The goal of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature is to honor and recognize individual work about Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage, based on literary and artistic merit.
PICTURE BOOK
WINNER
Paper Son by Julie Leung, illustrated by Chris Sasaki
I will be continuing my tradition of liveblogging the YMAs. Because I’m typing as fast as I can at times, please forgive any misspellings or missed author names. I plan to go back to fix them later in the day.
The shortlists for the 2021 Indie Book Awards have been announced. The Australian award is selected from titles nominated by independent booksellers from throughout the country. The winners will be announced on March 22nd. Here are the shortlisted titles in the youth categories:
The original verse novel by Reynolds won many awards, including a Newbery Honor, Printz Honor and Coretta Scott King Honor. I was hesitant to take a look at the graphic novel version of the book, wondering how it could work. While the graphic novel does not improve the book (because how could it), instead it is like a new jazz version of the original, taking the story and transforming it into something similar but altogether different. This new graphic version is incredible, just as moving, tense and personal as the original.
Readers who may hesitate at picking up a verse novel will find this new version more approachable. Beautifully, Reynold’s wring is intact here, so many of his important lines and statements left to speak directly to the reader. Novgorodoff manages to transform the work with her art. She sweeps the pages with watercolor blues, fills violent parts with blood spattering red, highlights Will on his elevator journey through death and hope using color and light.
Amazing, transformative and fully in honor of the original work. Appropriate for ages 12-16.
Picture books kept me going this year during the pandemic. So many of them were marvelous reads, written by ownvoices authors, and powerfully showing the experiences of children in our world today. Here are my picks for the best of the year, though the list could be so much longer!
“This is the first time that all three Fan brothers have worked on a book together. If they make things this great as a team, they should keep on working with one another.”
“It’s a picture book distinctly from a human point of view, wondering about nature and giving space for those moments of thought for both the reader and the frog alike.”
Birrarung Wilam by Aunty Joy Murphy and Andrew Kelly, illustrated by Lisa Kennedy(9781536209426)
“The writing embraces the Aboriginal words, creating swirling and flowing lines of text that move like the river itself. Reading it aloud really lets the words sing out, evoking a place full of natural wonders.”
“Joy’s writing is powerful, singing on the page like a hymn. She writes simply but with great imagery and drawing in references to powerful African-Americans along the way.”
“The picture book reads more like a comic book with panels and lots of speech bubbles. The Black family at the heart of the book gives it a fresh and inclusive take on being outside.”
“This is an entire world of apartments and friendship.”
Every Color of Light by Hiroshi Osada, illustrated by Ryoji Arai, translated by David Boyd (9781592702916)
“Illustrated with glorious paintings that show nature and the changing light, the book shimmers and shines. The changing light sweeps on the pages bringing sun shafts, pink lightning strikes, dark night, and a bright moon.”
“This is a book all about empowerment, of seeing your own identity and holding it clear against what society may say about you. It’s a book that all children need, but Black boys most of all, as they are targeted and threatened by the world they live in.”
I Talk Like a River by Jordan Scott, illustrated by Sydney Smith (9780823445592)
“The words around the boy in the morning connect with his inability to speak at times, the pine trees sticking out from his lips, the crow cawing from his throat, the moonlight shining from his mouth. Each of these gives readers a new way to experience a stutter, each beautiful and haunting.”
“Each item is marveled at for a bit, rather like picking up a gem and then moving on to the next amazing jewel. The entire book is a delight, looking at the earth and at humans as something to be proud of, to care for, and to adore.”
“There’s a beautiful tension between the beauty on the page and also the normalcy of it all.”
Little Fox by Edward van de Vendel & Marije Tolman (9781646140077)
“Throughout there is a feeling of joy and marvel, such as the memory of licking drops of water off of a deer’s nose. The book is also peppered with smaller moments, blackberries, birds, and orange balls.”
YALSA, the Young Adult Library Services Association, has announced the titles included in their 2021 Great Graphic Novels for Teens list. The list includes 126 titles selected from 145 official nominations. It’s one of the best library collection development tools for YA graphic novels. The committee also selected a Top Ten, which follows:
“I particularly loved the characters that Lockhart creates here. They are maddening at times but also glorious individuals who are creative and interesting.”
“Just starting reading, it is clear that the poems are done by a master storyteller. They allow readers to deeply understand the struggles of Michael from his family life to friendships that come and go to coming out and then performing.”
“Ness as always surprises and amazes in this new novel. His world building is remarkable, combining alternative history of the late 1950’s with fantasy into a world that is entirely believable.”
“It’s a rich tapestry of fantasy, centered on Native American culture. That tapestry is impressive on its own but adding to the appeal is a deep murder mystery as well as a façade that must fall.”
“Her verses are searing at times, other times like a dream, and still others a call to action. She writes with such compassion and courage here that it’s incredible that this is her first novel.”
“Jackson writes with such raw power here. She harnesses growing tensions, fear for Enchanted’s life, and reader’s horror at the situation that Enchanted finds herself in.”
“Brace yourself for this one. Wiles doesn’t pull any punches here. She allows all of the voices to speak, almost a chorus of the times, speaking about the draft, the Vietnam War, the incredible pressures on college students, the attitudes of the town, and the expectations for the National Guard.”
“Told in verse, this is a powerful book that insists that readers see how the system actually works, its inherent racism, and the way that Black youths, particularly boys, are seen by white communities and white teachers.”
“The depth of this teen novel is remarkable, particularly for a debut novel. It is a book that submerges the reader into a world they have never seen or experienced before.”
“Culley’s verse is written with the tautness of a violin string. Her words stretch and hum, resonant with meaning. She doesn’t use any extra words, her poetry spare and rich with emotion that goes unstated but fills the pages.”
“Her writing is exceptional, moving from straightforward storytelling to passages that sing with poetic touches to direct verse. All of it screams of the injustice, demanding that people see what actually happened in the camps and the impossible decisions faced by the Japanese Americans who were held there.”
YALSA, the Young Adult Library Services Association, has released their list of the 2021 Best Fiction for Young Adults. The list contains 85 titles, selected from 124 official nominations. They have also selected a Top Ten, which appears below:
Waking Brain Cells 