Wang
First Second


This One Summer
by Mariko Tamaki
Illustrated by Jillian Tamaki
Groundwood Books


Blood Red Road
by Moira Young
Random House 



Lovely to see so many books of YACanLit recognized!

2016 ALSC Notable Children's Books, Recordings and Videos: youngCanLit selections

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division within the American Library Association, announced its 2016 Notable Children's Books, Recordings and Videos at the ALA's Midwinter Meeting in Boston.

The lists for all notables are posted at the ALSC website.  However, I would like to note those Canadian books that made the list, bolding the Canadian author or illustrator. 

Congratulations 
to all of you 
for creating outstanding work 
for our children.




YOUNGER READERS (Preschool to Grade 2)

Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear

by Lindsay Mattick
Illustrated by Sophie Blackall
Little, Brown





Sidewalk Flowers
by JonArno Lawson
Illustrated by Sydney Smith
Groundwood Books









MIDDLE READERS (Grades 3-5)



The Nest
by Kenneth Oppel
Illustrated by Jon Klassen
Simon & Schuster








OLDER READERS (Grades 6-8)



Child Soldier: When Boys and Girls Are Used in War
by Jessica Dee Humphreys and Michel Chikwanine
Illustrated by Claudia Dávila
Kids Can Press









NOTABLE CHILDREN'S RECORDINGS


The Boundless
Brilliance Audio, CD
Based on book by Kenneth Oppel

The Madman of Piney Woods

Listening Library, CD
Based on book by Christopher Paul Curtis




NOTABLE CHILDREN'S VIDEOS


Extra Yarn
Weston Woods
7 min.
Ages 4-8
Based on book illustrated by Jon Klassen





This Is Not My Hat
Weston Woods
5 min.
Ages 4-8
Based on picture book author illustrated by Jon Klassen




2016 ALA Youth Media Awards winners: youngCanLit selections


Each year at the American Library Association's midwinter meeting, the ALA honours books for young people with a full roster of awards including the:
  • John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature
  • Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children
  • Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults
  • Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African American author of outstanding books for children and young adults
  • Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award recognizing an African American illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults
  • Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement
  • Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience (three age categories: Ages 0-10; Ages 11-13; Ages 13-18)
  • Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences
  • Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in children's video
  • Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults
  • May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award recognizing an author, critic, librarian, historian or teacher of children's literature
  • Mildred L. Batchelder Award for an outstanding children's book translated from a foreign language and subsequently published in the United States
  • Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States
  • Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award honoring a Latino illustrator whose children's books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience
  • Pura Belpré (Author) Award honoring a Latino writer whose children's books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience
  • Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children
  • Stonewall Book Award -Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award given annually to English-language children’s and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience
  • Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book
  • William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens
  • YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults, ages 12 – 18
The ALA Youth Media Awards were announced on January 11, 2016 in Boston, and included the following titles by Canadian authors and illustrators. 

Congratulations 
to these authors/illustrators for the following honours:


Randolph Caldecott Medal:  Winner
for the most distinguished American picture book for children

Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear
Illustrated by Sophie Blackall
Written by Lindsay Mattick 
Little, Brown and Company




Schneider Family Book Award: For teens (ages 13-18): Winner
 for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience

The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B
by Teresa Toten
published by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books



2016 USBBY Outstanding International Books List


Each year, the United States Board of Books for Young People (USBBY) compiles its Outstanding International Books List of books that, while published or distributed in the U.S., originated or were first published outside of the USA. These books are "deemed most outstanding of those published" in the previous year and, not surprisingly, a number of Canadian books have earned this honour.

Congratulations 
to the following Canadian books for young people 
for inclusion on the 


Grades Pre-K to Grade 2

The Bus Ride
by Marianne Dubuc
Translated by Yvette Ghione
Kids Can Press


Sidewalk Flowers
by JonArno Lawson
Illustrated by Sydney Smith
Groundwood Books







Grades 3-5

The Red Bicycle: The Extraordinary Story of One Ordinary Bicycle
by Jude Isabella
Illustrated by Simone Shin
Kids Can Press








Grades 6-8

We Are All Made of Molecules
by Susin Nielsen
Tundra Books








Grades 9-12

My Name is Arnaktauyok: The Life and Art of Germaine Arnaktauyok

by Germaine Arnaktauyok and Gyu Oh
Illustrated by Germaine Arnaktauyok
Inhabit Media


Prison Boy
by Sharon E. Mackay
Annick Press


Dance of the Banished
by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
Pajama Press

2016 CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals nominees announced


The Carnegie Medal and the Kate Greenaway Medal are children's book awards presented by the CILIP, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in the United Kingdom.  Shortlists and winners are selected by librarians who serve young readers.

To be eligible for the 2016 Awards titles must have been first published in the UK between 1 September 1, 2014 and August 31,  2015.  Books first published in another country must have been co-published in the UK within three months of the original publication date.

The winning titles will be announced at an awards ceremony in June.

This year, there are two Canadian authors' books nominated for the 2016 CILIP Carnegie Medal for the writer of an outstanding book for children.  Congratulations to authors Susin Nielsen and Allan Stratton on their nominations!

We Are All Made of Molecules
by Susin Nielsen
Tundra Books (Canada)
Andersen Press (U.K.)

The Dogs
by Allan Stratton
Scholastic Canada (Canada)
Andersen Press (U.K.)









Among the nominated illustrators for the 2016 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal, there are two Canadian illustrators, Jon Klassen and Sydney Smith. Congratulations!

Sam and Dave Dig a Hole
Illustrated by Jon Klassen
Written by Mac Barnett
Walker Books (U.K.)

Footpath Flowers (Sidewalk Flowers in Canada)
Illustrated by Sydney Smith
Written by Jon Arno Lawson
Groundwood Books (Canada)
Walker Books (U.K.)


Wednesday 6 January 2016

2015 Governor General's Literary Awards: Winners

(I know I spent much time online congratulating the winners of the 2015 Governor General Literary Awards when they were announced October 28, 2015, but I just noticed that I failed to post those winners here.  Can't believe I was so remiss.  So here they are, two months late.)



The Governor General's Literary Awards are Canada's national book awards, honouring the best of our literature in seven categories, in both official languages.  On October 28, 2015, the winners of the 2015 Governor General's Literary Awards were announced on the Canada Council website.

Congratulations to the winners of the Children's Literature: Text and Children's Literature: Illustration awards, for both English and French:

English Children’s Literature: Text

Caroline Pignat 
for
The Gospel Truth
Red Deer Press




English Children’s Literature: Illustration 

JonArno Lawson and Sydney Smith
for
Sidewalk Flowers
Groundwood Books




French Children's Literature: Text 

Louis-Philippe Hébert
par
Maria Réparatrice
Les Éditions de La Grenouillère



French Children's Literature: Illustration

Patrick Doyon et André Marois
par
Le voleur de sandwichs
Les Éditions de la Pastèque