... And the Winners Are... 2014 Newbery and Caldecott Medals Awarded

The American Library Association has released the winners of this year's young people's book awards. The Newbery Award, for books written for young readers, has gone to Kate DiCamillo for her novel Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures (Candlewick Press, 2013). (See my review here.) DiCamillo is a past winner of this award for her The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread and the Newbery Honor Award for Because of Winn-Dixie.

Four Newbery Honor Books were also named: Holly Black's Doll Bones (Simon & Schuster, 2013), previous winner Kevin Henkes' The Year of Billy Miller (Greenwillow Books, 2013) (see my review here), Amy Timberlake's One Came Home (Alfred A. Knopf, 2013), and Vince Vawter's Paperboy (Delacorte Press, 2013).

Taking the Caldecott Award for the best-illustrated book for children is Brian Floca for his Locomotive (Atheneum, 2013). Caldecott Honors went to  Journey (Candlewick, 2013), written and illustrated by Aaron Becker, to Molly Idle's Flora and the Flamingo (Chronicle Books, 2013), and the multiple Caldecott-winning David Wiesner for Mr. Wuffles! (Houghton Mifflin Clarion, 2013 (see my review here.)

The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for beginning reader books went to The Watermelon Seed (Hyperion, 2013), written and illustrated by Greg Pizzoli (read my review here), with Geisel Honor Awards going to Mary Sullivan's Ball (Houghton Mifflin, 2013), frequent award-winner Mo Willems for his A Big Guy Took My Ball! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) (Hyperion, 2013) (see review here), and Kevin Henkes' Penny and Her Marble (I Can Read Book 1) (Greenwillow, 2013).

Other ALA awards include the following:

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults:
“P.S. Be Eleven,” written by Rita Williams-Garcia, is the King Author Book winner. The book is published by Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Three King Author Honor Books were selected: “March: Book One,” written by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell, and published by Top Shelf Productions; “Darius & Twig,” written by Walter Dean Myers and published by Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers; and “Words with Wings,” written by Nikki Grimes and published by WordSong, an imprint of Highlights.

Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award:
“Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me,” illustrated by Bryan Collier, is the King Illustrator Book winner. The book was written by Daniel Beaty and published by Little, Brown and Company, Hachette Book Group.
One King Illustrator Honor Book was selected: “Nelson Mandela,” illustrated and written by Kadir Nelson and published by Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award:
“When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop,” illustrated by Theodore Taylor III, is the Steptoe winner. The book is published by Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership.

Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement:
Authors Patricia and Researcher Fredrick McKissack are the winners of the Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. The award is presented in even years to an African American author, illustrator or author/illustrator for a body of his or her published books for children and/or young adults, and who has made a significant and lasting literary contribution.
 Patricia McKissack and her late husband Fredrick McKissack, both natives of Tennessee, began their writing and research partnership in the 1980’s.Their subject matter from family-based folklore to nonfiction titles, are scholarly researched and written with accurate, authentic text, creating a cultural transmission of history. Their immense range of topics are informative, readable and enjoyable, covering accounts from slavery days to biographical studies of noted men and women in African American history past and present.

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults:
“Midwinterblood,” written by Marcus Sedgwick, is the 2014 Printz Award winner. The book is published by Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.
Four Printz Honor Books also were named: “Eleanor & Park,” written by Rainbow Rowell and published by St. Martin’s Griffin (Macmillan); “Kingdom of Little Wounds,” written by Susann Cokal and published by Candlewick Press; “Maggot Moon,” written by Sally Gardner, illustrated by Julian Crouch and published by Candlewick Press; and “Navigating Early,” written by Clare Vanderpool and published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House LLC, Penguin Random House Company.

Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience:
“A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin,” written by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet and published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc. wins the award for children ages 0 to 10.
“Handbook for Dragon Slayers,” written by Merrie Haskell and published by HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers, is the winner of the middle-school (ages 11-13) award.
The teen (ages 13-18) award winner is “Rose under Fire,” written by Elizabeth Wein and published by Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Book Group.

Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences:

 “Brewster,” written by Mark Slouka and published by W. W. Norton & Company

“The Death of Bees,” written by Lisa O’Donnell and published by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

“Golden Boy: A Novel,” written by Abigail Tarttelin and published by ATRIA Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

“Help for the Haunted,” written by John Searles and published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

“Lexicon: A Novel,” written by Max Barry and published by The Penguin Group, Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

“Lives of Tao,” written by Wesley Chu and published by Angry Robot, a member of the Osprey Group

“Mother, Mother: A Novel,” written by Koren Zailckas and published by Crown Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.

“Relish,” written by Lucy Knisley and published by First Second, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership

“The Sea of Tranquility: A Novel,” written by Katja Millay and published by ATRIA Paperback, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

“The Universe Versus Alex Woods,” written by Gavin Extence and published by Redhook Books, an imprint of Orbit, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in children's video:
Paul R. Gagne and Melissa Reilly Ellard of Weston Woods Studios, Inc., producers of “Bink &Gollie: Two for One,” are the Carnegie Medal winners. The video’s cast is anchored by Kate Micucci and Riki Lindhome, with music by David Mansfield. Tony Fucile’s artwork is brilliantly brought to life by Chuck Gammage Animation.