Admittedly, I am a pretty emotional person. I tend to be passionate about a lot of things, children’s literature is definitely one of them. As you know, I live-blogged the awards (I apologize for all the typos but I was going fast). Here are the moments that got me cheering and teary.
Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor getting Best Middle School book for the Schneider Family Book Award. Golly, that was so deserved! I loved this book and felt it had a very important message for so many children.
Shadra Strickland winning the Coretta Scott King Best New Talent Award for her illustrations in Bird. Loved them! The combination of the character’s art with her own, done in two very different but somehow cohesive styles is grand.
Sherman Alexie won the Odyssey Award for his narration of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. An amazing book from an author who is headlining our local Fox Cities Book Festival this April.
The Surrender Tree by Margarita Engle winning the author Belpre Award AND a Newbery Honor! I am so thrilled for this amazing poet who has documented Cuban struggles with such truth and power.
The joy of seeing fantasy recognized again and again by the awards committees. But mostly the amazing moment of Neil Gaiman winning the Newbery. Putting an end to the theory that Newbery Committees do not select titles with kid interest!
And last, but definitely not least, the amazing KT Horning from the CCBC receiving the Arbuthnot Lecture Award. What a very deserved honor.
There are years I am very disappointed by the awards. Years that I wonder what happened to the books I loved. This was not one of the them. Well done!
Waking Brain Cells 