Newbery and Caldecott winners announced

The 2009 winner of the John Newbery Medal for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children is The Graveyard Book, written by Neil Gaiman and published by HarperCollins. The Newbery Honor Books (ie, runners-up) are The Underneath, by by Kathi Appelt; The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba, by Margarita Engle; Savvy, by Ingrid Law; and After Tupac & D Foster, by Jacqueline Woodson.

Amazon and Barnes & Noble both have it, of course.*

The Randolph Caldecott Medal, for the most distinguished American picture book for children, was awarded to The House in the Night, illustrated by Beth Krommes, written by Susan Marie Swanson, and published by Houghton Mifflin. The Caldecott Honor Books are A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever, written and illustrated by Marla Frazee; How I learned Geography, written and illustrated by Uri Shulevitz; and A River of Words: the Story of William Carlos Williams, illustrated by Melissa Sweet and written by Jen Bryant.

Amazon and Barnes & Noble both have this one, too.*

(I'll let you do your own searches for the Honor Books.)

The American Library Association (ALA), who give both of the above awards, also announced a few others, including:

The Michael L Printz Award, for excellence in young-adult literature: Jellicoe Road, by Melina Marchetta.

The Coretta Scott King Book Award, recognizing an African-American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults: (author) We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson, and (illustrator) The Blacker the Berry, illustrated by Floyd Cooper and written by Joyce Carol Thomas.

The Pura Belpré Awards, for Latino authors and illustrators whose work best portrays, affirms and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in children's books: (author) The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom, by Margarita Engle, and (illustrator) Just in Case: A Trickster Tale and Spanish Alphabet Book, by Yuyi Morales.

The Margaret A Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement, for contribution to writing for teens: Laurie Halse Anderson.

The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award, for the most distinguished book for beginning readers: Are You Ready to Play Outside?, written and illustrated by Mo Willems.

The Robert F Sibert Medal, for the most distinguished informational book for children: We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, by Kadir Nelson.

The Mildred L Batchelder Award, for the most outstanding children's book translated from a foreign language and subsequently published in the United States: Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, by Nahoko Uehashi (translated by Cathy Hirano).

MSNBC has the complete list of awards, winners, and Honor Books here.


* Patronising your local independent bookseller is strongly recommended!