Newbery and Caldecott Winners

The Super Bowl wasn't the only big game this week.  The awards and nominees for both the Newbery and Caldecott Medals were announced just a few days ago.

The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery and is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children.  The medal is awarded for the most distinguished American children's book published the previous year.

This year's winner is The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Appelgate.

Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all.

Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.

Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.

Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope.

2013 Newbery Honor Books:

Splendors and Gloom by Laura Amy Schlitz

Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin

Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage

The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.

This year's Caldecott winner is This is Not My Hat written and illustrated by Jon Klassen

When a tiny fish shoots into view wearing a round blue topper (which happens to fit him perfectly), trouble could be following close behind. So it’s a good thing that enormous fish won’t wake up. And even if he does, it’s not like he’ll ever know what happened. . . . Visual humor swims to the fore as the best-selling Jon Klassen follows his breakout debut with another deadpan-funny tale.

2013 Caldecott Honor Books:

Creepy Carrots! pictures by Peter Brown 

and written by Aaron Reynolds

Extra Yarn illustrated by Jon Klassen (again!) 

and written by Mac Barnett

Green written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

One Cool Friend illustrated by David Small 

and written by Toni Buzzeo

Sleep Like a Tiger pictures by Pamela Zagarenski, 

written by Mary Logue

The great thing about books is that there's never a maximum age restriction.  So check out theses wonderful, beautiful books, even if you aren't technically a kid anymore!