2019 Caldecott Awards

The Randolph Caldecott Medal is awarded to the most distinguished American picture book. The Medal was given to Hello Lighthouse written and illustrated by Sophie Blackhall.

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The Sonoma County Library has twenty-six copies.

Four Honors were awarded to:

A Big Mooncake for Little Star words and pictures by Grace Lin, the Sonoma County Library has thirteen copies

Alma and How She Got Her Name words and pictures by Juana Martinez-Neal, the Sonoma County Library has three copies in English and eight copies in Spanish.

The Rough Patch written and illustrated by Brian Lies, the Sonoma County Library has five copies.

Thank you, Omu words and pictures by Oge Mora, the Sonoma County Library has five copies.

2019 Seuss Geisel Awards

This morning, the American Library Association gave out its Youth Media Awards. The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award is given to the author and illustrator of the most distinquished American book published for beginning readers in the previous year. 

This year's Medal was awarded to Fox the Tiger by Corey R. Tabor.

The Sonoma County Library has thirteen copies.

Four Honors were awarded:

Tiger vs. Nightmare by Emily Tetri, the Sonoma County Library has six copies.

Fox + Chick: The Party and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier, the Sonoma County Library has nine copies.

The Adventures of Otto: See Pip Flap by David Milgram the Sonoma County Library has six copies.

King & Kayla and the Case of the Lost Tooth words by Dori Hillestad Butler and pictures by Nancy Meyers, the Sonoma County Library has five copies.

2018 Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal and Honors

The American Library Association gives the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the “most distinguished beginning reader book”. The 2018 Medal was awarded to Charlie & Mouse written by Laurel Snyder and illustrated by  Emily Hughes. 

Two brothers, four short stories and one funny read. This is book one of a series. The Sonoma County Library has six copies. The library also has four  copies of the second book in the series, Charlie & Mouse & Grumpy.

The Honors were awarded to:

I See a Cat  written and illustrated by Paul Meisel.

An "I Like to Read" book, I See a Cat is about a housebound dog who spies animals through the patio door until his boy comes home from school, they head outside to get up close and personal with the wildlife. Simple text using just ten words to tell story along with easily interpreted pictures. Great for kids just learning to read.  The Sonoma County Library has seven copies.

King & Kayla and The Case of the Missing Dog Treats written by Dori Hillstad Butler and illustrated by  Nancy Meyers.

Kayla is baking peanut butter treats for her friend Jillian's new dog. Three treats are missing, they are King's favorite treat but his breathe doesn't smell like peanut butter. Who ate the treats? As in all good dog books, the dog is the smartest one in the story. The Sonoma County Library has three copies. There are four books in this series. 

My Kite Is Stuck and Other Stories written and illustrated by Salina Yoon.

  The Sonoma County Library has eight copies. This book is the second in a series of three books (so far) about the humorous  adventures of Big Duck, Little Duck and Porcupine.

Noodleheads See the Future written by Tedd Arnold, Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss and illustrated by Tedd Arnold.

Somehow I have missed this new series by the author of the hugely popular Fly Guy books based on stories from many cultures about the fool. Seems the Sonoma County Library has missed this series, too.

Snail & Worm Again written and illustrated by Tina Kugler.

The second book of a series about the humorous adventures of Snail and Worm. The Sonoma County Library has three copies. 

2018 Caldecott Medal and Honors

Each year the Caldecott Award is given to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. This morning the Association for Library Services to Children, a division of  the American Library Association, awarded the 2018 Caldecott Medal to Wolf in the Snow, written and illustrated by Matthew Cordell.

An almost wordless book, Wolf in the Snow tells a compelling story about a girl who finds a lost wolf cub and returns him to his family. The wolves return the favor when the girl, exhausted by her journey lays down for a nap in the cold snow. The Sonoma County Library has five copies.

The Honors were awarded to:

Big Cat, little cat written and illustrated by Elisha Cooper.

 Big Cat, little cat reminds me so much of the relationship between two of my dogs, Piper and Gracie; it could be their story. Warning: you could shed a tear at the ending, I did. The Sonoma County Library has eleven copies.

Crown, An Ode to the Fresh Cut illustrated by Gordon C. James and written by Derrick Barnes.

Each award has its own committee that reads and follows books published in the category the award honors, Crown, An Ode to the Fresh Cut also won a Newbery Honor and both the Coretta Scott King author and illustrator Honors. The Sonoma County Library has six copies.

A Different Pond illustrated by Thi Bui and written by Bao Phi.

A true  father/son fishing story that takes place in my home town, Minneapolis, about the struggles of the past in Vietnam and the present in the early eighties Minnesota. The Sonoma County Library has five copies. 

Grand Canyon illustrated and written by Jason Chin.

A father and daughter explore the Grand Canyon's geology, animal and plant life in both the past and present. I am a big geology geek (thanks Uncle Peter and Cousin Mike) so I especially love the maps and back matter that goes further into the formation story. The Sonoma County Library has eleven copies.

Oops, Pounce, Quick, Run! An Alphabet Caper

Mike Twohy's Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor winning abecedary, Oops, Pounce, Quick, Run! An Alphabet Caper tells a compelling story with one or two words on each page. A mouse is sleeping, a dog's ball bounces into his home to wake him up. The dog reaches into the mouse hole to retrieve the ball, scares the mouse, the mouse runs and a chase ensues. Finally, the mouse manages to get back home, wraps up the ball and gives the present to the dog, the dog loves it, they make up and become friends. I have now used twice as many words to tell the story as the author used. His drawings are pen and ink with color used only for the mouse, the dog, the ball, the present and the ABCs. There is plenty of white space to focus attention on the action and the font is large and bold. It is a great book for both younger kids and beginning readers. The younger kids get a different look at the alphabet and beginning readers have a action filled book they can read themselves.

The Sonoma County Library has twelve copies. There is no AR for this book. If your kids like this abecedary (an alphabet book), they might also like Z is for Moose, too.

World Read Aloud Day

Here is an ideas for a great read aloud book:

Vera Brosgol's Leave Me Alone! is a 2017 Caldecott Honor book. The protagonist is the grandmother in a small house with many children,a big sack of yarn and lots of sweaters to make for her grandchildren. But she could get no peace, so she left to find a place to knit. Bears bothered her in the woods,  goats in a mountain cave snacked on her yarn, she climbed so far up the mountain that she climbed onto the moon. Did she find peace there? The little green men had scanners that beeped and booped until she could stand it no longer and left through a wormhole. On the other side it was very dark, very quiet and she was alone at last. The perfect place to do her knitting. When she finished 30 sweaters she went through another wormhole back to the house and a joyous welcome from her grandchildren.

Depending on the age of the child(ren) you are reading to, be prepared to answer some questions about wormholes. The Sonoma County Library has thirteen copies. The AR is 2.9.

The Infamous Ratsos

The Ratso brothers, Louie and Ralphie,  want to be tough just like their dad, Big Lou. But try as they might every time they try to  be tough they wind up doing a good deed. One day, their father confronts them with a letter from school commending them on welcoming a new student to school and stopping a bully from harassing another student. And to top it off, Mr. O'Hare told him that the boys shoveled his sidewalk during the snowstorm. What did they have to say for themselves? They want to be tough like their dad. Dad thinks he should be more like his boys and help others. So that is what the three of them do.

The Infamous Ratsos won a Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor for 2017. Kara La Reau has written several other books for beginning readers. Most of them fall into the 2.0 to 3.0 AR range. This book has not been assigned an AR as of today. One of the things that I like about the book is that the font is easy to read, the letters large and spaced so beginning readers can tell where one word ends and another begins. Beginning readers will like this funny chapter book and Matt Myers' illustrations.

The Sonoma County Library has one copy.

2017 Newbery Medal and Honors

The American Library Association awarded the 2017 Newbery Medal  for “the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children” to The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill.

Honors were awarded to

Freedom Over Me, Eleven Slaves, Their Lives and Dreams Brought to Life words and pictures by Ashley Bryan

The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Dog words by Adam Gitwitz and illustrated by Hatem Aly

I am in the middle of this book right now. Despite being set in 1242 AD in France, it is a book for our times. And it obeys the first rule of dog characters in children's books: the dog is the smartest one!

Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk

This was one of my two favorite middle grade books from last year. Another story for our times set in Pennsylvania in the early 1940's.

2017 Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal and Honors

The American Library Association gives the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the “most distinguished beginning reader book” We Are Growing : A Mo Willems' Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! Book written by Laurie Keller.

You can read my review here.

The Honor books are:

Good Night Owl written and illustrated by Greg Pizzoli. Three years ago Greg Pizzoli won the Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal for The Watermelon Seed a book that has delighted many of my students.

Oops, Pounce, Quick, Run! An Alphabet Caper words and pictures by Mike Twohy

Go Otto Go! written and illustrated by David Milgrim

The Infamous Ratsos words by Kara LaReau and pictures by Matt Myers

2017 Caldecott Medal and Honors

Each year the Caldecott Award is given to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. This morning the Association for Library Services to Children, a division of  the American Library Association, awarded the 2017 Caldecott Medal to Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat written and illustrated by Javanka Steptoe.

The Honor books are:

Leave Me Alone illustrated and written by Vera Brosgol

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Freedom in Congo Square illustrated by R. Gregory Christie and written by Carole Boston Weatherford

Do Iz Tak? illustrated and written by Carson Ellis

They All Saw A Cat illustrated and written by Brendan Wenzel 

You can read my review here. This book is genius, the Honor is well deserved.

Gift Ideas for Kids

At this time of year most of us are looking for gifts and it is also the time of year when many book awards are handed out and lists of best books of the year are compiled. The New York Public Library releases their 100 Best Books for Kids list around Thanksgiving every year. It includes picture books, easy readers (both the focus of this blog), fiction, fairy tales and folklore, graphic novels, non-fiction and poetry. There are a few books missing in my humble opinion especially in the easy reader and graphic novel categories. I hope to address that omission later in the week. 

Every year the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) awards the best fiction and non-fiction books for children. The Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children that has a potential to transform children's lives by inviting compassion, imagination and wonder. The 2017 Winner is Ghost by Jason Reynolds. They are Honor and Recommended Books as well. The NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for non-fiction went to Some Writer!: The Story of E.B. White, written and illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Honor and Recommended books are included for this category, too.

Brightly has an article about How to Use Book Awards to Find Great Children's Books. The article features the CYBILS (Children's and Young adult Bloggers' Literary Awards). The awards are given out in February but you can find the list of nominees here. One nice feature is that you can click on the title and be transported to Amazon to find out more about the book and read reviews. Some of the books have been reviewed by bloggers and there are links to those reviews, too.

That is enough to get you started on finding the just right book or books for each child on your list. Check back for my personal recommendations in December (I am still reading!).

Hat tip: Raising Readers

Books for Kids Reading Above Grade Level

This is not a topic we talk about often on this blog but it is something I spend a great deal of time on with the kids in my life. The situation described by the author, Joan Kindig, about a teacher reading aloud to her third grade class applies to many kids in elementary school. They have already read and enjoyed the read aloud book and can become bored. The solution to the read aloud challenge in the classroom is headphones and audio-books. Let's stop here for a minute. Did you know that audio-books count as reading? I have been on many car trips where we listened to the great Jim Dale use his 101 different voices to read the seven Harry Potter books. The article, Books For Kids Reading Above Grade Level from the School Library Journal has a list of audio-books that are age appropriate but have more meat. They also are great for read alouds at home and for kids to read by themselves. These are my favorites:

The Sonoma County Library has six copies of Stella By Starlight, the AR is 4.8. The library has ninety copies of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the AR is 5.5; there are twenty-three copies of Echo and the AR is 4.9; there are eleven copies of The War That Saved My Life, the AR is 4.1 and twenty-seven copies of Dead End In Norvelt, the AR is 5.7.

Last Stop on Market Street

Last Stop On Market Street was awarded the Newbery Medal (Matt de la Pena) and a Caldecott Honor (Christian Robinson) on January 11, 2016 by the Association for Library Services to Children, a division of the American Library Association. This is the first time that a true picture book won the Newbery Medal. In 1982 a book of poetry, A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocence and Experience Travelers, won both the Newbery Medal and a Caldecott Honor.

As CJ and his Nana take the bus from church to the last stop on Market Street, he peppers his Nana with questions about their Sunday routine and meets all kinds of interesting people along the way. The bus driver, Mr. Dennis pulls a coin from his ear, he learns from a man with a seeing eye dog that a person can "see" the world with other senses, and feels the magic of a guitar player's music that transports him to a beautiful, tranquil place. As a child, my grandmothers offered a unique perspective on life that I didn't get from my parents. Another book about a grandmother guiding her grandson through a difficulty is Nana in the City.

You can read an article in Brightly by Matt de la Pena about talking to our kids about diversity when we read with them.

The AR is 3.3. The Sonoma County Library has eighteen copies.

Supertruck

Another 2016 Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor book is Supertruck by Stephen Savage. The story touches on two genres that appeal to young boys: trucks and superheros.

In the city there are many brave trucks, ones that fix power lines, or put out fires or tow disabled vehicles, but when a blizzard hits the city, it is a lowly garbage truck that saves the day. The glasses wearing tow truck sneaks into a garage and emerges as SUPERTRUCK! He digs out the entire city; freeing the bucket truck, the fire engine and the tow truck along the way. Where is the truck that saved the city? Just collecting the trash as he does every day.

At first, I thought the graphics were a little too juvenile for first graders, but then I was reminded of the Cars movie and books. The pictures help tell part of the story, the font is large and easy to read, there are just a few words on a page and the words are well spaced. The AR is 1.5.

The Sonoma County Library has fourteen copies.

The third Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor book is Waiting by Kevin Henkes. You can read my review here.

A Pig, A Fox, and A Box

Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor book, A Pig, A Fox, And A Box, by Jonathan Fenske  has all the things beginning readers want and need: humor, pictures that tell part of the story, just a few words on a page, an easily read font and rhyming. I have kid tested it with several struggling readers, they all loved it.

In the first chapter, Fox decides to play a trick on Pig. Like Wylie Coyote, the trick is on Fox. Again, in the second chapter,  Fox plays a new trick on Pig, at first Pig is fooled  but when Fox really needs help, Pig decides he is playing another trick and does not help Fox. In chapter 3, as the two friends walk away, a bandaged Fox decides that he is done playing tricks today. 

The AR is 1.3 (Penguin has it as a level two reader). The Sonoma County Library has seven copies.

2016 Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal and Honors

The American Library Association gives the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the “most distinguished beginning reader book”. This year’s Medal winner is Don't Throw It To Mo! written by David A Adler and illustrated by Sam Ricks.

And the Honors are A Pig, a Fox and a Box written and illustrated by Jonathan Fenske. 

Supertruck written and illustrated by Stephen Savage.

Waiting by Kevin Henkes.