With much fanfare, and to the delight of many librarians and book lovers, the American Library Association (ALA) Youth Media Awards were presented on Monday, January 28 at the ALA Midwinter Conference in Seattle.

The following is a partial list of the award winners, followed by the call number if the book is in the Robinson library collection (some books are meant for an older tween/teen reading audience):

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature:
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (FIC APP)

Newbery Honor Books 
Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz (FIC SCH)
Bomb: The Race to Build-and Steal-the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin 
Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage (FIC TUR)

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children:
This Is Not My Hat illustrated and written by Jon Klassen (E KLA)

Caldecott Honor Books 
Creepy Carrots! illustrated by Peter Brown, written by Aaron Reynolds (E BRO)
Extra Yarn illustrated by Jon Klassen, written by Mac Barnett (E BAR)
Green illustrated and written by Laura Vaccaro Seeger 
One Cool Friend illustrated by David Small, written by Toni Buzzeo (E BUZ)
Sleep Like a Tiger illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, written by Mary Logue 

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults:
Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America written by Andrea Davis Pinkney and illustrated by Brian Pinkney

King Author Honor Books 
Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E. B. Lewis (E WOO)
No Crystal Stair: A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem Bookseller by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie 

Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award:
I, Too, Am America illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Langston Hughes 

King Illustrator Honor Books 
H. O. R. S. E. illustrated and written by Christopher Myers
Ellen's Broom illustrated by Daniel Minter, written by Kelly Starling Lyons 
I Have a Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr. illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience:
Back to Front and Upside Down! written and illustrated by Claire Alexander (for children ages 0 to 10)
A Dog Called Homeless written by Sarah Lean (for children ages 11-13)

Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in children's video:
Katja Torneman, producer of "Anna, Emma and the Condors" 

Laura Ingalls Wilder Award honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.
The 2013 winner is Katherine Paterson. 

Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement: 
Demetria Tucker is the 2013 recipient. 

May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award recognizing an author, critic, librarian, historian or teacher of children's literature, who then presents a lecture at a winning host site.
Andrea Davis Pinkney will deliver the 2014 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture.  

Mildred L. Batchelder Award for an outstanding children's book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States:
My Family for the War by Anne C. Voorhoeve, originally published in Germany in 2007 as Liverpool Street. The book was translated by Tammi Reichel.

Batchelder Honor Books 
A Game for Swallows: To Die, to Leave, to Return written and illustrated by Zeina Abirached, translated by Edward Gauvin 
Son of a Gun written and translated by Anne de Graaf

Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States:
The Fault in Our Stars produced by Brilliance Audio, is the 2013 Odyssey Award winner. The book is written by John Green and narrated by Kate Rudd.

Odyssey Honor Audiobooks 
Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian produced by Listening Library, written by Eoin Colfer and narrated by Nathaniel Parker
Ghost Knight produced by Listening Library, written by Cornelia Funke and narrated by Elliot Hill
Monstrous Beauty produced by Macmillian Audio, written by Elizabeth Fama and narrated by Katherine Kellgren.

Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award honoring a Latino writer and illustrator whose children's books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience:
Martín de Porres: The Rose in the Desert illustrated by David Diaz, written by Gary D. Schmidt 

 No Belpré Illustrator Honor Books were selected this year.

Pura Belpré (Author) Award:
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe written by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Belpré Author Honor Book 
The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano by Sonia Manzano

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children:
Bomb: The Race to Build-and Steal-the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin

Sibert Honor Books 
Electric Ben: The Amazing Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin written and illustrated by Robert Byrd (92 FRA) 
Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95 written by Phillip M. Hoose 
Titanic: Voices from the Disaster written by Deborah Hopkinson 

Stonewall Book Award - Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children's & Young Adult Literature Award given annually to English-language children's and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience:
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe written by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Stonewall Honor Books 
Drama written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier 
Gone, Gone, Gone by Hannah Moskowitz 
October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard by Lesléa Newman
Sparks: The Epic, Completely True Blue, (Almost) Holy Quest of Debbie by S. J. Adams 

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book:
Up, Tall and High! written and illustrated by Ethan Long 

 Geisel Honor Books 
Let's Go for a Drive! written and illustrated by Mo Willems (RL 1 WIL)
Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin, created and illustrated by James Dean (E LIT)
Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover written and illustrated by Cece Bell (RL 3 BEL)

Click here for a complete list of this year's winners and honorees.

Are you looking for children's books to give for the holidays, or suggestions for good books to read during Winter Break? Click here for a list of this year's "Best of" lists.

Another successful Book Fair is coming to a close. It was so wonderful to see how excited the kids were to visit the book fair and choose books for their personal libraries. 

I was genuinely flattered when students asked me for book recommendations, which was every time I was at the book fair! For me, personally, it's one thing to ask for a book recommendation at the library and a whole other thing to ask for a recommendation when you're buying a book. The students are trusting me with their limited monetary resources to choose a book that's right for them (the "risk" isn't as great when you can check out a book for free at the library). And it's certainly a boost to my ego when teachers add books to their wish list solely because they saw I recommended the book. :)

Students (and parents) were instrumental in raising $468 for the Manhattan Beach Roundhouse during Family Game Night on Wednesday. I hosted a library catalog scavenger hunt that night and over 20 students participated.

I'd also like to extend a huge thank you to the PTSA for donating the books that were on the library wish list! New books get me so excited -- to read and to share with the students! First up: Iron Hearted Violet by Kelly Barnhill.

I'd like to extend a special THANK YOU to library volunteers Shelley Theodore, Maria Salazar, and Crystal Lepper for helping me process lots of new books. With their help we added 92 new books to the library's collection in October!

It's week five of It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

We're starting to read this year's California Young Reader Medal nominees this week so I'm concentrating on those books and any books that correlate with them. And, as usual, I'm trying to sneak in some of the many new books we get each month.

The chapter book I'm currently reading is the second in John Stephens' The Books of Beginning series: The Fire Chronicle. The publication date is early October but I received my copy (an ARC -- Advance Reader Copy) at the American Library Association conference in June. It's one of the perks of being a library media specialist!