James Beard 2013 book awards

Food matters. It is nutrition for our bodies, but also economics , entertainment, part of our culture, our family life. Some could claim it to be fashionable.  The James Beard Foundation is dedicated to exploring and celebrating  the way food enriches our lives. The James Beard 2013 Book Award winners were announced in New York City on May 3rd, 2013.

American Cooking
Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking
by Nathalie Dupree and Cynthia Graubart

With more than 750 recipes and 650 variations, making a perfect piecrust, a heavenly biscuit, mouthwatering vegetables, or crispy fried chicken is attainable for any home cook. The recipes and directions are easily accessible to kitchen novices as well as seasoned cooks-there is plenty here for everyone.

Baking and Dessert
Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza
by Ken Forkish

Flour Water Salt Yeast is more than just a collection of recipes for amazing bread and pizza—it offers a complete baking education, with a thorough yet accessible explanation of the tools and techniques that set artisan bread apart. Featuring a tutorial on baker’s percentages, advice for manipulating ingredients ratios to create custom doughs, tips for adapting bread baking schedules to fit your day-to-day life, and an entire chapter that demystifies the levain-making process, Flour Water Salt Yeast is an indispensable resource for bakers who want to make their daily bread exceptional bread.

Beverage
Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, Including Their Origins and Flavours
by Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding, and
José Vouillamoz

Wine enthusiasts everywhere rejoice! Wine Grapes provides absolutely everything the connoisseur wants to know about the succulent, remarkable fruit that care, love, skill, and time transform into humankind’s most beloved beverage—and presents it all in a stunningly beautiful, gorgeously illustrated package. The dazzling co-creation of Jancis Robinson, one of the world’s best known wine authorities, Julia Harding, who passed the Master of Wine exams at the top of her class, and internationally renowned botanist José Vouillamoz, Wine Grapes is the first complete compendium in more than a century to all grape varieties relevant to the wine lover. An exquisite gift book—and a must-own for anyone in the food and wine industry—Wine Grapes charts the relationships of the grapes (with some astounding family trees), discusses in fascinating detail where and how they are grown, and, most importantly, what the wines made from them will ultimately taste like.

Cooking from a Professional Point of View
Toqué! Creators of a New Quebec Gastronomy
by Normand Laprise
(les éditions du passage)

Focus on Health
Cooking Light The New Way to Cook Light: Fresh Food & Bold Flavors for Today’s Home Cook
by Scott Mowbray and Ann Taylor Pittman
An Instant Classic! Inspired by fresh, local ingredients; and infused with bold, authentic flavors, Cooking Light The New Way to Cook Light is a celebration of healthy cooking and eating in America today. The more than 400 mouth-watering recipes, tips, and techniques in this book represent the new way to cook light–fresh, healthy, and–most importantly–delicious. With Nine Simple Principles of Cooking Light as a guide, this beautiful collection contains recipes that are as fun and satisfying to cook as they are to eat. Enjoy a wide variety of dishes, including quick weeknight meals and special occasion dishes perfect for the holidays.

General Cooking
Canal House Cooks Every Day
by Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer
From the award-winning authors of the beloved Canal House Cooking series comes Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton’s Canal House Cooks Every Day. This magnificent cookbook, inspired by Christopher and Melissa’s popular daily blog Canal House Cooks Lunch,offers a year of seasonal recipes for the home cook.

International
Jerusalem: A Cookbook
by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi
In Jerusalem, Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi explore the vibrant cuisine of their home city—with its diverse Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities. Both men were born in Jerusalem in the same year—Tamimi on the Arab east side and Ottolenghi in the Jewish west. This stunning cookbook offers 120 recipes from their unique cross-cultural perspective, from inventive vegetable dishes to sweet, rich desserts. With five bustling restaurants in London and two stellar cookbooks, Ottolenghi is one of the most respected chefs in the world; in Jerusalem, he and Tamimi have collaborated to produce their most personal cookbook yet.

Photography
What Katie Ate: Recipes and Other Bits & Pieces
Photographer: Katie Quinn Davies

Sharing more than one hundred simple culinary recipes drawn from Katie’s travels, dinner party cooking and foodie haunts,What Katie Ateemphasizes seasonal ingredients and irresistible flavors. Featured dishes range from Wild Mushrooms on Toast with Parmesan and Herbs to Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Apple, Prune & Pine Nut Stuffing and Cider Cream Gravy. What’s for dessert? Temptations include Coffee Hazelnut Frangelico Cake and Honey Baked Peaches with Vanilla Bean Créme Fraiche.

Perfect for entertaining, this gorgeous cookbook minimizes the time spent in the kitchen and maximizes the time spent enjoying the meal with friends and family. Bringing together easy-to-cook recipes (using standard American measurements) with gorgeous world-class food photography,What Katie Ate will indulge all of your senses.

Reference and Scholarship
The Art of Fermentation: An In-Depth Exploration of Essential Concepts and Processes from Around the World
by Sandor Ellix Katz
The Art of Fermentationis the most comprehensive guide to do-it-yourself home fermentation ever published. Sandor Katz presents the concepts and processes behind fermentation in ways that are simple enough to guide a reader through their first experience making sauerkraut or yogurt, and in-depth enough to provide greater understanding and insight for experienced practitioners.While Katz expertly contextualizes fermentation in terms of biological and cultural evolution, health and nutrition, and even economics, this is primarily a compendium of practical information-how the processes work; parameters for safety; techniques for effective preservation; troubleshooting; and more.With full-color illustrations and extended resources, this book provides essential wisdom for cooks, homesteaders, farmers, gleaners, foragers, and food lovers of any kind who want to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for arguably the oldest form of food preservation, and part of the roots of culture itself. Readers will find detailed information on fermenting vegetables; sugars into alcohol (meads, wines, and ciders); sour tonic beverages; milk; grains and starchy tubers; beers (and other grain-based alcoholic beverages); beans; seeds; nuts; fish; meat; and eggs, as well as growing mold cultures, using fermentation in agriculture, art, and energy production, and considerations for commercial enterprises. Sandor Katz has introduced what will undoubtedly remain a classic in food literature, and is the first-and only-of its kind.

Single Subject
Ripe: A Cook in the Orchard
by Nigel Slater
Britain’s foremost food writer Nigel Slater returns to the garden in this sequel to Tender, his acclaimed and beloved volume on vegetables. With a focus on fruit, Ripeis equal parts cookbook, primer on produce and gardening, and affectionate ode to the inspiration behind the book–Slater’s forty-foot backyard garden in London. Intimate, delicate prose is interwoven with recipes in this lavishly photographed cookbook. Slater offers more than 300 delectable dishes–both sweet and savory–such as Apricot and Pistachio Crumble, Baked Rhubarb with Blueberries, and Crisp Pork Belly with Sweet Peach Salsa. With a personal, almost confessional approach to his appetites and gustatory experiences, Slater has crafted a masterful book that will gently guide you from the garden to the kitchen, and back again.

Vegetable Focused and Vegetarian
Roots: The Definitive Compendium with More Than 225 Recipes
by Diane Morgan

From the author of more than 14 cookbooks comes this comprehensive guide and collection of recipes using root vegetables. Discover the fascinating history and lore of 29 major roots, their nutritional content, how to buy and store them, and much more, from the familiar (beets, carrots, potatoes) to the unfamiliar (jicama, salsify, malanga) to the practically unheard of (cassava, galangal, crosnes). The best part? More than 225 recipes–salads, soups, side dishes, main courses, drinks, and desserts–that bring out the earthy goodness of each and every one of these intriguing vegetables. From Andean tubers and burdock to yams and yuca, this essential culinary encyclopedia lets dedicated home cooks achieve a new level of taste and sophistication in their everyday cooking.

Writing and Literature
Yes, Chef: A Memoir
by Marcus Samuelsson

World-renowned chef chronicles his life, from his birth in Ethiopia, his adoption in to a Swedish family at age three, learning to cook from his Swedish grandmother, working at the most demanding and cutthroat restaurants Switzerland and France, and the opening of the beloved Red Rooster restaurant in Harlem.

Who was James Beard?

A cookbook author and teacher, James Beard was a champion of American cuisine who helped educate and mentor generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. Today the Beard Foundation continues in the same spirit by offering a variety of events and programs designed to educate, inspire, entertain, and foster a deeper understanding of our culinary culture. These programs include educational initiatives, food industry awards, an annual national food conference, Leadership Awards program, culinary scholarships, and publications. In addition to maintaining the historic James Beard House in New York City’s Greenwich Village as a “performance space” for visiting chefs, the Foundation has created a robust online community, and hosts conferences, tastings, lectures, workshops, and food-related art exhibits in New York City and around the country.

as found on http://www.jamesbeard.org/about

Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award – Vermont

First given in 1957, the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award has honored quality literature for children for over 50 years now. Each spring, a committee of eight carefully selects 30 books to comprise the DCF Master List. After reading at least 5 books from the list, Vermont students then vote for their favorite titles the following spring. The winning author is invited to visit Vermont to speak with children about the experience of writing such fine literature for such fine people. For more information, please click on https://sites.google.com/a/cesuvt.org/dcf-award/

Applegate, Katherine. The One and Only Ivan. (AR 3.6)
When Ivan, a gorilla who has lived for years in a down-and-out circus-themed mall, meets Ruby, a baby elephant that has been added to the mall, he decides that he must find her a better life.

Bardugo, Leigh. Shadow and Bone. (AR 5.3)
Orphaned by the Border Wars, Alina Starkov is taken from obscurity and her only friend, Mal, to become the protege of the mysterious Darkling, who trains her to join the magical elite in the belief that she is the Sun Summoner, who can destroy the monsters of the Fold.

Bauer, Marion Dane. Little dog, lost. ( AR 4.4) A boy, a dog, and an old man are lonely before the boy plans a rally, the dog looks for a boy, and all the townspeople run to the old man’s aid when lightning strikes his home and something miraculous happens.

Burg, Shana. Laugh with the Moon. (AR 4.5)
Massachusetts thirteen- year-old Clare, grieving after her mother’s recent death, reluctantly travels with her father to spend nine weeks in a remote village in Malawi, where new friends and experiences help open her mind and heart.

Curtis, Christopher Paul. The Mighty Miss Malone. (AR 4.7)
With love and determination befitting the “world’s greatest family,” twelve-year-old Deza Malone, her older brother Jimmie, and their parents endure tough times in Gary, Indiana, and later Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression.

Cushman, Karen. Will Sparrow’s Road. (AR 5.3)
In his thirteenth year, Will Sparrow, liar and thief, becomes a runaway. On the road, he encounters a series of con artists—a pickpocket, a tooth puller, a pig trainer, a conjurer—and learns that others are more adept than he at lying and thieving. Then he reluctantly joins a traveling troupe of “oddities,” including a dwarf and a cat-faced girl, holding himself apart from the “monsters” and resolving to be on guard against further deceptions. At last Will is forced to understand that appearances are misleading and that he has been his own worst deceiver.

Hiaasen, Carl. Chomp. (AR 5.2)
When the difficult star of the reality television show “Expedition Survival” disappears while filming an episode in the Florida Everglades using animals from the wildlife refuge run by Wahoo Crane’s family, Wahoo and classmate Tuna Gordon set out to find him while avoiding Tuna’s gun-happy father.

Hiranandani, Veera. The Whole Story of Half a Girl. (AR 4.2)
When Sonia’s father loses his job and she must move from her small, supportive private school to a public middle school, the half-Jewish half-Indian sixth-grader experiences culture shock as she tries to navigate the school’s unfamiliar social scene, and after her father is diagnosed with clinical depression, she finds herself becoming even more confused about herself and her family.

House, Silas. Same sun here . (AR 5.2)
A twelve-year-old Indian immigrant in New York City and a Kentucky coal miner’s son become pen pals, and eventually best friends, through a series of revealing letters exploring such topics as environmental activism, immigration, and racism.

Hunt, Lynda Mullaly. One for the Murphys. (AR 3.4)
A moving debut novel about a foster child learning to open her heart to a family’s love Carley uses humor and street smarts to keep her emotional walls high and thick. But the day she becomes a foster child, and moves in with the Murphys, she’s blindsided. This loving, bustling family shows Carley the stable family life she never thought existed, and she feels like an alien in their cookie-cutter-perfect household. Despite her resistance, the Murphys eventually show her what it feels like to belong–until her mother wants her back and Carley has to decide where and how to live. She’s not really a Murphy, but the gifts they’ve given her have opened up a new future.

Key, Watt. Fourmile. (AR 3.9) Twelve-year-old Foster knows in his gut that Dax Ganey, the man dating his widowed mother, is a bad seed. Then a mysterious stranger arrives at their Alabama farm, a former Army Ranger in Iraq rambling across the country, and Foster believes he has found an ally against Dax. The stranger proves a fascinating mentor, full of wisdom and secrets. And Dax soon has reason to resent not just him and Foster but also Foster’s mother. A spurned Dax will be a dangerous enemy, but Foster is increasingly aware that the stranger is just as dangerous, if not more so.

Knowles, Jo. See You At Harry’s. (AR 3.6)
Twelve-year-old Fern feels invisible in her family, where grumpy eighteen-year-old Sarah is working at the family restaurant, fourteen-year-old Holden is struggling with school bullies and his emerging homosexuality, and adorable, three-year-old Charlie is always the center of attention, and when tragedy strikes, the fragile bond holding the family together is stretched almost to the breaking point.

Korman, Gordan. Ungifted. (AR 5.2)
Due to an administrative mix-up, troublemaker Donovan Curtis is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction, a special program for gifted and talented students.

Legrand, Claire. The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls. (AR 4.9)
Practically-perfect twelve-year-old Victoria Wright must lie, sneak, and break the rules when her investigation of the disappearance of her best–and only–friend, Lawrence, reveals dark secrets about her town and the orphanage run by the reclusive Mrs. Cavendish.

Montgomery, Sy. Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World. (AR 7.0)
When Temple Grandin was born, her parents knew that she was different. Years later she was diagnosed with autism.
While Temple’s doctor recommended a hospital, her mother believed in her. Temple went to school instead.
Today, Dr. Temple Grandin is a scientist and professor of animal science at Colorado State University. Her world-changing career revolutionized the livestock industry. As an advocate for autism, Temple uses her experience as an example of the unique contributions that autistic people can make.
This compelling biography complete with Temple’s personal photos takes us inside her extraordinary mind and opens the door to a broader understanding of autism.

Nielsen, Jennifer A. The False Prince. (AR 5.1)
In the fictional country of Carthya, a devious nobleman engages four orphans in a brutal competition to be selected to impersonate the king’s long-missing son in an effort to avoid a civil war.

Palacio, R.J. Wonder. (AR 4.8)
Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected to survive, goes from being home- schooled to entering fifth grade at a private middle school in Manhattan, which entails enduring the taunting and fear of his classmates as he struggles to be seen as just another student.

Patterson, James. I Funny. (AR 3.9)
Resolving to become the world’s greatest stand-up comedian despite less-than- funny challenges in his life, wheelchair-bound middle school student Jamie Grimm endures bullying from his mean-spirited cousin and hopes he will be fairly judged when he enters a local comedy contest.

Pennypacker, Sara. Summer of the Gypsy Moths. (AR 4.4)
A foster child named Angel and twelve-year-old Stella, who are living with Stella’s great-aunt Louise at the Linger Longer Cottage Colony on Cape Cod, secretly assume responsibility for the vacation rentals when Louise unexpectedly dies and the girls are afraid of being returned to the foster care system.

Preus, Margi. Shadow on the Mountain. (AR 5.0)
In Nazi-occupied Norway, fourteen-year-old Espen joins the resistance movement, graduating from deliverer of illegal newspapers to courier and spy.

Pyron, Bobbie. The Dogs of Winter. (AR 5.1)
Brought to Moscow in 1990s Russia by his mother’s abusive boyfriend, five-year-old Mishka is forced by a gang of homeless children to lie and steal until he finds comfort and love with a pack of dogs. Includes historical note.

Rocklin, Joanne. The Five Lives of Our Cat Zook. (AR 4.5)
As ten-year- old Oona and her younger brother conspire to break their sick cat Zook out of the veterinary clinic, Oona tells the story of Zook’s previous lives.

Rose, Caroline Starr. May B. (AR 4.3)
When a failed wheat crop nearly bankrupts the Betterly family, twelve-year-old May’s father pulls her from school and hires her out to a couple new to the Kansas frontier.

Rupp, Rebecca. After Eli. (AR 5.7)
After the death of his older brother, Daniel Anderson became engrossed in recording details about dead people, how they died, and whether their deaths mattered, but he is eventually drawn back into interaction with the living.

Scattergood, Augusta. Glory Be. (AR 4.3)
In the summer of 1964 as she is about to turn twelve, Glory’s town of Hanging Moss, Mississippi, is beset by racial tension when town leaders close her beloved public pool rather than desegregating it.

Sheinkin, Steve. Bomb: The Race to Build – and Steal – the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon. (AR 6.9)
Examines the history of the atomic bomb, discussing the discovery of the behavior of uranium when placed next to radioactive material, the race to build a bomb, and the impact of the weapon on societies around the world.

Stead, Rebecca. Liar and Spy. (AR 3.8)
Seventh-grader Georges adjusts to moving from a house to an apartment, his father’s efforts to start a new business, his mother’s extra shifts as a nurse, being picked on at school, and Safer, a boy who wants his help spying on another resident of their building.

Stone, Phoebe. The Boy on Cinnamon Street. (AR 4.4)
Since a tragedy she cannot remember, thirteen-year-old Louise has changed her name, given up gymnastics, moved in with her grandparents, and locked her feelings inside, but through her friends Reni and Hen and notes from a secret admirer she begins to find herself again.

Taylor, S.S. The Expeditioners and the Treasure of Drowned Man’s Cavern. (AR not avail)
Computers have failed, electricity is extinct, and the race to discover new lands is underway! Brilliant explorer Alexander West has just died under mysterious circumstances, but not before smuggling half of a strange map to his intrepid children—Kit the brain, M.K. the tinkerer, and Zander the brave. Why are so many government agents trying to steal the half-map? (And where is the other half?) It’s up to Alexander’s children—the Expeditioners—to get to the bottom of these questions, and fast.

Turnage, Sheila. Three Times Lucky. (AR 3.9)
Washed ashore as a baby in tiny Tupelo Landing, North Carolina, Mo LoBeau, now eleven, and her best friend Dale turn detective when the amnesiac Colonel, owner of a cafe and co-parent of Mo with his cook, Miss Lana, seems implicated in a murder.

Newbery and Caldecott 2013

Each year the American Library Association (ALA) honors books and media for children and teens. Recognized worldwide for the high quality they represent, ALA awards, including the prestigious Newbery, Caldecott, Printz, and Coretta Scott King Book Awards, guide parents, educators, librarians and others in selecting the best materials for youth. Think Oscar awards for children’s literature….such an exciting time. I can hardly stand it.

The 2013 award winners were announced this morning , at the Mid Winter Conference in Seattle, Washington. 2013 marks the 75th anniversary of the Caldecott medal.
And the winners are…….
“This Is Not My Hat,” illustrated and written by Jon Klassen, is the 2013 Caldecott Medal winner.

“The One and Only Ivan,” written by Katherine Applegate, is the 2013 Newbery Medal winner.

2012 Newbery and Caldecott awards announced…..

If you are a librarian,  an educator,  a book seller, or simply love to read to children….then you too will be feeling the same excitement that I am feeling today. Yes, the American Library Association has announced its 2012 annual awards for outstanding children’s literature  (think Oscars of children’s literature!) today at its Midwinter Conference from Dallas, Texas. Here are some of the award winning titles…..

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature:

“Dead End in Norvelt,” written by Jack Gantos, is the 2012 Newbery Medal winner.

Two Newbery Honor Books also were named: “Inside Out & Back Again,” written by Thanhha Lai

and

“Breaking Stalin’s Nose,” written and illustrated by Eugene Yelchin

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children:

A Ball for Daisy,” illustrated and written by Chris Raschka, is the 2012 Caldecott Medal winner.

Three Caldecott Honor Books also were named: “Blackout,” illustrated and written by John Rocco,

“Grandpa Green” illustrated and written by Lane Smith,

and “Me … Jane,” illustrated and written by Patrick McDonnell

This is the 75th anniversary of the Caldecott award, thus, the 75th title which has been selected as a winner.

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults:

“Where Things Come Back,” written by John Corey Whaley, is the 2012 Printz Award winner.

Honor books are:

“Why We Broke Up,” written by Daniel Handler,

“The Returning,” written by Christine Hinwood ;

“Jasper Jones,” written by Craig Silvey;

and “The Scorpio Races,” written by Maggie Stiefvater.

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults:

Kadir Nelson, author and illustrator of “Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans,” is the King Author Book winner.

Two King Author Honor Book recipients were selected: Eloise Greenfield, author of “The Great Migration: Journey to the North,” illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist;

and Patricia C. McKissack, author of “Never Forgotten,” illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon.

Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award:

Shane W. Evans, illustrator and author of “Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom,” is the King Illustrator Book winner.

One King Illustrator Honor Book recipient was selected: Kadir Nelson, illustrator and author of “Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans,”

Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement:

Ashley Bryan is the winner of the Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime achievement. The award, which pays tribute to the quality and magnitude of beloved children’s author Virginia Hamilton.

Storyteller, artist, author, poet and musician, Bryan created his first children’s book in first grade. He grew up in the Bronx and in 1962, he became the first African American to both write and illustrate a children’s book. After a successful teaching career, Bryan left academia to pursue creation of his own artwork. He has since garnered numerous awards for his significant and lasting literary contribution of poetry, spirituals and story.

Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience:

The Jury chose not to award a book in the category for children ages 0 – 8 because no submissions were deemed worthy of the award.

Two books were selected for the middle school award (ages 9 – 13):

“Close to famous,” written byJoan Bauer ; and

“Wonderstruck: A Novel in Words and Pictures,” written by Brian Selznick.

The teen (ages 14-18) award winner is “The Running Dream,” written by Wendelin Van Draanen .

Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences:

• “Big Girl Small,” by Rachel DeWoskin,
• “In Zanesville,” by Jo Ann Beard,
• “The Lover’s Dictionary,” by David Levithan,
• “The New Kids: Big Dreams and Brave Journeys at a High School for Immigrant Teens,” by Brooke Hauser,
• “The Night Circus,” by Erin Morgenstern,
• “Ready Player One,” by Ernest Cline,
• “Robopocalypse: A Novel,” by Daniel H. Wilson,
• “Salvage the Bones,” by Jesmyn Ward,
• “The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt: A Novel in Pictures,” by Caroline Preston,
• “The Talk-Funny Girl,” by Roland Merullo,

Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in children’s video:

Paul R. Gagne and Melissa Reilly Ellard of Weston Woods Studios, Inc., producers of “Children Make Terrible Pets,” are the Carnegie Medal winners.

The video is based on the book written by Peter Brown, and is narrated by Emily Eiden, with music by Jack Sundrud and Rusty Young, and animation by Soup2Nuts.

Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults:

Susan Cooper is the 2012 Edwards Award winner. Her books include: The Dark Is Rising Sequence: “Over Sea, Under Stone”; “The Dark Is Rising”; “Greenwitch”; “The Grey King”; and “Silver on the Tree.”

May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award recognizing an author, critic, librarian, historian or teacher of children’s literature, who then presents a lecture at a winning host site.

Michael Morpurgowill deliver the 2013 lecture.

Born in England, Morpurgo was teaching when he discovered the magic of storytelling and began writing. His books are noted for their imagination, power and grace. In 1976, he and his wife established the charity Farms for City Children.  He is an officer of the Order of the British Empire and served as Britain’s third Children’s Laureate.  His novel, “War Horse,” has wowed theater audiences in London and New York and movie audiences all over.

Mildred L. Batchelder Award for an outstanding children’s book translated from a foreign language and subsequently published in the United States:

“Soldier Bear” is the 2012 Batchelder Award winner. Originally published in Dutch in 2008 as “Soldaat Wojtek,” written by Bibi Dumon Tak, illustrated by Philip Hopman, translated by Laura Watkinson .

One Batchelder Honor Book also was selected: “The Lily Pond,”, written by Annika Thor, and translated by Linda Schenck.

Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States:

“Rotters,” produced Listening Library, is the 2012 Odyssey Award winner. The book is written by Daniel Kraus and narrated by Kirby Heyborne.

Four Odyssey Honor audiobooks also were selected:

“Ghetto Cowboy,” produced by Brilliance Audio, written by G. Neri and narrated by JD Jackson;

“Okay for Now,” produced by Listening Library, written by Gary D. Schmidt and narrated by Lincoln Hoppe;

“The Scorpio Races,” produced by Scholastic Inc., Scholastic Audiobooks, written by Maggie Stiefvater and narrated by Steve Westand Fiona Hardingham;

and “Young Fredle,” produced by Listening Library, written by Cynthia Voigt and narrated by Wendy Carter.

Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award honoring a Latino writer and illustrator whose children’s books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience:

“Diego Rivera: His World and Ours,” illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh, is the Belpré Illustrator Award winner. The book was written by Duncan Tonatiuh.

Two Belpré Illustrator Honor Books were selected:

“The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred,” illustrated by Rafael López, written by Samantha R. Vamos ;and

“Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match /Marisol McDonald no combina,” illustrated by Sara Palacios, written by Monica Brown

Pura Belpré (Author) Award:

“Under the Mesquite,” written by Guadalupe Garcia McCall, is the Belpré Author Award winner.

Two Belpré Author Honor Books were named: “Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck,” written by Margarita Engle;

and “Maximilian and the Mystery of the Guardian Angel: A Bilingual Lucha Libre Thriller,” written by Xavier Garza .

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children:

“Balloons over Broadway:  The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade,” written by Melissa Sweet, is the Sibert Award winner.

Four Sibert Honor Books were named: “Black & White: The Confrontation between Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth and Eugene ‘Bull’ Connor,” written by Larry Dane Brimner;

“Drawing from Memory,” written and illustrated by Allen Say;

“The Elephant Scientist,” written by Caitlin O’Connell and Donna M. Jackson, photographs by Caitlin O’Connell and Timothy Rodwell;

and “Witches!: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem” written and illustrated by Rosalyn Schanzer.

Stonewall Book Award -Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award given annually to English-language children’s and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience:

“Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy,” written by Bil Wright ,is the winner of the 2012 Stonewall Award. The award is given annually to English-language children’s and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered experience.

Four Honor Books were selected:

“a + e 4ever,” drawn and written by Ilike Merey ;

“Money Boy,” written by Paul Yee ;

“Pink,” written by Lili Wilkinson;

and “with or without you,” written by Brian Farrey

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book:

“Tales for Very Picky Eaters,” written and illustrated by Josh Schneider, is the Geisel Award winner.

Three Geisel Honor Books were named: “I Broke My Trunk,” written and illustrated by Mo Willems,;

“I Want My Hat Back,” written and illustrated by Jon Klassen, ;

and “See Me Run,” written and illustrated by Paul Meisel.

William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens:

“Where Things Come Back,” written by John Corey Whaley is the 2012 Morris Award winner.

Four other books were finalists for the award: “Girl of Fire and Thorns,” written by Rae Carson, ;

“Paper Covers Rock,” written by Jenny Hubbard, ;

“Under the Mesquite,” written by Guadalupe Garcia McCall, ;

and “Between Shades of Gray,” written by Ruta Sepetys.

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults, ages 12 – 18, each year:

“The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery” written by Steve Sheinkin, is the 2012 Excellence winner.

Four other books were finalists for the award:

“Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom and Science,” written by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos, ;

“Bootleg: Murder, Moonshine, and the Lawless Years of Prohibition,” written by Karen Blumenthal, ;

“Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way),” written by Sue Macy, ;

and “Music Was It: Young Leonard Bernstein,” written by Susan Goldman Rubin.

These titles represent the best of the best of children’s literature; and are selected as a guidance for educatiors and parents in selecting quality materials as well as to encouraging creative  writing.    Some selections were complete surprises to me. Others I knew simply knew that had to win! And now begins the ordering of missing titles from our library collection, as well as our ebook service.  And most  importantly, promotion to  my young Falcon friends who enjoy our school library.

For more information, go to http://ala.org/news/pr?id=9108