National Book Award Nominees Announced Today

Here are the final five nominees for the National Book Award for Young People:

Laurie Halse Anderson, Chains (Simon & Schuster).

Kathi Appelt, The Underneath (Atheneum).

Judy Blundell, What I Saw And How I Lied(Scholastic).

E. Lockhart, Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, The (Hyperion).

Tim Tharp, The Spectacular Now (Alfred A. Knopf).

In my August 8, 2008, review of Appelt's book, I predicted a major award for this excellent book. I think it could appeal to a wide range of potential readers and am glad to that the award committee thought well of it.