Newberrry, Caldecott & other 2008 Awards for Children's Books

The 2008 Children's Book awards are out, and Richfield Library has purchased many of the books which have gotten awards. The Newberry winner and honor books, including Elijah of Buxton, The Wednesday Wars, Feathers, and the 2008 winner Good Masters, Sweet Ladies: Voices from a Medieval Village are here. The 2008 Caldecott winner and honor books for illustrations have come, and you can check out The Invention of Hugo Cabaret, Knuffle Bunny Too, and First, the Egg. Don't forget the "Dr Seuss Awards" for First, The Egg and There is a Bird on Your Head. The Printz Award for teens is The White Darkness, a thriller by G. MCCaughrean. (I have only just pried myself away from White Darkness to update this blog and let me tell you, I'm going right back to it!)

The Schneider awards go to the best books featuring a disabled protagonist, and this year Kami and the Yaks has a wonderful hero in a deaf child in Mongolia. Hurt, Go Happy is a great teen book of a deaf girl who has only done lip reading who meets a scientist with a signing chimpanzee.

I'll be reviewing all these books in the weeks to come, but I can already recommend Elijah of Buxton, by Christopher Curtis (author of that children's classic Bud, Not Buddy - a great book & read in the audio version by James Avery in on of the most marvelously read books on audio). Curtis has once again melded a black historical setting with a set of unforgettable characters. Not only will you learn about Buxton, the highly successful Canadian settlement carved out of the wilderness by ex-slaves who escaped from America. You'll also meet villians, buffoons, and quiet heroes, who can find the courage to do what they need to do to resist an inhumane system while helping their fellow man.

Is Llama Llama Mad at Mama?

Preschool-Grade 2 -- Does any child like to go shopping? Not Llama Llama! But Mama can’t leave Llama at home, so off they go to Shop-O-Rama. Lots of aisles. Long lines. Mama is too busy to notice that Llama Llama is getting m-a-d! And before he knows it, he’s having a full-out tantrum! Mama quickly calms him down, but she also realizes that they need to make shopping more fun for both of them. Parents and children are sure to recognize themselves in this fun-to-read follow-up to the popular Llama Llama Red Pajama. Ann Dewdney does it again in Llama Llama Mad at Mama!

Knuffle Bunny Too - Two Bunnies!

Kids Preschool-3rd grade -- Mo Willems is back with another adventure for Knuffle Bunny in this 2008 Caldecott Honor Book for kids 3-8 years old. Trixie can't wait to bring her one-of-a-kind Knuffle Bunny to school and show him off to everyone. But when she gets there, she sees something awful: Sonja has the same bunny. Suddenly, Knuffle Bunny doesn't seem so one-of-a-kind anymore. Chaos ensues until the bunnies are taken away by Ms. Greengrove. After school, Trixie finally gets her beloved bunny back. But in the middle of the night, Trixie realizes something. She has the wrong bunny! Daddy comes to the rescue again as a midnight swap is arranged with the other bunny, the other little girl, and the other daddy. Needless to say, the daddies are not very happy. By the end of the story Trixie has her beloved bunny back, but she has also gained something new: her very first best friend. Knuffle Bunny, Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity is another heartfelt, hilarious picture book that children (and their parents) will love.