Kate DiCamillo has won the 2014 John Newbery Medal for her novel Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures (Candlewick); the book was edited by Andrea Tompa. Brian Floca has won the 2014 Randolph Caldecott Medal for Locomotive (S&S/Atheneum/Jackson); it was edited by Richard Jackson. And Marcus Sedgwick has won the 2014 Michael L. Printz Award for Midwinterblood (Roaring Brook), it was edited by Simon Boughton. The awards were announced this morning at the American Library Association’s midwinter conference in Philadelphia.
DiCamillo previously won the 2004 Newbery for The Tale of Despereaux; she also won a 2001 Newbery Honor, for her first book, Because of Winn-Dixie. She has just been appointed the country’s fourth National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, serving a two-year term. It was a first-time ALA award for Floca and Sedgwick.
Floca is the author and illustrator of many books for children, including three Robert F. Sibert Honor Books: Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11, Lightship, and Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring, written by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan. Sedgwick, a British writer, has written several novels and picture books; he won the U.K.’s Branford Boase Award in 2001 for a first-time author, and five of his books have been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal.
Four Newbery Honor Books were named: Doll Bones by Holly Black (S&S/McElderry); The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow); One Came Home by Amy Timberlake (Knopf); and Paperboy by Vince Vawter (Delacorte).
There were three Caldecott Honor Books: Journey by Aaron Becker (Candlewick); Flora and the Flamingo by Molly Idle (Chronicle); and Mr. Wuffles! by David Wiesner (Clarion).
Four Printz Honors were given: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (St. Martin’s Griffin); Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal (Candlewick); Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner (Candlewick); and Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool (Delacorte).
The Robert F. Sibert Award for the most distinguished informational book for children went to Parrots over Puerto Rico by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore, illustrated by Susan L. Roth (Lee and Low). There were four Sibert Honors: A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin, written by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet (Knopf); Look Up! Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard by Annette LeBlanc Cate (Candlewick); Locomotive by Brian Floca (S&S/Atheneum/Jackson); and The Mad Potter: George E. Ohr, Eccentric Genius, written by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan (Roaring Brook/Porter).
The Mildred L. Batchelder Award for best work of translation went to Mister Orange by Truus Matti, translated from the Dutch by Laura Watkinson (Enchanted Lion). There were three Batchelder Honor books: The Bathing Costume or the Worst Vacation of My Life by Charlotte Moundlic, illustrated by Olivier Talle, translated from the French by Claudia Zoe Bedrick (Enchanted Lion); My Father’s Arms Are a Boat by Stein Erik Lunde, illustrated by Øyvind Torseter, translated from the Norwegian by Kari Dickson (Enchanted Lion); and The War Within These Walls by Aline Sax, illustrated by Caryl Strzeleck, translated from the Dutch by Laura Watkinson (Eerdmans).
The 2014 Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime contribution in writing for young adults was given to Markus Zusak, and Brian Selznick was chosen to deliver the 2015 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture.
The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for most distinguished beginning reader books went to The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli (Disney-Hyperion). There were three Geisel Honor Books: Ball by Mary Sullivan (Houghton Mifflin); A Big Guy Took My Ball! by Mo Willems (Hyperion); and Penny and Her Marble by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow).
Patricia and Fredrick McKissack won the Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Rita Williams-Garcia won the Coretta Scott King Author award for P.S. Be Eleven (HarperCollins/Amistad), and Bryan Collier won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me, written by Daniel Beaty (Little, Brown).
Three King Author Honor Books were selected: March: Book One by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell (Top Shelf); Darius & Twig by Walter Dean Myers (HarperCollins/Amistad); and Words with Wings by Nikki Grimes (Highlights/Wordsong). One King Illustrator Honor Book was chosen: Nelson Mandela by Kadir Nelson (HarperCollins/Tegen).
The William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens was given to Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn (St. Martin’s Griffin). Four other books were finalists, and had been previously announced: Sex & Violence by Carrie Mesrobian (Carolrhoda LAB); Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets by Evan Roskos (Houghton Mifflin); Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross (Delacorte); and In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters (Abrams/Amulet).
The Schneider Family Book Awards, for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience, are: A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Swee (Knopf) for best young children’s book; Handbook for Dragon Slayers by Merrie Haskell (HarperCollins) for best middle grade book; and Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein (Hyperion) for best teen book.
The Stonewall Book Award, given to children’s and YA books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience, went to Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kirstin Cronn-Mills (Flux) and Fat Angie by e. E. Charlton-Trujillo (Candlewick). Three Stonewall Honor Books were chosen: Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle (S&S); Branded by the Pink Triangle by Ken Setterington (Second Story); and Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan (Knopf).
The Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production went to Scowler, written by Daniel Kraus, narrated by Kirby Heyborne, produced by Listening Library. Four Odyssey Honor Recordings were chosen: Better Nate Than Ever, written and narrated by Tim Federle (Simon and Schuster Audio); Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, narrated by Rebecca Lowman and Sunil Malhotra (Listening Library); and Matilda by Roald Dahl, narrated by Kate Winslet (Penguin Audio).
The Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Children’s Video went to Paul R. Gagne and Melissa Reilly Ellard, producers of Bink & Gollie: Two for One (Weston Woods).
Yuyi Morales won the Pura Belpré Illustrator Award, honoring a Latino illustrator whose children’s book best portray, affirm, and celebrate the Latino cultural experience, for Niño Wrestles the World (Roaring Brook/Porter). Three Illustrator Honor Books were chosen: Maria Had a Little Llama / María Tenía una Llamit by Angela Dominguez (Henry Holt); Tito Puente: Mambo King / Rey del Mambo, illustrated by Rafael López, written by Monica Brown (HarperCollins/Rayo); and Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant’s Tale by Duncan Tonatiuh (Abrams).
Meg Medina won the Pura Belpré Author Award for Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass (Candlewick). Three Author Honor Books were chosen: The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba’s Greatest Abolitionist by Margarita Engle (Harcourt); The Living by Matt de la Peña (Delacorte); and Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant’s Tale by Duncan Tonatiuh (Abrams).
Click through to see our interviews with the newly minted Newbery and Caldecott winners.