Kate DiCamillo wins Newbery Medal; Printz, Caldecott awards announced

Kate DiCamillo’s novel for young adults, “Flora and Ulysses,” is the winner of the 2014 John Newbery Medal, the top honor in children’s literature from the American Library Assn. The Caldecott Medal for most distinguished picture book went to “Locomotive” by Brian Floca, and the Michael L. Printz Award for young adult literature went to Marcus Sedgwick’s “Midwinterblood.”

The annual prizes were announced at the library association’s midwinter meeting, held this year in Philadelphia. Authors are generally not present for the awards announcement.

The long list of awards included winners and runners-up in 21 categories.

Of the four awards named for Coretta Scott King that honor work by African American authors and illustrators, the top book award went to “P.S. Be Eleven” by Rita Williams-Garcia.

The national organization’s prizes, represented by gold and silver medallions on book covers, are considered a hallmark of quality books for children. The complete list of winners.

--John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature: “Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures,” written by Kate DiCamillo (Candlewick Press).

Newbery Honors to: “Doll Bones,” written by Holly Black (Margaret K. McElderry Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division); “The Year of Billy Miller,” written by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers); “One Came Home,” written by Amy Timberlake (Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc.); and “Paperboy,” written by Vince Vawter (Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc).

--Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children: “Locomotive,” illustrated by Brian Floca (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing).

Caldecott Honors to: “Journey,” written and illustrated by Aaron Becker (Candlewick Press); “Flora and the Flamingo,” written and illustrated by Molly Idle (Chronicle Books); and “Mr. Wuffles!” written and illustrated by David Wiesner (Clarion Books, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co.).

--Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults: “P.S. Be Eleven,” written by Rita Williams-Garcia (Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers).

King Author Honors to: “March: Book One,” written by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell, (Top Shelf Productions); “Darius & Twig,” written by Walter Dean Myers and ( Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers); and “Words with Wings,” written by Nikki Grimes (WordSong, an imprint of Highlights).

--Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award: “Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me,” illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Daniel Beaty (Little, Brown and Co. Hachette Book Group). King Illustrator Honor to: “Nelson Mandela,” illustrated and written by Kadir Nelson (Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers).

--Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award: “When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop,” illustrated by Theodore Taylor III, written by Laban Carrick Hill (Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership).

--Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement presented in even-numbered years to an African American author, illustrator or author/illustrator for a body of his or her published books for children and/or young adults, and who has made a significant and lasting literary contribution: Authors Patricia and researcher Fredrick McKissack.

--Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults: “Midwinterblood,” written by Marcus Sedgwick (Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group).

Printz Honors to: “Eleanor & Park,” by Rainbow Rowell (St. Martin’s Griffin-Macmillan); “Kingdom of Little Wounds,” by Susann Cokal (Candlewick Press); “Maggot Moon” by Sally Gardner, illustrated by Julian Crouch (Candlewick Press); and “Navigating Early” by Clare Vanderpool (Delacorte Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Penguin Random House Co.).

--Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience: For ages 0-10: “A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin,” written by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet (Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House Inc). For ages 11-13: “Handbook for Dragon Slayers,” by Merrie Haskell (HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers).
For ages 13-18: “Rose under Fire,” written by Elizabeth Wein (Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Book Group).

--Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences: “Brewster” written by Mark Slouka (W.W. Norton & Co.); “The Death of Bees” by Lisa O’Donnell (Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers); “Golden Boy: A Novel” written by Abigail Tarttelin (ATRIA Books, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc.); “Help for the Haunted” by John Searles (William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers); “Lexicon: A Novel” by Max Barry (Penguin Group, Penguin Group USA Inc.); “Lives of Tao” by Wesley Chu (Angry Robot, a member of the Osprey Group); “Mother, Mother: A Novel” by Koren Zailckas (Crown Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House Inc.); “Relish” by Lucy Knisley (First Second, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership); “The Sea of Tranquility: A Novel” by Katja Millay (ATRIA Paperback, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc.); “The Universe Versus Alex Woods,” by Gavin Extence (Redhook Books, an imprint of Orbit, a division of Hachette Book Group Inc.)

--Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in children’s video: Paul R. Gagne and Melissa Reilly Ellard of Weston Woods Studios Inc., producers of “Bink & Gollie: Two for One.” Cast: Kate Micucci, Riki Lindhome. Music: David Mansfield. Animation (of art by Tony Fucile): Chuck Gammage Animation.

--Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults: Markus Zusak, whose books include “The Book Thief” and “I Am the Messenger,” “Getting the Girl” and “Fighting Ruben Wolfe.”

--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: Author and illustrator Brian Selznick, who will present the 2015 lecture. His previous honors include the 2008 Caldecott Medal for “The Invention of Hugo Cabret.”

--Mildred L. Batchelder Award for an outstanding children’s book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States: “Mister Orange” written by Truus Matti, translated by Laura Watkinson. Originally published in Dutch. (Enchanted Lion Books).

Batchelder Honors to: “The Bathing Costume or the Worst Vacation of My Life,” written by Charlotte Moundlic, illustrated by Olivier Tallec, translated by Claudia Zoe Bedrick (Enchanted Lion Books); “My Father’s Arms Are a Boat,” written by Stein Erik Lunde, illustrated by Øyvind Torseter, translated by Kari Dickson (Enchanted Lion Books); “The War Within These Walls,” written by Aline Sax, illustrated by Caryl Strzelecki, translated by Laura Watkinson (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers).

--Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States: “Scowler,” by Daniel Kraus, narrated by Kirby Heyborne (Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group).

Odyssey Honors to: “Better Nate Than Ever,” written and narrated by Tim Federle (Simon and Schuster Audio); “Creepy Carrots!” by Aaron Reynolds (Weston Woods Studios, Inc.); “Eleanor & Park” written by Rainbow Rowell, narrated by Rebecca Lowman and Sunil Malhotra (Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group); “Matilda” written by Roald Dahl and narrated by Kate Winslet (Penguin Audio, a member of Penguin Group USA Inc.).

--Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award honoring a Latino illustrator whose children’s books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience:
“Niño Wrestles the World,” illustrated and written by Yuyi Morales (Roaring Brook Press).

Belpré Illustrator Honors to: “Maria Had a Little Llama / María Tenía una Llamita,” illustrated and written by Angela Dominguez (Henry Holt and Co.); “Tito Puente: Mambo King / Rey del Mambo,” illustrated by Rafael López, written by Monica Brown (Rayo, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers); “Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant’s Tale,” illustrated and written by Duncan Tonatiuh (Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS).

--Pura Belpré (Author) Award honoring a Latino writer whose children’s books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience: “Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass” by Meg Medina (Candlewick Press).

Belpré Author Honors to: “The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba’s Greatest Abolitionist,” written by Margarita Engle (Harcourt, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co.); “The Living” by Matt de la Peña (Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Penguin Random House Co.); “Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant’s Tale,” written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh (Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS).

--Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children: “Parrots over Puerto Rico,” written by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore and illustrated by Susan L. Roth (Lee & Low Books Inc.).

Sibert Honors to: “A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin,” written by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet (Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House Inc.); “Look Up! Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard,” written and illustrated by Annette LeBlanc Cate (Candlewick Press); “Locomotive,” written and illustrated by Brian Floca (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing); “The Mad Potter: George E. Ohr, Eccentric Genius,” written by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan (Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership).

--Stonewall Book Award-Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award for English-language works of exceptional merit for children or teens relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience: co-winners “Beautiful Music for Ugly Children” by Kirstin Cronn-Mills (Flux, an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide), and “Fat Angie,” written by E.E. Charlton-Trujillo (Candlewick Press).

Honors to: “Better Nate Than Ever” by Tim Federle (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division); “Branded by the Pink Triangle” by Ken Setterington (Second Story Press); “Two Boys Kissing” by David Levithan (Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House Inc.)

--Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished book for beginning readers: “The Watermelon Seed,” written and illustrated by Greg Pizzoli (Disney Hyperion Books, an imprint of Disney Book Group).

Geisel Honors to: “Ball” written and illustrated by Mary Sullivan (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co.); “A Big Guy Took My Ball!” written and illustrated by Mo Willems (Hyperion Books for Children, an imprint of Disney Book Group); “Penny and Her Marble” written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers).

--William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens: “Charm & Strange” by Stephanie Kuehn (St. Martin’s Griffin, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press, a division of Macmillan).

Finalists: “Sex & Violence” by Carrie Mesrobian (Carolrhoda LAB, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group); “Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets” by Evan Roskos (Houghton Mifflin, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co.); “Belle Epoque” by Elizabeth Ross (Delacorte Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books); “In the Shadow of Blackbirds” by Cat Winters (Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS).

--YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults: “The Nazi Hunters: How a Team of Spies and Survivors Captured the World’s Most Notorious Nazi” by Neal Bascomb (Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.).

Finalists: “Go: A Kidd’s Guide to Graphic Design” by Chip Kidd (Workman Publishing Co.); “Imprisoned: The Betrayal of Japanese Americans During World War II” by Martin W. Sandler (Walker Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Inc.); “Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America’s First Black Paratroopers” by Tanya Lee Stone (Candlewick Press); “The President Has Been Shot! The Assassination of John F. Kennedy” by James L. Swanson (Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.)

[For the Record, 7:51 p.m. PST Jan. 27: An earlier version of this post misspelled “Printz” as “Prinz” in two places.]

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