ALA Youth Media Award Winners

I decided to put an end to my "week-long series of posts" because I noticed my page views decreased dramatically.  I guess it was just too much Julie in one week.  That's fine, though, and because I want to produce a blog that you actually want to read, I will avoid giving so many negative reviews in a row and I am going to add a "recommended" tag to all the books I liked, to make it easier for you to find a bunch of them at once.

Now I want to move on to what this post is actually about: the ALA 2011 Youth Media Award Winners, announced earlier this week.  Most of the books featured on this blog are young adult or "YA" books, which means the intended age group is about 12-18 years old.  The reason I'm so interested in these books is because they have experienced a surge in popularity among all age groups in recent years (think Twilight and Harry Potter), and I think that means there is something special about them that really strikes a chord with many people.  I also read many books intended for a slightly younger audience, although I have not blogged about many of them because I think they have a more limited audience.

Based on my interest in these two types of books, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the two ALA awards I am most interested in are the John Newbery Medal and the Michael L. Printz Award.  So here are the winners and honorees of my two favorite ALA awards:

2011 Newbery Winner

Newbery Winner "for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature": Moon Over Manifest by Claire Vanderpool
Newbery Honors: Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm; Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus; Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman; One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

I just want to quickly mention how relieved I am that The Dreamer was not awarded the Newbery or even a Newbery Honor.  It was awarded, however, the Pura Belpré Award for "honoring a Latino writer whose children's books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience."

2011 Printz Winner

Printz Winner "for excellence in literature written for young adults": Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
Printz Honors: Stolen by Lucy Christopher; Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King; Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick; Nothing by Janne Teller

I realize it's very "librarian" of me to push award-winners, but there really is something to the award process and if you're looking for something good to read and don't have time to browse, these lists are usually a pretty safe place to start.  Another great list that may be a little less prestigious but may be more interesting for my readers, is the list of Alex Awards "for the best 10 adult books that appeal to teen audiences."

Take a closer look at some of these lists and I guarantee you will find at least a couple books that interest you.  I'm most excited to read Ship Breaker and Nothing, but you can probably expect to see most, if not all, of these books on here eventually.