IBBY has announced the nominees for the 2012 Hans Christian Andersen Awards.  The awards are given every two years to “an author and an illustrator whose complete works have made an important and lasting contribution to children’s literature.”  The nominees below are selected by IBBY National Sections from 33 countries. 

I always love seeing the covers of the books, even though I don’t speak many of the languages, so here are a selection of book covers from the nominated authors and illustrators along with the list of nominees:

  

Argentina: Author: Maria Teresa Andruetto; Illustrator: Pablo Bernasconi

  
Australia: Author: Christobel Mattingley; Illustrator: Bob Graham

  
Austria: Author: Monika Pelz; Illustrator: Renate Habinger

 
Belgium: Author: Bart Moeyaert; Illustrator: Louis Joos

 
Brazil: Author: Bartolomeu Campos de Queiros; Illustrator: Roger Mello

 
Canada: Author: Tim Wynne-Jones; Illustrator: Stephane Jorisch

 
Cyprus: Author: Elli Peonidou

 
Czech Republic: Illustrator: Peter Sís

  
Denmark: Author: Lene Kaaberbol; Illustrator: Charlotte Pardi

 
Finland: Author: Sinikka Nopola / Tiina Nopola; Illustrator: Virpi Talvitie

 
France: Author: Jean-Claude Mourlevat; Illustrator: Henri Galeron

  
Germany: Author: Paul Maar; Illustrator: Rotraut Susanne Berner

  
Greece: Author: Christos Boulotis; Illustrator: Effie Lada

Iran: Illustrator: Mohammad Ali Baniasadi

 
Ireland: Author: Eoin Colfer

 
Italy: Author: Bianca Pitzorno; Illustrator: Francesco Tullio-Altan

 
Japan: Author: Masamoto Nasu; Illustrator: Satoshi Kako

 
Republic of Korea: Author: Hwang Sun-Mi; Illustrator: Hong Seong-Chan

 
Latvia: Illustrator: Anita Paegle

 
Netherlands: Author: Tonke Dragt; Illustrator: Annemarie van Haeringen

 
Norway: Author: Bjorn Sortland; Illustrator: Oyvind Torseter

 
Romania: Author: Silvia Kerim; Illustrator: Valeria Moldovan

Russia: Illustrator: Gennadij Spirin

 
Serbia: Author: Ljubivoje Rsumovic; Illustrator: Dobrosav Zivkovic

 
Slovak Republic: Author: Daniel Hevier Illustrator: Peter Uchnár

 
Slovenia: Author: Tone Pavcek; Illustrator: Alenka Sottler

 
Spain: Author: Agustin Fernandez Paz; Illustrator: Javier Zabala Herrero

 
Sweden: Lennart Hellsing; Illustrator: Anna-Clara Tidholm

 
Switzerland: Author: Franz Hohler; Illustrator: Kathrin Scharer

 
Turkey: Author: Sevim Ak; Illustrator: Feridun Oral

 
United Kingdom: Author: Philip Pullman; Illustrator: John Burningham

 
USA: Author: Paul Fleischman; Illustrator: Chris Raschka

Venezuela: Illustrator: Arnal Balleste

The Ontario Library Association gave out their 2011 Forest of Reading Awards:

Blue Spruce Award (Grades K-2)

My Think-A-Ma-Jink by Dave Whamond

 

Silver Bird Express Award (Grades 3-4)

Binky the Space Cat by Ashley Spires

 

Silver Birch Fiction Award (Grades 4-6)

Neil Flambé and the Marco Polo Murders by Kevin Sylvester

 

Silver Birch Non-Fiction Award (Grades 4-6)

How to Build Your Own Country by Valerie Wyatt and Fred Rix

 

Red Maple Fiction Award (Grades 7-8)

Not Suitable for Family Viewing by Vicki Grant

 

Red Maple Non-Fiction Award (Grades 7-8)

The Bite of the Mango by Mariatu Kamara with Susan McClelland

 

White Pine Award (Grades 9-12)

The Monkeyface Chronicles by Richard Scarsbrook

 

Le Prix Tamarack (Grades 4-6, French-language)

 La Quête du dernier dodo: Les Adventures de Cosmo le Dodo by Patrice Racine

 

Le Prix Tamarack Express (Grades 4-6, French-language)

Les Dragouilles 2 – Les Bleues de Montréal by Maxim Cyr and Karine Gottot

Anyone read any of them?  I really enjoyed Binky the Space Cat, but haven’t read any of the others.  And the Les Dragouilles 2 looks very appealing, but I’d have to have it in English.

The winner of the 2011 LA Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature is:

Megan Whalen Turner for A Conspiracy of Kings

 

In additional children’s lit news, the winner of the 2010 Robert Kirsch Award is the amazing Beverly Cleary.  The site has a great article on Cleary’s impact on children’s literature.

The winners of the 2011 Edgar Awards, which honor the best of mystery, have been announced.

Best Juvenile

The Buddy Files: The Case of the Lost Boy by Dori Hillestad Butler

Best Young Adult

The Interrogation of Gabriel James by Charlie Price

I haven’t read either of the winners.  If you have, I’d love to know your reaction.

Here are the short lists for the 2011 CBCA Book  of the Year.  There are five different categories:

Older Readers

   

About a Girl by Joanne Horniman

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

The Life of a Teenage Body-Snatcher by Doug MacLeod

  

The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett (available in US in September 2011)

The Piper’s Son by Melina Marchetta (available in US)

Six Impossible Things by Fiona Wood

 

Younger Readers

  

Duck for a Day by Meg McKinlay, illustrated by Leila Rudge

Henry Hoey Hobson by Christine Bongers

Just a Dog by Michael Gerard Bauer

  

The Red Wind by Isobelle Carmody

Toppling by Sally Murphy, illustrated by Rhian Nest James

Violet Mackerel’s Brilliant Plot by Anna Branford, illustrated by Sarah Davis

 

Early Childhood

  

The Deep End by Ursula Dubosarsky, illustrated by Mitch Vane

It’s Bedtime, William! by Deborah Niland

Look See, Look at Me! by Leonie Norrington, illustrated by Dee Huxley

  

Maudie and Bear by Jan Ormerod, illustrated by Freya Blackwood

Noni the Pony by Alison Lester

The Tall Man and the Twelve Babies by Tom Niland Champion & Kilmeny Niland, illustrated by Deborah Niland

 

Picture Book

  

Family Forest by Lucia Masciullo, written by Kim Kane

Hamlet by Nikki Greenberg

Mirror by Jeannie Baker

  

My Uncle’s Donkey by Tohby Riddle

Two Peas in a Pod by Chris McKimmie

Why I Love Australia by Bronwyn Bancroft

 

Eve Pownall Award for Information Books

  

Drawn from the Heart: A Memoir by Ron Brooks

Our World: Bardi Jaawi: Life at Ardiyooloon

Return of the Word Spy by Ursula Dubosarsky, illustrated by Tohby Riddle

  

Theme Parks, Playgrounds and Toys by Nicolas Brasch

Wicked Warriors and Evil Emperors by Alison Lloyd, illustrated by Terry Denton

Zero Hour: The Anzacs on the Western Front by Leon Davidson

Philip Pullman, author of the acclaimed His Dark Materials series, has been shortlisted for the International Booker Prize.  The prize is awarded every two years to a living fiction author whose work is either originally in English or has been translated into English and is generally available. 

The winner is selected by the judging panel only with no submissions from publishers.  Pullman’s The Amber Spyglass was longlisted in 2001.  It won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award, the first time the prize was given to a children’s book.

Shaun Tan is the winner of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, also known as the most lucrative children’s book award in the world.  The award is given for outstanding contribution to children’s or young adult literature.

"Shaun Tan is a masterly visual storyteller, pointing the way ahead to new possibilities for picture books," the jury said in its citation.

"His pictorial worlds constitute a separate universe where nothing is self-evident and anything is possible. Memories of childhood and adolescence are fixed reference points, but the pictorial narrative is universal and touches everyone."

Tan recently won an Oscar for best animated short for his animated version of The Lost Thing.

I look forward to reviewing his new Lost and Found soon.

The Romance Writers of America gives out RITA and Golden Heart awards every year.  Here are the finalists for the best Young Adult Romance of the year:

   

Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder

The Clearing by Heather Davis

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

I Now Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan

  

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells

 

Hmm.  I’ve read one of these but it wasn’t one of my favorites.  Anyone have one they adore on the list?

Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen has started a new book prize that celebrates the funniest of children’s books.  The Roald Dahl Funny Prize will reward authors and illustrators who celebrate the humor of life.  There will be two categories: age 6 and under, and ages 7-14.  The prize will be administered by Booktrust.

The first shortlist will be announced to coincide with the third annual Roald Dahl Day on September 13th.

I can hardly wait!