It's often said that the Newbery and the Caldecott are the Oscars of the children's book world. So move over, Nicole and Sean, Denzel and Halle. Here come Lynne Rae and Chris.
At last week's American Library Association's midwinter meeting, Lynne Rae Perkins won the 2005 John Newbery Medal for her novel Criss Cross (Greenwillow), which was edited by Virginia Duncan, while Chris Raschka won the 2005 Randolph Caldecott Medal for his picture book The Hello, Goodbye Window, written by Norton Juster (Hyperion/di Capua), edited by Michael di Capua. Perkins is the author of four picture books and two novels; Raschka, who previously won a Caldecott Honor for Yo! Yes?, has published about 40 picture books.
Perkins said in an interview that being awarded the Newbery felt a bit like winning the lottery. "It's the most you can hope for," she said. "When I was in art school, in my 20s, I remember thinking to myself that I don't want to peak until I'm 50. And I'm going to be 50 this summer. I'm hoping that I can plateau for a while now, and don't start sliding downhill!"
Referring to his 1994 Caldecott Honor, Raschka compared the experience then to now. "Back then I was blissfully ignorant of the whole world of awards," he said. "It came right out of the blue. This one is a profound thrill over a long part of my life. I also realize the responsibility that comes with it."
One immediate responsibility that lies with the winning publisher is to go back to press as quickly as possible after the announcement. Criss Cross originally had 20,000 copies in print; last Monday Greenwillow ordered another 80,000, which were delivered to the warehouse on Thursday. Hyperion had printed 50,000 copies of The Hello, Goodbye Window, and has gone back for another 75,000, which will be available on February 15.
Four Caldecott Honor Books were named: Rosa, illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Nikki Giovanni (Holt); Zen Shorts, written and illustrated by Jon J Muth (Scholastic Press); Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride, written and illustrated by Marjorie Priceman (Atheneum/Schwartz); and Song of the Water Boatmen & Other Pond Poems, illustrated by Beckie Prange, written by Joyce Sidman (Houghton).
There were also four Newbery Honor Books: Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti (Scholastic); Whittington by Alan Armstrong, illustrated by S.D. Schindler (Random); Princess Academy by Shannon Hale (Bloomsbury); and Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Hudson Talbott (Putnam).
Looking for Alaska, a first novel by John Green (Dutton), won the Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature for young adults.
The first annual Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for beginning reader books went to Henry and Mudge and the Great Grandpas by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Suçie Stevenson (Simon & Schuster).
Other prizes included the Robert F. Sibert Award, for the most distinguished informational book, won by Secrets of a Civil War Submarine by Sally M. Walker (Carolrhoda); the Mildred L. Batchelder Award for best work of translation, which went to An Innocent Soldier by Josef Holub, translated by Michael Hofmann (Scholastic/Levine); and the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime contribution in writing for young adults, given to Jacqueline Woodson. Julius Lester won the Coretta Scott King Author award for Day of Tears (Hyperion/Jump at the Sun), and Bryan Collier won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for Rosa (Holt). Illustrator Kevin Henkes will deliver the 2006 May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture.
For a complete list of the winners, go to news.ala.org/releases/rollup.html.
