1
Feb
ALA Midwinter Madness
I’m back!!!
Tuesday night I returned home from ALA Midwinter to a very sick kiddo. She has that fever, cough, congestion thing that’s going around, and if you’re a parent/work with kids, you know exactly what I’m talking about. While she took a little afternoon snooze today, I thought I’d catch-up and write a quick recap on my Seattle experience, the Youth Media Awards, Vine-ing and more!
To start, I have never been to Seattle and it’s true what they say – it rained every day. Regardless, it was so much fun. Between meetings, discussions, walking through the exhibits, and events, it was a busy and sleepless trip. To keep this brief, I’m sticking to the highlights. There was the book previewing and chit-chat in the exhibits with Danielle from There’s a Book!, who is lovely and wonderful in every way. Nerds united at the Nerdy Book Club (#nerdybookclub) dinner meetup organized by Ms. Shannon Houghton which was a blast, and might I add delicious. Great people with big book hearts.
And not to forget the Random House Newbery Discussion at the Seattle Public Library (futuristic building pictured above) featuring seven Newbery Winner and Honor authors including Christopher Paul Curtis, Jennifer L. Holm, Kirby Larson, Louis Sachar, Jerry Spinelli, Rebecca Stead, Claire Vanderpool, and moderated by none-other than Nancy Pearl.
Talk about a great lineup, right? The authors were charming and the discussion was lively and funny. The aftermath effects are that I now have a crush on Christopher Paul Curtis.
Last but not least I had the privilege of attending the Youth Media Awards! The energy is that ballroom in the Seattle Convention Center at 8am in the morning was palpable. Rumbling chatter before, cheers and clapping during (with the occasional gasp of shock). I’ve never been in a place where there were so much excitement all for the love of children’s and YA literature. If you’re interested in watching an encore of the awards presentation, you can watch them in their entirety here. A selection of this year’s winning books include:
Newbery Medal Winner: The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
Newbery Honors:
- Splendors and Glooms 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
Caldecott Medal Winner: This is Not My Hat illustrated and written by Jon Klassen
Caldecott Honors:
- Green illustrated and written by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
- One Cool Friend illustrated by David Small, written by Toni Buzzeo
- Sleep Like a Tiger illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski,
- Extra Yarn illustrated by Jon Klassen, written by Mac Barnett
- Creepy Carrots! illustrated by Peter Brown, written by Aaron Reynolds
Geisel Award Winner: Up, Tall and High! written and illustrated by Ethan Long is the Seuss Award winner.
Geisel Honors:
- Let’s Go for a Drive! written and illustrated by Mo Willems
- Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin, created and illustrated by James Dean
- Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover written and illustrated by Cece Bell
Coretta Scott King Author Book Award Winner: Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America written by Andrea Davis Pinkney and illustrated by Brian Pinkney
Corretta Scott King Illustrator Award Winner: I, Too, Am America poem by Langston Hughs, illustrated by Bryan Collier
Belpre Illustrator Award Winner: Martín de Porres: The Rose in the Desert illustrated by David Diaz written by Gary D. Schmidt
Belpre Author Award Winner: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Sibert Award Winner: Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin
Bomb swept the house with two wins and one honor, Jon Klassan won both a Caldecott medal and honor (a very rare occurrence), and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe also cleaned up nicely with a Belpre win, a Stonewall win, and a Printz honor. Wowza. Just a reminder that this list is only a sampling of the 2013 winners. The full list, in it’s entirety, can be found here. Also, School Library Journal conveniently organized all their reviews of the top winners into one post here.
On the last day after the awards, I did make a point to go to Pike Place Market with a couple coworkers to have a bowl of clam chowder at Ivar’s. I also bought a bag so I could bring back the enormous stash of ARCs, posters, and goodies I picked up specifically for my coworkers and my daughter.
As for the books I’m most looking forward to reading after my trip? Here’s my post ALA Midwinter reading list…
My very first Vine production! Have you tested out Vine yet? It’s an app that allows you to make short videos and loops in the same fashion as a GIF would. Kinda fun. I linked my first Vine clip to Vimeo and added a background track to it.
So, what’s on your reading upcoming list?
Here’s a text version of mine:
Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool
The Boy in the Oak by Jessica Albarn
The Runaway King (sequel to The False Prince) by Jennifer A. Neilsen
Hokey Pokey by Jerry Spinelli
Loki’s Wolves by K.L. Armstrong & M.A. Marr
The Water Castle by Megan Frazer Blakemore
The Center of Everything by Linda Urban
Post ALA Midwinter Reading List from Rebecca Dunn on Vimeo
24
Jan
Off to Seattle
And I’m off to Seattle for the next few days!
Well, not quite yet. Tomorrow evening, I’m flying to Seattle for the 2013 ALA Midwinter Conference, one of the largest library conferences of the year. A day late. But I don’t care. I’m going, and I’m going TOMORROW!
What am I most looking forward to about this trip? Meeting industry people face-to-face that I’ve met and/or admire via the interweb. That’s number one. A very close second place is attending the Youth Media Awards, the ceremony where the American Library Association awards outstanding works of children’s and YA literature; awards which include (but which certainly are not limited to) the Newbery, Caldecott, Printz, and Coretta Scott King Book Awards. This will be on Monday, January 28th @ 8am PST. It’s kind of a big deal. It’s comparable to the Oscars for librarians, educators, and children’s literature lovers. If you’re not going to be in Seattle, you can still get in on all the fun! Tune in to the free live broadcast of the ceremony HERE. You can also follow @ALAyma on Twitter, as well as follow the conversation using the hashtag #ALAyma.
I’ve been fervently reading books in anticipation of these awards via the KC Mock Awards list (even though I was unable to attend this year) and books discussed on Heavy Medal. Yesterday I finished Splendors and Glooms, a favorite Newbery candidate, and I hope to finish Bomb
Last but not least, I’ll be snapping pics of librarian style for Librarian Wardrobe while at the conference with a few other stylish ladies. L predicts sophisticated eyewear will be a must this ALA Midwinter season.
Have a great weekend and see you next week!
image source: seattle skyline print by karen young
23
Jan
Splendors and Glooms
Splendors and Glooms
by Laura Amy Schlitz
Find it at: Your library | Amazon | Indiebound
Published: Candlewick (August 28, 2012)
Recommended reading age: 9 & up
In a nutshell: Magic? Check. Intrigue? Check. Disturbing? Double check.
One gloomy day in Victorian London, Lizzie Rose and Parsefall, two orphans under the care of master puppeteer Gaspare Grisini, arrive with their caretaker at one of the most outstanding houses they’ve ever seen. Summoned to preform for resident 12-year old Clara Wintermute’s birthday party, Lizzie Rose and Parse assist Grisini in a performance that seems to entrance Clara during the last act. That night, Clara disappears and all fingers point towards Grisini due to her peculiar behavior during the performance.
Lizzie Rose and Parsefall are shocked by Clara’s disappearance, but soon discover Grisini’s history of kidnapping and his ill intentions, so they plan their escape from him. All the while the children inadvertently become tangled in a web of hate and rivalry between Grisini and a witch who’s heart he broke many years ago; a witch who also has her own evil agenda.
Laura Amy Schlitz surely has some supernatural power that flows through her pen and seeps into her writing. I felt as if I were in a trance, enchanted by her in a world that was so well written, it’s effect was truly sublime. A spell was cast. It took a great length of time for it to happen, but eventually it did and still has me left in thought upon finishing the story yesterday.
You’re familiar with the saying, “Third times a charm”, right? Splendors and Glooms took me three separate times to read until I read it in it’s entirety on the third attempt. I first checked it out when the library received it back in August, and returned it after I was about a quarter through because the pace was so dreadfully slow. The majority of my reading is done at night, and every time I cracked it’s spine open I was asleep within a few paragraphs. It just wasn’t working for me, so I returned it. The second time I checked it out was after reading rave review after rave review, so I decided to give it another go. That time I got halfway through before I returned it yet again for the same reason. But, I wasn’t going to give up. When the audiobook arrived in late December I snatched it up and found it to be my saving grace.
The words “gothic” and “thriller” and “creepy” come up a lot when reading reviews of this books, and are all extremely accurate descriptions. Early on in the book, Grisini kidnaps a child, “Clara”, and transforms her into a puppet. She does maintain, however, the ability to see and hear whats going on in her surroundings. It gives me the heebie jeebies just thinking about it. As if dolls weren’t creepy enough. The story set up took almost half the book before the wheels started turning, but after finally getting over that hump it was easy reading. Rich character development and unexpected twists carry the story through to the very end. And I must say, the audiobook format served as an excellent storytelling platform that I found to be extremely effective. I highly recommend it.
Splendors and Glooms, to me, was an example of reading perseverance. I’m okay with letting a book go before it’s finished, but sometimes you just have to hold on until it’s spell takes over.
Don’t take my word for it: The Book Smugglers, NY Times review
21
Jan
I Have a Dream
I Have a Dream
by Martin Luther King, Jr, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Find it at: Your library | Amazon
Published: Schwartz & Wade an imprint of Random House Children’s Books; Har/Com edition (October 9, 2012)
Recommended Reading Age: All ages
In a nutshell: Today is a day we honor and remember one of the greatest heroes to have ever walked the earth:
Martin Luther King, Jr.
I don’t recall how many times I have listened to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, but I do know that I have gotten (and get) goosebumps every time. It was a speech that changed everything. Every word was felt deep within those thousands who listened that day it was first declared. It continues to inspire us to this very day.
When I look at this painting in the new I Have a Dream picture book illustrated by by Kadir Nelson, I get those same goosebumps.
Two-time Caldecott Honor winner, Kadir Nelson is no stranger to illustrating powerful books… Heart and Soul, Henry’s Freedom Box, Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom are the first to come to mind. His latest book depicts the last leg of Dr. King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech masterfully. Last year, when I was planning for a Martin Luther King Jr. Day themed storytime, I searched high and low for a book like this to read aloud, but came up just a little short. When this book was released ten months later I was thrilled to know there now is such a book about Dr. King that even the youngest toddler-age children can appreciate.
This book also comes with an official recording of the speech from the March on Washington on August 28, 1963, as well as a full transcript found in the back of the book.
Don’t take my word for it: We Are Teachers
20
Jan
You Are Stardust
You Are Stardust
by Elin Kelsy, artwork by Soyeon Kim
Find it at: Your Library | Amazon | Indiebound
Published: Owlkids Books (September 11, 2012)
Recommended Reading Age: 4 & up
In a nutshell: You Are Stardust explores the cosmological concept that essentially everything in the universe came from stardust, a concept simplified through Elin Kelsy’s lyrical text and artist Soyeon Kim’s incredible, mixed-media dioramas. A breathtaking picture book written for children, with a message meant for everyone.
“You are stardust. Every tiny atom in your body came from a star that exploded long before you were born.”
The book opens with an image of a star exploding and very tiny versions of our bodies that came from a star which exploded many years ago (Big Bang Theory).
Each page continues on into how we are connected from that star.
To the water, to other animals, living and extinct.
To the environment, to the seasons, and to the whole of planet Earth.
I’m pretty sure I held my breath the entire first time I read this book. The illustrations, the text… It’s all sensational.
What I enjoy most about this book is that it prods the reader, young or old, to be aware. Be aware of the nature you’re connected to, the past, present, and future, the seasons, and how the most simple act of a thought or a breath is a part of something greater than yourself. In the diorama, everything is held by strings, symbolic of the fact that everything is connected in one way way or another. In a note from the author at the end of the book, Elin Kelsy writes, “I wrote this book as a celebration — one to honor the extraordinary ways in which all of us simply are nature.” In a technology driven world, where a disconnect between ourselves and nature is perhaps greater than ever, You Are Stardust reminds us to be still and marvel at the nature of you and the world around you.
Two thumbs up. Way up.
On the Owlkids Books website, you’ll find a You Are Stardust microsite specifically devoted to this book with a variety of resources including:
Link to the You Are Stardust app download,
a note from the author, Elin Kelsy,
a behind-the-scenes video documenting Soyeon Kim’s creative process creating of the book, as well as lesson plans for teachers, DIY diorama craft, author and artist Q & A, and a recommended reading list. I recommend you visit and take a look around.
Don’t take my word for it: Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
