The 2014 shortlist for the UK’s Red House Children’s Book Award has been announced.  It is the only national award in the UK that is voted on entirely by children.  The finalists are broken into three age groups and children are able to vote on the books through mid-January 2014.  Here is the shortlist:

Books for Younger Children

    

Superworm by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler

Walter and The No Need To Worry Suit by Rachel Bright 

How To Hide A Lion by Helen Stephens 

Hippospotamus by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross 

 

Books for Younger Readers

  

The Land of Neverbelieve by Norman Messenger 

Atticus Claw Breaks The Law by Jennifer Gray 

Claude In The Country by Alex T Smith 

 

Books for Older Readers

  

Killing Rachel by Anne Cassidy 

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

The Reluctant Assassin by Eoin Colfer 

I am ecstatic to be joining the Round 2 Judging Panel for Young Adult Speculative Fiction at the 2013 Cybils.  Having done Round 1 in previous years, I have the utmost respect for the vast amount of reading the first round judges have to accomplish.  I am also very pleased that the amazing Sheila Ruth is once again the coordinator for the category. 

Here are the other judges.  I look forward to working with all of the others in Round 2!

Round 1

Sheila Ruth, Wands and Worlds
http://blog1.wandsandworlds.com
@sheilaruth

Tanita Davis, Finding Wonderland
http://writingya.blogspot.com

Hallie Tibbets,Undusty New Books
http://www.undusty.com
@hallietibbetts

Leila Roy, Bookshelves of Doom
http://bookshelvesofdoom.blogs.com
@bkshelvesofdoom

Karen Jensen Teen, Librarian’s Toolbox
http://www.teenlibrariantoolbox.com
@tlt16

Patrice Caldwell, Whimsically Yours
http://whimsicallyours.com/
@whimsicallyours

Sarah Gross, The Reading Zone
http://thereadingzone.wordpress.com
@thereadingzone

Round 2

Sam Musher, Parenthetical
http://www.parenthetical.net
@MsParenthetical

Tasha Saecker,Waking Brain Cells
http://wakingbraincells.com
@tashrow

Tirzah Price,The Compulsive Reader
http://thecompulsivereader.com
@compelledtoread

Kimberly Francisco,Stacked Books
http://www.stackedbooks.org
@kimberlymarief

Karin Perry, Karin’s Book Nook
http://www.karinsbooknook.com
@kperry

The National Book Awards announced its first longlist today with the ten finalists for the 2013 award for Young People’s Literature.

Here is the list:

  

Boxers & Saints by Gene Luen Yang

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal

Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo

  

Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff

The Real Boy by Anne Ursu

The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson

 

A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff

The Thing about Luck by Cynthia Kadohata

 

The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp by Kathy Appelt

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

The finalists have been announced for the 2013 Canadian Children’s Book Centre Awards.  The awards are made up of seven major children’s book awards.  Nominated book are the best work by Canadian authors and illustrators.  Here are the finalists for the English-language awards:

TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award

  

Kids of Kabul: Living Bravely Through a Never-Ending War by Deborah Ellis

One Year in Coal Harbor by Polly Horvath

The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen by Susin Nielsen

 

The Stamp Collector by Jennifer Lanthier, illustrated by François Thisdale

Virginia Wolf by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault

 

Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award

 

Mr. King’s Things by Geneviève Côté

Mr. Zinger’s Hat by Cary Fagan, illustrated by Dušan Petričić

The Stamp Collector by Jennifer Lanthier, illustrated by François Thisdale

 

Uncle Wally’s Old Brown Shoe by Wallace Edwards

Virginia Wolf by Kyo Maclear, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault

 

Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction

 

Going Up! Elisha Otis’s Trip to the Top by Monica Kulling, illustrated by David Parkins

Kate & Pippin: An Unlikely Love Story by Martin Springett, photographs by Isobel Springett

Kids of Kabul: Living Bravely Through a Never-Ending War by Deborah Ellis

 

Real Justice: Fourteen and Sentenced to Death – The Story of Steven Truscott by Bill Swan

Rescuing the Children: The Story of the Kindertransport by Deborah Hodge

 

Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People

  

A Call to Battle by Gillian Chan

The Lynching of Louie Sam by Elizbeth Stewart

Making Bombs for Hitler by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch

 

Violins of Autumn by Ann McAuley

Yesterday’s Dead by Pat Bourke

 

John Spray Mystery Award

  

Becoming Holmes by Shane Peacock

Breakaway by Michael Betcherman

Devil’s Pass by Sigmund Brouwer

 

The Lynching of Louie Sam by Elizbeth Stewart

Neil Flambé and the Tokyo Treasure by Kevin Sylvester

 

Monica Hughes Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy

  

The Girl with Borrowed Wings by Rinsai Rossetti

Island of Doom: The Hunchback Assignments IV by Arthur Slade

Rebel Heart by Moira Young

 

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Shadows Cast by Stars by Catherine Knutsson

The winners of the 2013 Book of the Year from The Children’s Book Council of Australia have been announced.

OLDER READERS

Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan (American title = The Brides of Rollrock Island)

 

YOUNGER READERS

The Children of the King by Sonya Hartnett

 

EARLY CHILDHOOD

The Terrible Suitcase by Emma Allen, illustrated by Freya Blackwood

 

PICTURE BOOK

The Coat by Julie Hunt, illustrated by Ron Brooks

 

EVE POWNALL BOOK OF THE YEAR

Tom the Outback Mailman by Kristin Weidenbach, illustrated by Timothy Ide

The PEN Awards were announced earlier this week and the winner of the Steven Kroll Award for Picture Book Writing was part of that.  The award went to:

The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau by Michelle Markel

NPR has their latest Top 100 list, this time focusing on books for children aged 9-14.  The list is a result of nominations from over 2000 people that were whittled down by an expert panel (including the amazing Travis Jonker of 100 Scope Notes) to arrive at the golden 100 titles. 

There are so many personal favorites on the list.  They rocket me back to my childhood, but are also titles that will resonate with today’s children.   It’s a beautiful list.  Did your favorites make it?

The 2013 Eisner Awards have been announced.  These awards are the Comic Industry Awards and contain awards for children’s and teen materials as well as many awards for adult graphic novels and comics.  Here are the winners that were announced at Comic-Con:

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 7)

Babymouse for President by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm

Best Publication for Kids (ages 8–12)

Adventure Time by Ryan North, Shelli Paroline, and Braden Lamb

Best Publication for Teens (ages 13–17)

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, adapted by Hope Larson

Best Reality-Based Work

Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller by Joseph Lambert (tied with adult book)

And I just had to include this last one because it is one of my family’s favorites and definitely works well for older children and teens:

Best Humor Publication

Darth Vader and Son by Jeffrey Brown

The Harlem Book Fair is celebrating its 15th anniversary and is also debuting a new award, the QBR Wheatley Book Awards.  The awards span different ages and genres with two awards for youth books.

Here are the finalists in those categories:

YOUNG READERS FINALISTS

 

Ellen’s Broom by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by Daniel Minter

Squeak! Rumble! Whomp! Whomp! Whomp! by Wynton Marsalis, illustrated by Paul Rogers

  

Tea Cakes for Tosh by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by E. B. Lewis

Twice as Good: The Story of William Powell and Clearview by Richard Michelson, illustrated by Eric Velazquez

What Color Is My World? by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar & Raymond Obstfeld, illustred by Been Boos and A.G. Ford

YOUNG ADULT READERS FINALISTS

  

The Diary of BB Bright: Possible Princess by Alice Randall and Caroline Randall Williams, Illustrated by Shadra Strickland

Like a Tree Without Roots by Teresa Ann Willis

Obama Talks Back: Global Lessons – A Dialogue With America’s Young Leaders by Gregory Reed

 

Pinned by Sharon G. Flake

Ship of Souls by Zetta Elliott

Thanks to Betsy Bird at Fuse #8 for the link.