Newbery and Caldecott winners announced

The 2014 winner of the John Newbery Medal for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children is Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures, written by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by K G Campbell, and published by Candlewick Press. DiCamillo received the Newbery Medal in 2004 for The Tale of Despereux; the new award makes her the sixth person to have won the medal twice. The Newbery Honor Books (ie, runners-up) are Doll Bones, by Holly Black; The Year of Billy Miller, by Kevin Henkes; One Came Home, by Amy Timberlake; and Paperboy, by Vince Vawter.

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 Locomotive, written and illustrated by Brian Floca, and published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers. The Caldecott Honor Books are Journey, written and illustrated by Aaron Becker; Flora and the Flamingo, written and illustrated by Molly Idle; and Mr Wuffles!, written and illustrated by David Wiesner.

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: Midwinterblood, by Marcus Sedgwick.

The Coretta Scott King Book Award, recognizing an African-American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults: (author) P.S. Be Eleven, by Rita Williams-Garcia, and (illustrator) Knock Knock: My Dad's Dream for Me, illustrated by Bryan Collier and written by Daniel Beaty.

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) Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, by Meg Medina, and (illustrator) Nino Wrestles the World,, written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales.

The Margaret A Edwards Award, for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults: Markus Zusak.

The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award, for the most distinguished book for beginning readers: The Watermelon Seed, written and illustrated by Greg Pizzoli.

The Robert F Sibert Informational Book Award, for the most distinguished informational book for children: Parrots Over Puerto Rico," written by Susan L Roth and Cindy Trumbore, and illustrated by Susan L Roth.

The YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults: The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World's Most Notorious Nazi, by Neal Bascomb.

The Mildred L Batchelder Award, for the most outstanding children's book translated from a foreign language and subsequently published in the United States: Mister Orange, originally written in Dutch (with the same title) by Truus Matti and translated by Laura Watkinson.

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


* Amazon and B&N links are provided for information. Buying from your local independent bookseller is of course strongly recommended!!

RIP: Rodolfo Hernandez

ZUI this article from the Fayetteville (NC) Observer:

Cpl. Rodolfo "Rudy" Hernandez was given a hero's farewell Monday when hundreds gathered to pay their respects to the fallen Medal of Honor recipient.

Hernandez, who died Dec. 21 at age 82, was buried at Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery in Spring Lake.

*******

Hernandez earned the Medal of Honor in 1951 when, armed only with grenades and a bayonet and facing what believed to be a mortal head wound, he single-handedly charged into North Korean soldiers.

His actions spurred his fellow soldiers, who had been withdrawing, to attack. Hernandez was found the next day near death but surrounded by the bodies of six enemy soldiers who had been killed with the bayonet.

*******

Hernandez is survived by his wife, Denzil Hernandez, and three children with his first wife, Bertha Hernandez.

There are now 77 surviving Medal of Honor recipients, ten of whom were awarded the medal for Korean War service.

************* *** *************

RODOLFO PEREZ HERNANDEZ

Corporal, US Army; Company G, 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team

Born: 14 April 1931, Colton, California
Died: 21 December 2013, Fayetteville, North Carolina

Citation: Cpl. Hernandez, a member of Company G, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy [near Wontong-ni, Korea, on 31 May 1951]. His platoon, in defensive positions on Hill 420, came under ruthless attack by a numerically superior and fanatical hostile force, accompanied by heavy artillery, mortar, and machine gun fire which inflicted numerous casualties on the platoon. His comrades were forced to withdraw due to lack of ammunition but Cpl. Hernandez, although wounded in an exchange of grenades, continued to deliver deadly fire into the ranks of the onrushing assailants until a ruptured cartridge rendered his rifle inoperative. Immediately leaving his position, Cpl. Hernandez rushed the enemy armed only with rifle and bayonet. Fearlessly engaging the foe, he killed 6 of the enemy before falling unconscious from grenade, bayonet, and bullet wounds but his heroic action momentarily halted the enemy advance and enabled his unit to counterattack and retake the lost ground. The indomitable fighting spirit, outstanding courage, and tenacious devotion to duty clearly demonstrated by Cpl. Hernandez reflect the highest credit upon himself, the infantry, and the U.S. Army.

Medal of Honor authorised for Civil War and Vietnam

ZUI this article from the Washington Post.

More than 150 years after he gave his life at Gettysburg leading the effort to repel Pickett’s Charge, 1st Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing is finally on track to get the Medal of Honor after Congress last month approved waiving the time limit for the nation’s top military honor.

The waiver was one of a half-dozen included in the massive defense policy bill — legislation that also began to tweak the Medal of Honor system, standardizing the amount of time a nomination may be considered and removing a cap that, in recent years, had said nobody could win the medal more than once.

*******

Now that the Cushing nomination is officially pending, the Pentagon would not comment on his chances, nor those of the five other troops from long-ended wars in Vietnam and Korea whom Congress also made eligible to receive the Medal of Honor or the Distinguished Service Cross, which is the second-highest honor for a soldier.

Cushing served with Battery A, 4th United States Artillery.

Time-limit waivers for the Medal of Honor were also authorised for Sfc Bennie G Adkins, Special Forces Detachment A–102, for actions in Vietnam during March of 1966, and for Sp4/c Donald P Sloat, 1st Infantry Regiment (196th Light Infantry Brigade, Americal Division), for actions in Vietnam in January of 1970. Waivers for the Distinguished Service Cross were authorised for Sfc Robert F Keiser, 2nd Infantry Division (Korea, Nov 1950), Sfc Patrick N Watkins Jr, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (Vietnam, Aug 1968), and Sp4/c Robert L Towles, 7th Cavalry (Vietnam, Nov 1965).

Whether any of these medals will actually be awarded remains to be seen.

From the same article:

Pentagon officials did say, however, that they asked for two of the changes that could affect current troops.

In one change, the law now allows service members to earn multiple Medals of Honor if their actions merit it.

*******

The other major change was to set a standard time frame for all of the services. The law sets time limits for how long after the combat action someone can be recommended and awarded the medal, but the limits varied among the services.

Now, all of the services will have three years to make the recommendation and five years to issue the award.

The complete text of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 can be found here.

George Cross: A. G. Bagot

ARTHUR GERALD BAGOT, DSC

Lieutenant (then Sub-Lieutenant), Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve

Born: 26 April 1888, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Died: 12 November 1979, Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Citation: The KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the award of the Albert Medal for Gallantry in Saving Life at Sea to
Lieutenant-Commander Keith Robin Hoare, D.S.O., D.S.C., R.N.V.R., and Lieutenant Arthur Gerald Bagot, D.S.C., R.N.V.R.
The account of the services in respect of which the Decoration has been conferred is as follows: —
On the 12th April, 1918, an explosion took place in the engine-room of H.M. Motor Launch 356, and the forward tanks burst into flame. The Officer and some of the crew were blown overboard by the explosion, and the remainder were quickly driven aft by the flames, and were taken off in a skiff. By this time the flames were issuing from the cabin hatch aft, and there was much petrol burning on the surface of the water. It was then realised by the crews of adjacent vessels that the aft petrol tanks and the depth charge were being attacked by the fire, and might explode at any moment. At the moment when others were running away, Lieutenant Hoare and Sub-Lieutenant Bagot jumped into their dinghy, rowed to the wreck, got on board, and removed the depth charge, thereby preventing an explosion which might have caused serious loss of life amongst the crowd of English and French sailors on the quay.

[London Gazette issue 30852 dated 20 Aug 1918, published 20 Aug 1918.]


Note: The Albert Medal was discontinued in 1971, and all living recipients were invited to trade in their medals for the George Cross.  Lt-Cdr Robin Hoare DSO* DSC AM had died on 6 Feb 1959, but Bagot accepted the offer and received his GC on 26 Nov 1972.

Medal of Honor: M. M. Oviatt and W. M. Smith

MILES MASON OVIATT

Corporal, US Marine Corps; USS Brooklyn

Born: 1 December 1840, Cattaraugus County, New York
Died: 1 November 1880

Citation: On board the U.S.S. Brooklyn during action against rebel forts and gunboats and with the ram Tennessee in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Despite severe damage to his ship and the loss of several men on board as enemy fire raked the deck, Cpl. Oviatt fought his gun with skill and courage throughout the furious 2-hour battle which resulted in the surrender of the rebel ram Tennessee.










WILLARD M SMITH

Corporal, US Marine Corps; USS Brooklyn 

Born: 1840, Allegheny, New York
Died: 26 March 1918

Citation: On board the U.S.S. Brooklyn during action against rebel forts and gunboats, and with the ram Tennessee in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Despite severe damage to his ship and the loss of several men on board as enemy fire continued to fall, Cpl. Smith fought his gun with skill and courage throughout the furious 2-hour battle which resulted in the surrender of the rebel ram Tennessee.

Book list - 2013

Here's the complete list of books I read in 2013. I didn't set a goal for this year, so I can't report success in reaching it (nor must I admit to failure, either).

An asterisk indicates a reread. Numbers refer to the order in which the books were read.


"Adult" Fiction (43 books)
1. Cold Days - urban fantasy, by Jim Butcher
2. The Ram Rebellion - AH (short stories), edited by Eric Flint and Virginia DeMarce
3. Dream Park - SF, by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes
4. Ice Crown - SF, by Andre Norton *
5. Forerunner - SF, by Andre Norton
6. Galactic Derelict - SF, by Andre Norton *
7. The Wrong Hill to Die On - mystery, by Donis Casey
8. The Defiant Agents - SF, by Andre Norton *
9. Worlds of the Imperium - SF/AH, by Keith Laumer *
10. The Other Side of Time - SF/AH, by Keith Laumer *
11. Key out of Time - SF, by Andre Norton *
12. Myth-Quoted - fantasy, by Jody Lynn Nye
13. Assignment in Nowhere - SF/AH, by Keith Laumer
14. The ABC Murders - mystery, by Agatha Christie
15. Myth-ion Improbable - fantasy, by Robert Lynn Asprin
16. Thirteen at Dinner (aka Lord Edgware Dies) - mystery, by Agatha Christie
17. Murder on the Orient Express (aka Murder in the Calais Coach) - mystery, by Agatha Christie
18. Cards on the Table - mystery, by Agatha Christie
19. Myth-Fortunes - fantasy, by Robert Lynn Asprin and Jody Lynn Nye
20. The Secret Adversary - mystery, by Agatha Christie
21. Myth-ing Persons - fantasy, by Robert Lynn Asprin *
22. Little Myth Marker - fantasy, by Robert Lynn Asprin
23. The Windsor Knot - mystery, by Sharyn McCrumb
24. The Weans - humour, by Robert Nathan *
25. Partners in Crime - mystery (short stories), by Agatha Christie
26. A Slice of Murder - mystery, by Chris Cavender
27. Class Dis-Mythed - fantasy, by Robert Lynn Asprin and Jody Lynn Nye
28. Death in the Air (aka Death in the Clouds) - mystery, by Agatha Christie
29. The Hen of the Baskervilles - mystery, by Donna Andrews
30. Myth-Chief - fantasy, by Robert Lynn Asprin and Jody Lynn Nye
33. Eggs Benedict Arnold - mystery, by Laura Childs
38. The Barsoom Project - SF, by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes
39. The Long Earth - SF, by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
42. The California Voodoo Game - SF, by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes
43. Duck the Halls - mystery, by Donna Andrews
44. The Moon Maze Game - SF, by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes
47. Evolution - SF, by Stephen Baxter
49. Fellowship of Fear - thriller, by Aaron Elkins
50. Arctic Rising - SF thriller, by Tobias S Buckell
51. The Dark Place - mystery, by Aaron Elkins *
52. The Moonshine War - thriller, by Elmore Leonard *
53. Burning Paradise - AH/SF, by Robert Charles Wilson
54. Murder in the Queen's Armes - mystery, by Aaron Elkins *

Children's/YA Fiction (6)
31. 11 Birthdays - children's, by Wendy Mass
34. Finally - children's, by Wendy Mass
37. 13 Gifts - children's, by Wendy Mass
40. Momo - children's fantasy, by Michael Ende
45. The Last Present - children's, by Wendy Mass
46. He Went with Marco Polo - children's historical fiction, by Louise Andrews Kent

Non-Fiction (6)
32. Presumed Lost: The Incredible Ordeal of America's Submarine POWs During the Pacific War - WW II, by Stephen L Moore
35. Blondie & Dagwood's America - comics, by Dean Young and Rick Marschall
36. The Taste of War: World War II and the Battle for Food - WW II, by Lizzie Collingham
41. Call of Duty: A Montana Girl in World War II - WWII memoirs, by Grace Porter Miller
48. Sea of Gray: The Around-the-World Odyssey of the Confederate Raider Shenandoah - USCW, by Tom Chaffin
55. The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England - British history, by Ian Mortimer


The biggest categories were SF (16), mysteries (15), and fantasy (9). Dame Agatha Christie was the most-read author of the year (7 books); Robert Lynn Asprin was second (6). And 11 of the 55 books were rereads.

My favourites? I'd say Cold Days, by Jim Butcher, was the best book I read all year (especially with the unexpected twist at the end!). These twelve (listed in the order in which I read them) were also very good:

Dream Park, by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes
The Hen of the Baskervilles, by Donna Andrews
11 Birthdays, by Wendy Mass
Presumed Lost: The Incredible Ordeal of America's Submarine POWs During the Pacific War, by Stephen L Moore
Finally, by Wendy Mass
13 Gifts, by Wendy Mass
The Barsoom Project, by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes
The California Voodoo Game, by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes
Duck the Halls, by Donna Andrews
The Moon Maze Game, by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes
The Last Present, by Wendy Mass
Burning Paradise, by Robert Charles Wilson

The four Niven/Barnes books make up a series; it's hard to say which of the four I liked best. The four Mass books are also a series, and the last one does a good job of explaining some of the questions raised by the other three.

Having not set a goal for last year, I'm not setting one for this year either. But I do hope to do a lot more reading this year....

Book list - Oct-Dec 2013

Momo - children's fantasy, by Michael Ende
Call of Duty: A Montana Girl in World War II - WWII memoirs, by Grace Porter Miller
The California Voodoo Game - SF, by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes
Duck the Halls - mystery, by Donna Andrews
The Moon Maze Game - SF, by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes
The Last Present - children's, by Wendy Mass
He Went with Marco Polo - children's historical fiction, by Louise Andrews Kent
Evolution - SF, by Stephen Baxter
Sea of Gray: The Around-the-World Odyssey of the Confederate Raider Shenandoah - USCW, by Tom Chaffin
Fellowship of Fear - thriller, by Aaron Elkins
Arctic Rising - SF thriller, by Tobias S Buckell
The Dark Place - mystery, by Aaron Elkins *
The Moonshine War - thriller, by Elmore Leonard *
Burning Paradise - AH/SF, by Robert Charles Wilson
Murder in the Queen's Armes - mystery, by Aaron Elkins *
The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England - British history, by Ian Mortimer


16 books last quarter, of which three were rereads (marked with asterisks). While this was the first time I'd actually read He Went with Marco Polo, my fifth-grade teacher read it to us in class - making it the only book that I can actually remember anyone's ever reading to me. (My sister taught me to read when I was three, and my earliest memories are from when I was four. I have no reason to doubt that my mother and sisters read to me when I was younger, as they say they did; I just don't remember it.)