Debut author award for young adult literature.
Finalists
Hush by Eishes Chayil (one of my faves of the year)
Guardian of the Dead by Healey
Hold Me Closer Necromancer by McBride
Crossing the Tracks by Stuber (loved this one too)
Freak Observer by Woolston
Winner
The Freak Observer by Blythe Woolston
Lasting contribution to young adult literature.
Sir Terry Pratchett
Aw… Man that is just a divine choice…
Audio book award for children and young adults.
Honor Audio Books
Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman (Very nice)
Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (Hurrah!)
Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly (maybe I’ll listen to this one instead of reading it…)
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by Green and Levithan (a good year for this title!)
Winner
The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex (now that surprised me! How very lovely!)
Honors African-American authors and illustrators.
Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement
Dr. Henrietta Mays Smith – writer of four volumes about the history of the Coretta Scott King Award
John Steptoe Award for New Talent
Victoria Bond and T. R. Simon for Zora and Me
Sonia Lynn Sadler for Seeds of Change
Illustration Awards
Honor Book
Jimi Sounds Like a Rainbow by Steptoe
Winner
Bryan Collier for Dave the Potter – HURRAH! That is so awesome!!!
Author Awards
Honor Books
Walter Dean Myers for Lockdown
Jewell Parker Rhodes for Ninth Ward
G. Neri for Yummy – Hurrah!
Winner
Rita Williams-Garcia for One Crazy Summer – definitely not a surprise and very well-deserved
So looking forward to this new award!
Honor Books
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by Green and Levithan - YES!!
Love Drugged by James Klise
Freaks and Revelations by Davida Willis Hurwin
The Boy in the Dress by David Wallliams – Very nice.
Winner
Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher (gotta get my hands on this one!)
Artistic expression of the disability experience.
Best Children’s
The Pirate of Kindergarten by George Ella Lyon - Lovely!
Best Middle School
After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick
Best Teen
Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John (definitely moving to the top of my must-read pile!)
The Alex Awards are given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal for teens, ages 12-18.
The Boy Who Couldn’t Sleep and Never Had To
Breaking Night by Murray
Girl in Translation by Kwok
The House of Tomorrow by Bognanni
The Lock Artist by Hamilton
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Bender
The Radleys by Haig
The Reapers are the Angels by Bell
Room by Donoghue
The Vanishing of Katharina Linden by Grant
Somehow I’ve found myself doing this every year. It used to be that the awards would have a long lag between announcement and then when it was finally posted online. That’s no longer the case, but along the way I got hooked on doing this live.
Expect plenty of misspellings as I try to get my fingers to type fast enough. 
The Firehouse Light by Janet Nolan, illustrated by Marie Lafrance
This is the story of the 100-year-old centennial bulb in Livermore, California. The bulb was originally put into a wooden shack that contained fire fighting equipment for the city. The bulb was moved from the shack to the firehouse and was never turned off. It shined while horses were readied. The lightbulb shined as cars replaced horses. It shined as fire engines got bigger and better. It shined as volunteers were replaced by paid fire fighters. It shined on and on. When a new firehouse was built in 1976, the bulb stopped shining as it was moved to the new firehouse. There was a lot of tension about whether the bulb would light again after the move, but it lit and continues to shine.
Nolan has structured the book in a winning way that allows young readers to understand the passing of time in tangible ways. They will see the horses at first, then the cars, the record players and then the televisions. Her prose appears lengthy on the page, but reads aloud readily. The use of repetition to start each new decade helps reinforce that time is passing in decades. Lafrance’s illustrations have a timeless feel to them that will take readers back to vintage picture books. The style works well here with the emphasis on history and the amazing longevity of a small bulb.
A nonfiction picture book that celebrates history and a small, lovely accomplishment. This book will work well in a unit on community helpers, offering a unique perspective on the history of firefighting. Appropriate for ages 5-7.
Reviewed from library copy.
Waking Brain Cells 