The 2007 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards have been announced:

The winners are

For Fiction and Poetry: The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation: The Pox Party by M T Anderson.

Picture Book: Dog and Bear: Two Friends, Three Stories by Laura Vaccaro Seeger.

Nonfiction:  The Strongest Man in the World: Louis Cyr by Nicolas Debon.

Honor books were selected in all categories as well.  Enjoy!

The winners of the 2007 Ezra Jack Keats Book Award have been announced.  The awards are for the best new writer and best new illustrator in children’s literature.

Best New Illustrator: Kristen Balouch for Mystery Bottle.

And one of my favorites of last year:

Best New Author: Kelly Cunnane for For You Are a Kenyan Child.

The Edgar Award Winners have been announced! 

The winner for YA is

Buried by Robin Merrow MacCready
(a book sitting deep within my TBR pile which will find its way towards the top!)

The winner for Juvenile is

Room One: a mystery or two by Andrew Clements

The Kate Greenaway Medal Shortlist has been announced.  It is a British award for illustration in children’s books.

Here is the shortlist:

The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon by Mini Grey.

Augustus and His Smile by Catherine Rayner.

The Elephantom by Ross Collins.

The Emperor of Absurdia by Chris Riddell.

Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett.

Scoop!: an exclusive by John Kelly.

The 2007 Shortlist has been announced for the Britain’s Carnegie Medal.

Beast by Ally Kennen.  (Read this one, but I don’ seem to have written a review!)

Just in Case by Meg Rosoff.

My Swordhand is Singing by Marcus Sedgwick.

The Road of Bones by Anne Fine.

Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks.  (Reviewed in March 2006)

A Swift Pure Cry by Siobhan Dowd. (In my To Be Read pile!  Just moved to the top!)

The Children’s Book Council of Australia has announced the Children’s Book of the Year Awards Shortlist for 2007.  They have five categories they give awards in:  Older Readers, Younger Readers, Early Childhood, Picture Book and Information Book.

Older Readers:

Don’t Call Me Ishmael! by Michael Gerard Bauer. (Coming in September 2007)
One Whole and Perfect Day by Judith Clarke (available in US)
Monster Blood Tattoo: Foundling by D.M. Cornish (available in US)
The Red Shoe by Ursula Dubosarsky (Coming in May 2007)
Red Spikes by Margo Lanagan (Coming in October 2007)
My Big Birkett by Lisa Shanahan (not available yet)

Younger Readers:

Being Bee by Catherine Bateson (not available yet)
The Tuckshop Kid by Pat Flynn (not available yet)
Macbeth and Son by Jackie French (not available yet)
The Cat on the Mat Is Flat by Andy Griffiths (Coming in August 2007)
Bird & Sugar Boy by Sofie Laguna (not available yet)
Layla, Queen of Hearts by Glenda Millard (not available yet)

Early Childhood:

Grandpa and Thomas and the Green Umbrella by Pamela Allen. (not available yet)
Doodledum Dancing by Meredith Costain. (not available yet)
Ella Kazoo Will Not Brush Her Hair by Lee Fox. (not available yet)
Amy & Louis by Libby Gleeson. (not available yet)
Eight by Lyn Lee. (not available yet)
Chatterbox by Margaret Wild. (not available yet)

Picture Book:

Brian Banana Duck Sunshine Yellow by Chris McKimmie. (Coming in July 2007)
Home by Narelle Oliver. (not available yet)
Water Witcher by Jan Ormerod. (not available yet)
The Rainbirds by Sally Rippin. (not available yet)
Woolvs in the Sitee by Anne Spudvilas. (not available yet)
The Arrival by Shaun Tan. (Coming in October 2007)

Eve Pownall Award for Information Books:

Red haze: Australians & New Zealanders in Vietnam by Leon Davidson. (not available yet)
Queenie: one elephant’s story by Corinne Fenton. (not available yet)
Amazing facts about Australian dinosaurs by Scott Hocknull. (not available yet)
All cats have Asperger Syndrome by Kathy Hoopmann. (available)
The penguin book: birds in suits by Mark Norman. (not available yet)
Leaf litter by Rachel Tonkin. (not available yet)

VOYA has two great book lists available online this month.  Both are lists of the top books of 2006.

First is the ever-wonderful list of the Best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror.  Usually I have read a large number of these, because it’s my favorite genre, but this year I find myself looking at many books I have never heard of.  I must disagree with the inclusion of The Princetta on the list, but somehow everyone seems to love that title except me.  Ah well.  Except for that quibble, every other book I have read on the list deserves its place entirely.

Another favorite for me is poetry and VOYA has their list of Poetry Picks for 2006.  I don’t tend to read as much teen poetry books as I do poetry books for children, but again those I have read on the list are winners.

Just a mention that the VOYA links are to pdf files.  They can take a little while to load, so be patient.  The fastest way to have to reboot your browser is to be impatient with pdf files. 

The 2007 Notable Children’s Books in the English Language Arts have been announced.  Book were selected in the following categories:  Poetry, Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Fantasy/Folklore, Biography/Autobiography/Memoir, Informational, and Picture Books. 

My favorites on the list are: 

Meow Ruff by Joyce Sidman (in the Poetry category)

The Braid by Helen Frost (in the Historical Fiction category, though it could also have been in the Poetry one)

Rules by Cynthia Lord (in Realistic Fiction)

Gossamer by Lois Lowry (in Fantasy)

And all of the picture book choices! 

I obviously need to branch out into more nonfiction books, because I haven’t read many of the ones on the list at all.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has an annual award for the best science books.  The 2007 winners are:

Picture Book:

An Egg Is Quiet by Dianna Hutts Aston.

Middle Grades:

Team Moon by Catherine Thimmesh.

Young Adult:

Tigerland and other unintended destinations by Eric Dinerstein.

Hands On Science:

Thomas Edison for Kids by Laurie M. Carlson.