NEWBERY AND CALDECOTT PREDICTIONS!

Hello, friends! Catching up a bit as I am still finding a balance between blogging, mom-ming, grad school, cake-frosting and being a full-time public school teacher librarian, but I haven't forgotten our fun and am busy compiling a list of this year's best.  Meanwhile, I can't resist sharing my picks for the 2011 American Library Association's Newbery and Caldecott Awards, the "Oscars" of the children's book world, to be announced tomorrow morning. Here's where I am laying my bets:

WITH A NAME LIKE LOVE by first-time author Tess Hilmo (Farrar, Straus and Giroux).  how exciting it would be for a mystery to win, a well-done sample of the genre that children will enjoy, but at the same time, fitting into the quirky, small-town, girl-centric character-driven mold that spelled success for past winners like Susan Patron's THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY and Kate DiCamillo's beloved BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE.

The muy populare THE GIRL WHO CIRCUMNAVIGATED FAIRYLAND IN A SHIP OF HER OWN MAKING by Catherynne Valente, illustrated by Ana Juan (Feiwel and Friends), an imaginative quest bringing together the classic flavor and imaginative casting found in The Phantom Tollbooth and Alice and The Wizard of Oz, but with a modern sensibility and erudite sauciness that might tickle the fancy of a team of librarians.

But girls, girls, girls.  How about giving another gender some play, namely,

MY NAME IS NOT EASY by Debby Dahl Edwardson (Masrhall Cavendish). Inspired by her husband's childhood, this is a stirring narrative of an Iñupiaq boy discriminated against at boarding school, told with the prowess, drama, and emotional insight that hearkens back to Louis Sachar's HOLES and situations described in the mighty autobiography by Ednah New Rider Weber, RATTLESNAKE MESA. What a great opportunity it would be for classrooms to discuss Native America in a civil rights context, and to discover a chapter of history all too recent and all too unknown. Whether it wins or not, we should be adding it to our collections and our conversations.

A number of books that have been getting a lot of buzz, and garnered a following through the year. Brian Selznick has been a deserving golden boy of children's books, enjoying recent popular success with his INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET, and fast on its heels was this year's equally formidable WONDERSTRUCK,  about a deaf girl's perceptions of the end of the silent film era. Selznick's thematic love of the movies and reinvention of the book form continues! Other hotties are Franny Billingsley's high fantasy CHIME,  which will likely at least take a Printz award for Young Adult Fiction; Gary D. Schmidt who often creates intermediate/young adult hybrid books has won many silver medals for his work (LIZZIE BRIGHT AND THE BUCKMINSTER BOY THE WEDNESDAY WARS) but may yet take the gold for OKAY FOR NOW; and Colin Meloy's WILDWOOD,
another nod to classic fantasy as Portland, Oregon serves as a portal to the netherworld of The Impassable Wilderness, and is a beautiful tome to hold and to read.

I have fingers and toes crossed for one of my favorites of the year, the beautifully written and poignant prose-poem about a girl who journeys from Saigon during the Vietnam War to Birmingham, Alabama,  INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN by Thanhha La (HarperCollins) (which already has received a National Book Award nod).  I always hope that some poetry or nonfiction takes the Newbery (how about this year's WON TON, by Lee Wardlaw; I have yet to meet someone who doesn't love it or like it a lot); departures from fiction doesn't always happen with the Newbery, but it's always interesting when it does (and there's always the Sibert Award for outstanding nonfiction, and one of my favorite prizes). 

As for the Caldecott Award, my personal favorite as far as jaw-dropping-gorgeousness was BROTHER SUN, SISTER MOON: ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI'S CANTICLE OF THE ANIMALS (Chronicle) reimagined by Katherine Paterson and brought to life in the paper-cut illustrations of Pamela Dalton, an artistic feat which seems almost super-human, the meticulous-labor-of-love likes of which I have not seen since Robert Sabuda's WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ (a pop-up book which should have gotten a Caldecott but was probably considered a novelty). Hopefully Dalton's unusual efforts will not be overlooked.

But then, there are a lot of picture book veterans pulling out the big guns:   Marla Frazee's STARS is a favorite to win, being that she is a bit overdue for a Caldecott, as is Arthur Geisert (ICE) though I'm sure all the artists sweat (albeit admiringly) when the masterful Chris Van Allsburg QUEEN OF THE FALLS) or Maurice Sendak (BUMBLE-ARDY) have new offerings. Then again, Jon Klassen's I WANT MY HAT BACK has a lot of fans, though its rather abrupt naturalistic finish lines might leave it a cult favorite. In a year of stand-outs, I have a suspicion this year's winner could be a sleeper, and I can't wait to wake up and find out whose dream came true.

Certainment, two of the very best illustrated books of 2011 were FAIRLY FAIRY TALES illustrated by Elisa Chavarri, a stylish and eye-popping work which sadly came out too early in 2011 to be properly remembered when awards rolled around, and Jennifer Plecas's slam-dunk in THE BASKET BALL, probably too pink to take the gold, but still a picture party that I know many little girls will be so happy to attend. Luckily we're all such good sports!  A special thank you to these illustrators who made this past year extra special for me, and congratulations to all the authors and illustrators who had works published this year.  Medals or not, we win every time a child opens a book!  Happy reading!

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More Esmé stuff at www.planetesme.com.

TIME FOR A HUG (PICTURE BOOK)

Book du Jour:
 
TIME FOR A HUG by Phyllis Gershator and Mim Green, illustrated by David Walker (Sterling)

Wash our faces,
comb our hair,
choose the clothes
we like to wear.
Eat from a bowl,
drink from a mug--
What time is it?
Time for a hug!  

Tick tock, hours on a clock click off tidily in verse, taking us through the joys of a preschooler's everyday life (as well as the first ten digits).  A tender addition to any baby shower book basket!

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More Esmé stuff at www.planetesme.com.

THE HAUNTED HAMBURGER (PICTURE BOOK)

Book du Jour:

THE HAUNTED HAMBURGER AND OTHER GHOSTLY STORIES by David LaRochelle, illustrations by Paul Meisel (Dutton)

Seriously.  Do I need to tell you why you need to add a book called THE HAUNTED HAMBURGER to your children's collection?!  For practicing pedagogues, you'll find it will become one of your seasonal go-to's, featuring three vignettes: "The Scary Baby," "The Haunted Hamburger" and "The Big Bad Granny," all told as bedtime stories to frighten a little ghost. The stories conjure up way more laughs than shivers (especially when one poor ghost is fated to become a diaper!  Augghhhh!) and are well-complimented by colorful and cartoonish illustrations.  Most dependable primary pick for Halloween week as IN A DARK, DARK ROOM AND OTHER SCARY STORIES by Alvin Schwartz and illustrated by Dirk Zimmer (and that's saying a lot).

Links are provided for informational use. Don't forget to support your local bookseller.
More Esmé stuff at www.planetesme.com.

LOVE TWELVE MILES LONG (PICTURE BOOK)

Book du Jour:

LOVE TWELVE MILES LONG by Glenda Armand, illustrated by Colin Bootman (Lee & Low)

Inspired by the life of the great orator and abolitionist Frederick Douglass, a mother separated from her son by slavery visits him, recounting every mile of the journey (first mile for forgetting, fourth mile for looking up, sixth mile for praying, seventh for singing), and giving her son the steps toward his own freedom.  A stirring and hopeful read-aloud, this is a must-have for Black history, history of the American Civil War, the Antebellum South and slavery, and also for great moments in Mom history. 

For story or study, pair with Anne Rockwell's ONLY PASSING THROUGH (R. Gregory Christie, illustrator), Tonya Cherie Hegamin's MOST LOVED IN ALL THE WORLD (illustrated by Cozbi Cabrera) and MAMA SAYS: A BOOK OF LOVE FOR MOTHERS AND SONS by Rob Walker, illustrated regally by Leo and Diane Dillon. (8 and up)

Links are provided for informational use. Don't forget to support your local bookseller.
More Esmé stuff at www.planetesme.com.

WITCHES! (NONFICTION)

Book du Jour:

WITCHES! THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE TALE OF DISASTER IN SALEM by Rosalyn Schanzer (National Geographic)

Ask:  does your child know about the Salem Witch Trials?  How about you?!  Then you need this little chapbook, so chillingly adorned with black, white and red scratchboard illustrations and teeming with the primary sources and historical regret that the subject deserves.  You also need WITCH HUNT: MYSTERIES OF THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS by Marc Aronson, which does a good job of exploring the role of peer pressure in the trials, making it very relevant to tweenagers, and Milton Meltzer's WITCHES AND WITCH HUNTS: A HISTORY OF PERSECUTION, written by a master of non-fiction and putting witch-hunts and their head devils in a historical and modern context (including Hitler and McCarthy). Of course, my favorite nonfiction about witches is contained in WITCHES by Erica Jong, which is full of many dirty and beautiful and disturbing illustrations and writing. I don't think is for children, although I received it on request when I was thirteen, and it is worth noting that I still did enjoy it very much.

And if your older, fiction-loving familiar has somehow wearied of  Elizabeth George Speare's Newbery-winning Salem standby THE WITCH OF BLACKBIRD POND, try Celia Rees's WITCH CHILD for kids needing a more contemporary, and possibly independently accessible approach to the topic. (All for readers 11 and up, except for Erica Jong.)

Happy Banned Books Week.


Links are provided for informational use. Don't forget to support your local bookseller.
More Esmé stuff at www.planetesme.com.

CUPCAKE (PICTURE BOOK)

Book du Jour:
CUPCAKE by Charise Mericle Harper (Disney/Hyperion)

I promised you cake today.

I didn't want to like this book.  Was it just adding its dozen to the cupcake craze sweeping every other block?  Was it one of those overly-saccharine books that ultimately says "I'm okay, you're okay?"  No.  It was not.  Yes, It capitalizes on our national love of frosting.  Yes, it ultimately says, "I'm okay, you're okay," okay.   But it also has a double-page spread of different cupcake characters (fancy flower-top cupcake, stripy cupcake, polka-dot cupcake) that is absolutely irresistible; how can you not choose a favorite?  And for gosh sakes, don't we all need a candle, to help us find our inner light?  This story is perfectly adorable, encouraging, and screams for various follow-up projects, whether decorating paper cupcakes or pulling out the pastry bags for some real action.  Three yums up.  (5 and up) And also, for lots of layers and zero calories, add BETTY BUNNY LOVES CHOCOLATE CAKE to your collection, featuring an energetic floppy-eared character that finds her cocoa-covered true love and is enamored enough to stick it in her sock. The thin-lined, watercolor illustrations are expressive and funny, and overall, a is the icing on the cake for a very realistic depiction of a hard-headed little girl in bunny's clothing (not that you might know any yourself). A nice choice for the FANCY NANCY and OLIVIA jet-set of readers. And if you're just in it for the pastry, please don't forget Janet Stein's THIS LITTLE BUNNY CAN BAKE, which lets some boys in the kitchen door, too.  (5 and up)

Links are provided for informational use. Don't forget to support your local bookseller.
More Esmé stuff at www.planetesme.com.

THE GINGERBREAD MAN LOOSE IN THE SCHOOL (PICTURE BOOK)

Book du Jour:

THE GINGERBREAD MAN LOOSE IN THE SCHOOL by Laura Murray, illustrated by Mike Lowery (Putnam)

I'm the Gingerbread Man,
And I'm trying to find
The children who made me,
but left me behind.

Looking for the children in this reverse chase, our Gingerbread friend gets a grand tour of the school, and manages to find his friends in the end.  Comic-book framing paired with fun, simple illustration and a limited but snazzy palette of browns, greens, turquoise and red makes for visually active pages that are still easy to follow when sharing with a classroom.   This cookie is genuinely sweet!  (5 and up) For other reads off the cookie sheet, taste-test THE GINGERBREAD GIRL by Lisa Campbell Ernst, or my favorite, Mini Grey's adventurous GINGER BEAR. And don't forget to share the original, newly reprinted with a handsome embossed cover, Paul Galdone's THE GINGERBREAD BOY, which, in combination with the other titles in Galdone's "Folk Tale Classics" series, has comprised my latest baby-gift-of-choice." The children never seem to trust that old fox, no matter how nice he tries to be...for a while, anyway. Oh, well.

And! While we're on the subject of the way the cookie crumbles, there's Jan Brett's busy GINGERBREAD FRIENDS, which is eye candy as much as it is eye cookie, and the Randall Jarrell's beautiful, old-fashioned first chapter-book read-aloud (yes, all you first grade teachers, this is for you!), THE GINGERBREAD RABBIT, illustrated by the great Garth Williams (of whose talents you are acquainted from CHARLOTTE'S WEB.

To be devoured with or without milk.
Cake tomorrow.

Links are provided for informational use. Don't forget to support your local bookseller.
More Esmé stuff at www.planetesme.com.

THE GIRL WHO CIRCUMNAVIGATED FAIRYLAND (Fiction)

Book du Jour:

THE GIRL WHO CIRCUMNAVIGATED FAIRYLAND IN A SHIP OF HER OWN MAKING by Catherynne M. Valente (Fiewel and Friends)

Save Fairyland, little twelve-year-old-girl!  (No pressure.) With lots of wordplay, a quest to vanquish in the name of good and a whimsical cast, perhaps this is a contemporary nod to Norton Juster's  THE PHANTOM TOOLBOOTH featuring a female protagonist (and how timely, with a 50th Anniversary Edition and an Annotated Edition out and about?)...excepting, September has an enthusiastic spirit all her own, falling in line with the best of the Practical Princesses and other more liberated girls who have wandered--or wended--their way into fairy tales. Smart, lovely, sensory, descriptive language, too, with plenty of vocabulary that means what it says and says what they mean (bedraggled shoes, dense bread), always exciting and never dumb (just like good old William Steig used to do...how about BRAVE IRENE? ).   Isn't it perfect when an author has a high regard for, um....words?  And girls?  Helps a lot. (11 and up)

Links are provided for informational use.  Don't forget to support your local bookseller.
More Esmé stuff at www.planetesme.com.