Best Books of 2008
The Newbery & Caldecott awards are the kinds of things that makes librarians and book sellers go weak in the knees!
It's January again which means the American Library Association (ALA) will be holding their ever important Mid Winter Conference! This is the meeting where the Newbery Medal is given to the author for the most distinguished contribution to American Literature for children and the Caldecott Medal is awarded to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. This is the kind of thing that makes librarians and book sellers go weak in the knees!
While I've not personally read every book on this list, I have read a number of them, and I do not envy the judges! This list has been compiled from a number of "Best of 2008" lists, and Mock Newbery and Caldecott Contests which are held annually across the country. The following titles are generating quite a buzz in the Children's Lit world but that doesn't mean the winner is listed here... It is NOT like the Oscars - - any book published in 2008 can be a contender! Take a look for yourself and see if you can pick the winners!
Newbery Contenders: (Middle Grade Readers, Ages 10 and up)
Chains, by Laurie Halse Anderson (Simon & Schuster)
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves, by M. T. Anderson (Candlewick)
The Underneath, by Kathi Appelt (Simon & Schuster)
The Penderwicks on Gardam Street, by Jeanne Birdsall (Random House)
Tennyson, by Lesley M. M. Blume (Random House)
Waiting for Normal, by Leslie Connor (Harper Collins)
Shooting the Moon, by Frances O'Roark Dowell (Simon & Schuster)
The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman (Harper Collins)
Eleven, by Patricia Reilly Giff (Random House)
Bird Lake Moon by Kevin Henkes (Harper Collins)
Savvy, by Ingrid Law (Penguin)
The Willoughby's, by Lois Lowry (Houghton Miflin)
Keeping Score, by Linda Sue Park (Clarion)
Caldecott Contenders: (Picture Books - Age Varies)
Keep Your Eye on the Kid: The Early Years of Buster Keaton, by Catherine Brighton (Roaring Brook)
We are the Ship: The Story of the Negro League, by Kadir Nelson (Hyperion)
Wonder Bear, by Tao Nyen (Penguin)
Frankenstein Takes the Cake, by Adam Rex (Harcourt)
A Kitten Tale by Eric Rohmann (Knopf)
How I Learned Geography by Uri Shulevitz (Farrar Strauss Giroux)
The House in the Night, by Susan Marie Swanson, illus by Beth Krommes (Houghton Miflin)
Wabi Sabi, by Mark Reibstein, illus by Ed Young (Little Brown)
In A Blue Room, by Jim Averbeck, illus by Tricia Tussa (Harcourt)
A Visitor for Bear, by Kady MacDonald Denton (Candlewick) *
Not A Stick, by Antoinette Portis (HarperCollins)
What To Do About Alice?, by Barbara Kerley (Scholastic)
My Friend, the Starfinder, by George Ella Lyons, illus by Stephen Gammell
Lincoln & Douglas, An American Friendship by Nikki Giovanni & Bryan Collier
Cool Daddy Rat, by Kristyn Crow, illus by Mike Lester
*Denton is Canadian, and cannot be considered for the Caldecott, however, the book is lovely, and I didn't want you to miss it!
Surrounded by too many books to read, Julie Hubble lives in Leawood and loves her local public library.