Tiny Treasury

The internet’s first literary awards are back.

Because The Cybils is a blogger-run, blogger-inspired awards process, we operate with the expectation of openness and transparency. If you have any question about the process—any question at all—please feel free to e-mail Anne or Kelly at any time.

Nominations are open in the following categories:

Fantasy/Science Fiction
Fiction Picture Books
Graphic Novels
Middle Grade Fiction
Non-Fiction: Middle Grade and Young Adult
Non-Fiction Picture Books
Poetry
Young Adult Fiction

Here are the rules:

The book must have been published in 2007:

* Only one book per category;
* Click on a category and read the description;
* Click on “comments” and type in the author and title;
* Make sure your book isn’t already listed, please.

Nominations close Nov. 21, so take your time and come back often.Thanks for joining us!

It’s Tell Me True Tuesday!

A reader wants to know, “Has a Newbery award winner ever won multiple times?”

Okay, my eyes are actually crossed from counting this one… In terms of medals, E.L. Konigsburg (The View from Saturday and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler), Joseph Krumgold (Onion Stone and And Now Miguel), Lois Lowry (The Giver and Number the Stars), Katherine Paterson (Jacob Have I Loved and Bridge to Terabithia) and Elizabeth George Speare (The Witch of Blackbird Pond and The Bronze Bow) have all been awarded two Newbery Medals.

A number of authors have been the recipient of multiple Newbery honor awards including Russell Freedman, Nancy Farmer, Gary Paulsen, Virginia Hamilton, Padraic Colum, Isaac Bashevis Singer and Laura Ingalls Wilder, each of whom have won at least three honor awards.

For a complete list of winners, visit the American Library Association’s web site.

Last year, Katherine Paterson, author of Bridge to Terabithia (and also The Great Gilly Hopkins, one of my favorite books ever), won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for Literature. Terabithia was also awarded the Newberry Book award. So, it was only a matter of time that the book would be made into a movie. The movie opened last month to mixed reviews and is still in theatres today. It has grossed nearly $75 million to date.

You can watch the trailer here:

A lot of the criticism of the movie stems from the argument that it is not true to the book. Quite frankly, I can’t say as I haven’t (1) read the book (though it’s on my list) nor (2) seen the movie. But it has got me to thinking… Watch for a post later in the week about books that made the leap to the movies…

Bridge to Terabithia, Katherine Paterson, The Great Gilly Hopkins, Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, Newberry Award

The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for Literature has been awarded to Banco del Libro, a non-profit Book Bank that has been distributing books to Venezuelan children since 1960. This marks the first time that the award was given to an institution.

The award, named after Astrid Lindgren who authored Pippi Longstocking, includes a cash prize of $710,000. The award was established by the Swedish government in 2002 following Lindgren’s death and is the largest children’s book award in the world. The official presentation of the world will be made on May 30 at the Skansen Museum in Stockholm by Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria.

Banco del Libro is headquartered in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, and works to promote reading in Venezuela. It has started school library networks, founded a publishing company and runs Latin America’s largest documentation centre for children.

Last year’s winner was American writer Katherine Paterson, who wrote one of my favorite books, The Great Gilly Hopkins as well as the recently popular Bridge to Terabithia.

Katherine Paterson, Bridge to Terabithia, The Great Gilly Hopkins, Banco del Libro, Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for Literature

Philadelphia’s own Please Touch Museum has announced the winners of its 22nd Annual Please Touch Museum Book Award. The award is given annually to two books in categories based on the age of the museum’s visitors, children under the age of 7.

“Since 1985, the Please Touch Museum Book Awards have been unique in highlighting some of the best examples of storytelling for young children,” says Please Touch Museum’s President and CEO Nancy Kolb. “We’re very proud to be announcing two more outstanding books which we hope will help children discover the joys of reading and learning.”

This year’s winners are:

Age 3 and under – In the Fiddle Is a Song: A Lift-the-Flap Book of Hidden Potential written and illustrated by Durga Bernhard
Age 4 to 7 – I Love Our Earth by Bill Martin, Michael Sampson and photographer Dan Lipow

And yes, if you recognize the name Bill Martin, Jr., he is the author of a number of books including Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Winners Durga Bernhard and Michael Sampson will be honored at the annual Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children (DVAEYC) conference Friday, March 16, 2007, at 11 a.m. at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The authors will appear at a book signing event at Please Touch Museum on Saturday, March 17, 2007 at 12 p.m. The museum will also be displaying original illustrations and photographs from both books during April and May as part of the annual “Celebrate Stories” months presented by The Albert M. Greenfield Foundation.

Continuing the Dr. Seuss theme this month, it’s worth mentioning that the 2007 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award winner is ZELDA AND IVY: THE RUNAWAYS by Laura McGee Kvasnosky. It is the story of Zelda and Ivy, sisters and foxes who take off on an adventure in an effort to avoid a lunch of their father’s cucumber sandwiches.

Honorary mentions for 2007 went to:

Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride written by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Chris Van Dusen (Candlewick)

Move Over, Rover! by Karen Beaumont and illustrated by Jane Dyer (Harcourt)

Not a Box by Antonette Portis (HarperCollins)

The winner for 2006 was Henry and Mudge and the Great Grandpas written by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Suçie Stevenson (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers). Honorary mentions were awarded to Hi! Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold (Cartwheel Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.); A Splendid Friend, Indeed by Suzanne Bloom (Boyds Mills Press); Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa written by Erica Silverman and illustrated by Betsy Lewin (Harcourt, Inc.); and Amanda Pig and the Really Hot Day written by Jean Van Leeuwen and illustrated by Ann Schweninger (Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group).

The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award was established in 2004. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, for the most distinguished contribution to beginning reader books published in the United States during the preceding year. Criteria for the award includes great creativity and imagination in an effort to engage children in reading.

Don’t forget to enter our Dr. Seuss contest! Details here.

Dr. Seuss, Theodor Seuss Geisel Award, Association for Library Service to Children

Newbery Honor Award Winner

Eight year old Ramona is starting 3rd grade, and she is discovering that things are very different. She really likes her new teacher but she does not think her teacher likes her. There is a new kid and Ramona is being teased by the new kid! Ramona’s life at school is not the only thing changing. Her father has quit his job to go back to school, so now her mom is working. Now Ramona and her sister Beezus are expected to take on more responsibilities. As Ramona begins to understand the changes in her life she realizes that change is hard but it can be a really good thing.

Suggested Activity: In the book Ramona and Beezus have to cook diner one evening. Have your child help you come up with a menu for dinner. You can choose to let your child help you cook diner or not. You can also have your child create an original recipe to share with friends and family.

ramona, beverly cleary, children’s books

Newbery Honor Award Winner

Ramona is now in second grade and she just wants everyone to be happy. Things in her life are really starting to change. Her father lost his job so Ramona decides she can help him by being in commercials. She soon discovers this is not such a good idea. Another conflict in the Quimby house arises when Ramona and Beezus take up a no smoking campaign to help their father quit smoking. Ramona wonders if her life will ever be good again.Will Picky-picky ever eat his food again? In the end Ramona learns that with a little mascara and some old pajamas…anything is possible.

2006 Newbery Honor Books

Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Hudson Talbott

These two books also received the Newbery Honor this year..but alas I have not had time to read them. If you have read them and would like to fill us in…please let me know!

2006 Newbery Honor Book

A fresh approach to the “Princess” story. Miri is small for her age. She is not allowed to work in the mines with her father and sister. She feels useless. Then the Prince announces that he is in need of a bride. The bride must come from Miri’s small mountain village. The girls are quickly sent to Princess academy so that they can learn how a Princess should behave. Miri begins to shine in her new environment. A beautifully written story of empowerment and coming of age.

princess, Newbery award, chilren’s literature, Newbery honor

2006 Newbery Honor Book
In Whittington, Armstrong creates a wonderful barnyard fantasy that weaves together three stories: Whittington the cat’s arrival on Bernie’s farm, his retelling of the traditional legend of his 14th-century namesake, and a boy’s struggle to learn to read. These three stories bring the disparate citizens of the barn community together in a remarkable example of oral and written language, the power of friendship and the joys of a life.

Whittington, Newbery award, Newbery honor, children’s books, Alan Armstrong

The 2006 Newbery Medal winner is Criss Cross written by Lynne Rae Perkins.
Criss Cross follows the lives of four 14-year-olds in a small town, each at their own crossroads. The characters explore new thoughts and feelings in their quest to find the meaning of life and love.

I am curious if any of you have read this. It met with very mixed reviews. Let me know what you think.

newbery medal, children’s literature, Perkins

Established in 1922, the Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The recipients must be citizens or residents of the United States.

Often Honor Books are named. There is no limit on the number of Honor Books, and none need be named. Usually, two or three Honor Books are named in addition to the medal winner each year.

newbery award, children’s literature