ALA Award Winners for 2015 - A Good Year for Graphic Novels and Non-Fiction Picture Books!
John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature:
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
(it's been on my shelf for an embarrassing amount of time: review to come!)
Newbery Honor Books:
El Deafo by Cece Bell
Brown Girl Dreaming
by Jacqueline Woodson
(also winner of the National Book Award. Review to come!)
Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children:
The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat
Caldecott Honors:
Nana in the City by Lauren Castillo
The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art illustrated by Mary GrandPré, written by Barb Rosenstock
Sam & Dave Dig a Hole illustrated by Jon Klassen
& written by Mac Barnett
Viva Frida by Yuyi Morales
The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus illustrated by Melissa Sweet & written by Jen Bryant
This One Summer illustrated by Jillian Tamaki & written by Mariko Tamaki
Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book:
You Are (Not) Small written by Anna Kang & illustrated by Christopher Weyant
Geisel Honor Books:
Mr. Putter & Tabby Turn the Page written by Cynthia Rylant & illustrated by Arthur Howard
Waiting Is Not Easy! written by Mo Willems
Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults:
Brown Girl Dreaming
by Jacqueline Woodson
King Honor Books:
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson & illustrated by Hadley Hooper
How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon
Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award:
Firebird illustrated by Christopher Myers & written by Misty Copeland
King Illustrator Honor Books:
Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker illustrated by Christian Robinson & written by Patricia Hruby Powell
Little Melba and Her Big Trombone illustrated by Frank Morrison & written by Katheryn Russell-Brown
Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award:
When I Was the Greatest written by Jason Reynolds
Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults:
I’ll Give You the Sun written by Jandy Nelson
Printz Honor Books:
And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard
Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith
The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley
This One Summer illustrated by Jillian Tamaki & written by Mariko Tamaki
Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience:
A Boy and a Jaguar written by Alan Rabinowitz & illustrated by Catia Chien
Rain Reign written by Ann M. Martin
Girls Like Us by Gail Giles
Laura Ingalls Wilder Award honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.
The 2015 winner is Donald Crews, whose award-winning works include “Freight Train,” which was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1979, and “Truck,” a Caldecott Honor Book in 1981. He has been consistently excellent with a wide range of titles, such as “Harbor,” “Parade,” “Shortcut” and “Bigmama’s,” all published by Greenwillow Books.
Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults:
The 2015 winner is Sharon M. Draper, author of more than 20 books, including: “Tears of a Tiger” (1994), “Forged by Fire” (1997), “Darkness Before Dawn” (2001), “Battle of Jericho” (2004), “Copper Sun” (2006), and “November Blues” (2007), all published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing.
Mildred L. Batchelder Award for an outstanding children’s book translated from a foreign language and subsequently published in the United States:
Mikis and the Donkey by Bibi Dumon Tak, illustrated by Philip Hopman, translated by Laura Watkinson
Batchelder Honor Books:
Hidden: A Child’s Story of the Holocaust written by Loic Dauvillier, illustrated by Marc Lizano, color by Greg Salsedo, translated by Alexis Siegel
!
Nine Open Arms written by Benny Lindelauf, illustrated by Dasha Tolstikova, translated by John Nieuwenhuizen
Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States:
H. O. R. S. E. A Game of Basketball and Imagination by Christopher Myers and narrated by Dion Graham and Christopher Myers
Odyssey Honor Recordings:
Five, Six, Seven, Nate! written by Tim Federle, and narrated by Tim Federle
The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place written by Julie Berry, and narrated by Jayne Entwistle
A Snicker of Magic written by Natalie Lloyd, and narrated by Cassandra Morris
Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award honoring a Latino writer and illustrator whose children's books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience:
Viva Frida by Yuyi Morales
Belpré Illustrator Honor Books:
Little Roja Riding Hood illustrated by Susan Guevara, written by Susan Middleton Elya
Green Is a Chile Pepper illustrated by John Parra, written by Roseanne Greenfield Thong
Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation illustrated and written by Duncan Tonatiuh
Pura Belpré (Author) Award honoring Latino authors whose work best portrays, affirms and celebrates the Latino cultural experience:
I Lived on Butterfly Hill written by Marjorie Agosín & illustrated by Lee White
Belpré Author Honor Book:
Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes written by Juan Felipe Herrera & illustrated by Raúl Colón
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children:
The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus illustrated by Melissa Sweet & written by Jen Bryant
Sibert Honor Books:
Brown Girl Dreaming
by Jacqueline Woodson
The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, & the Fall of Imperial Russia written by Candace Fleming
Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker illustrated by Christian Robinson & written by Patricia Hrby Powell
Neighborhood Sharks: Hunting with the Great Whites of California’s Farallon Islands written and illustrated by Katherine Roy
Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation illustrated and written by Duncan Tonatiuh
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:
This Day in June written by Gayle E. Pitman, Ph.D., illustrated by Kristyna Litten
Honor Books:
Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin, photographed by Susan Kuklin
I’ll Give You the Sun
written by Jandy Nelson
Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress written by Christine Baldacchio, pictures by Isabelle Malenfant
William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens:
Gabi, a Girl in Pieces written by Isabel Quintero
Four other books were finalists for the award:
The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley
The Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of Trondheim written by E.K. Johnston
The Scar Boys written by Len Vlahos
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender written by Leslye Walton
YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults:
Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek written by Maya Van Wagenen
Four other books were finalists for the award:
Laughing at My Nightmare written by Shane Burcaw
The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, & the Fall of Imperial Russia written by Candace Fleming
Ida M. Tarbell: The Woman Who Challenged Big Business—and Won! written by Emily Arnold McCully
The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights written by Steve Sheinkin
