Despite a bit of jet lag, I wanted to do a quick ALA Midwinter summary post. First, I just want to say that ALA Midwinter tends to be my favorite event. I love the book previews and the constant book discussions and the celebration of books and authors and illustrators.
I kicked off ALA Midwinter on Friday, January 24th, with final deliberations with the Schneider Family Book Award Jury. Once we made our decisions and finished our press release, I had the opportunity to visit the Exhibit Hall and attend special book events.
Here is most of the Schneider Family Book Award Jury at 6 a.m. on Monday morning as we waited for our group picture to be taken prior to the Youth Media Awards.
Though the actual Youth Media Awards is one of the biggest highlights of the weekend, I always love when we call the winners to tell them they won the Schneider Family Book Award. The reactions of the authors and illustrators are priceless. However, this year was a bit more exciting. After selecting Just Ask!: Be Different, Be Brave, Be You by Sonia Sotomayor and illustrated by Rafael López, we were curious if we would actually be able to call Justice Sotomayor. It turns out that publishers have ways of even connecting a committee with a Supreme Court Justice. This was probably the most surreal phone call that I have ever had a chance to make. We even googled how to address a Supreme Court Justice. Justice Sonia Sotomayor was a delight to speak with and was gracious and excited to have her book recognized.
In case you missed our winners I have included them below…
Schneider Family Book Award Honor Winners:
Schneider Family Book Award Winners:
Since the major focus of my Wednesday blog posts is nonfiction, I have to update you on the Robert F. Sibert Award. Remember last week when I made my predictions? You can check it out here if you don’t remember. Well, it would seem that I was way off base with my predictions. Not a single book I predicted won a Sibert Award. Sure, Undefeated walked away with a few impressive awards and Torpedo won a YALSA NF Honor but no luck with the actual winners.
Sibert Honor Award Winners:
All in a Drop: How Anthony van Leeuwenhoek Discovered an Invisible World by Lori Alexander, Illustrated by Vivien Mildenberger (HMH Books for Young Readers)
This Promise of Change: One Girl’s Story in the Fight for School Equity by Jo Ann Allen Boyce, Debbie Levy (Bloomsbury)
Ordinary Hazards by Nikki Grimes (Wordsong)
Hey, Water by Antoinette Portis (Neal Porter Books)
Sibert Award Winner:
Fry Bread by Kevin Noble Maillard, Illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal (Roaring Brook Press)
I am still pondering these winners. Though I love Fry Bread, I was surprised to see it win the Sibert. I need to take a look at the criteria again and see what I missed. I know how hard a committee works and how many books they read. Obviously, I missed something. Maybe I read the criteria through the lens of nonfiction rather than informational fiction? This is going to make predictions in the future even harder.
Anyone have any thoughts on any of the winners? If you need a review of what won, click here.
Don’t forget to link up your nonfiction reviews…