ALA Awards

January 22, 2008

The first literature awards of the year have been announced. The American Library Association presents a number of prestigious awards each January, notably the Newbery Medal and the Caldecott Medal. The Young Adult section of ALA (YALSA) presents the Michael L. Printz Award for the outstanding Young Adult novel of the year.

Winners for 2008 were:

  • Newbery Medal : Laura Amy Schlitz (a school librarian) for Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village.
    Honor Books: Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
    The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
    Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson
  • Caldecott Medal: Brian Selznick for The Invention of Hugo Cabret
    [See the video interview with Brian Selznick, courtesy of the AdLit site]
  • Honor Books: Henry’s Freedom Box : a true Story from the Underground Railroad, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, written by Ellen Levine
  • First the Egg, written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
  • The Wall : Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain, written and
    illustrated by Peter Sis
  • Michael L. Printz Award: Geraldine McCaughrean for The White Darkness
    Honor Books: One Whole and Perfect Day by Judith Clarke (Australia)
    Dreamquake by Elizabeth Knox (NZ)
    Repossessed by A.M. Jenkins
    Your Own, Sylvia : a Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath by Stephanie Hemphill