Diversity Wins at the Youth Media Awards

ALA's Youth Media Awards are always an exciting day for those who love youth literature. This is when the big prizes (Newbery! Caldecott! Printz! more!) are announced.

There are several specialized awards, such as the Coretta Scott King awards for books by African-Americans about the African-American Experience, and there has been some worry that these awards "ghetto-ize" books by diverse authors. While committees can't explicitly take it into consideration, are books by diverse authors unintentionally overlooked for the bog awards because oh, they'll just win the other one, that's "for them"?

Not today. Not today. Not today. It was SO EXCITING to see overlap between the awards and see so much diversity recognized and celebrated. Let's hope this isn't a one-year change, but long-term one.

Here are some of the diverse titles awarded today Caveats: I'm only listing books where diversity wasn't a criteria, so I'm not listing winners of the Schneider Family Award, Coretta Scott King awards, Pura Bel Pre, Stonewall, or Batchelder because listing all of them inflates the numbers. Many of the books listed also won these awards though, because they're awesome books. I may have also missed a few titles.



The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

El Deafo by Cece Bell

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson



Viva Frida by Yuyi Morales, photographs by Tim O'Meara

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson



Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker by Patricia Hruby Howell, illustrated by Christian Robinson

H.O.R.S.E.: A Game of Basketball and Imagination by Christopher Myers, narrated by Dion Graham and Christopher Myers (yes, I know this links to the book. It won for audio, but Amazon doesn't seem to carry it)

Five, Six, Seven, Nate! written and narrated by Tim Federle



Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh

Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero

Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek by Maya Van Wagenen




Laughing at My Nightmare by Shane Burcaw

The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve Sheinkin

Bingo's Run: A Novel by James A Levine



Confessions by Kanae Minato, translated from the Japanese by Stephen Snyder

Everything I Never Told You: A Novel by Celeste Ng

The Terrorist's Son: A Story of Choice by Zak Ebrahim with Jeff Giles

AND! In addition to the books, the 3 authors honored were... Donald Crews, Sharon M. Draper, and Pat Mora.

It's an awesome list, no?


Updated 2/20: I'm adding The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat


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Excellence in Nonfiction

Yesterday, YALSA announced the shortlist of the Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults.

This is why blogging has been slow these past few weeks-- I've been busily reading and re-reading the nominees over and over again to help whittle down the list to these 5. I'm so excited about the 5 books we chose-- they are all excellent.

1. Titanic: Voices From the Disaster Deborah Hopkinson

This book may have ruined all other Titanic books for me. Seriously. I was listening to the audio version of The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic by Allan Wolf. It's a WONDERFUL book and the audio is fantastic, but... about halfway though I realized all I really wanted to do was reread the Hopkinson book. So I did.

2. Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon Steve Sheinkin

Sheinkin has a gift for making history really come alive. This one follows several different storylines in the US and Europe as scientists and spies try to make an atom bomb, keep the other guys from doing it, and/or just stealing their research.

3. Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95 Phillip Hoose

Red Knot Rufas are small birds that migrate every year from the Canadian Arctic to Tierra del Fuego. And back. B95 is one bird that's done the journey so many times, that he's flown enough miles to get to the moon. More than following this one bird, Hoose describes bird conservation and tracking efforts and the complicated inter-tangled issues at play. Now, based on that plot description, I'd be like "eh" but he does it in a way that's utterly fascinating. Plus, really wonderful maps.

4. Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different by Karen Blumenthal

Using a commencement address as a framing device, Blumenthal paints great warts and all biography of on of Steve Jobs. I learned so many interesting things about Jobs (when he was a young man he was on a weird diet and thought that because of this he didn't need to shower. Anyone who smelled him disagreed) and about Apple (a great explanation of why the ad campaign was Think Different instead of Think Differently. And the letters they'd get from irate English teachers.) Plus, the photographs of a young Steve Jobs makes me feel much better about the fact that Ashton Kutcher is playing him in the biopic.

5. We've Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children's March Cynthia Levinson

In 1963 over 4000 children were arrested marching for their civil rights. They woke up in the morning, packed what they'd need for jail, and march, knowing they wouldn't be sleeping at home that night. Levinson follows a few of these children (some teens, some much younger) from different walks of life, how they got involved with the movement, their experiences and what happened next. It's inspiring and eye-opening.

The winner will be announced at the Youth Media Awards at the end of January. And NO! We haven't decided who's won yet! Stop asking!


And... seems I'm talking about committee stuff and I don't think I've mentioned this on the internets yet, when this committee wraps up in January, my next assignment begins. I'm the incoming chair of for Outstanding Books for the College Bound. I'm very excited for a million reasons, not least of which is that it's a huge change of reading material for the next year!

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ALA

I am back from Dallas.

It was awesome.

I met awesome people. I got to hang out with my awesome conference friends. I ran into several librarians who were librarians at Grinnell and instrumental in making me feel like I should be a librarian, too.

I saw lots of gossipy historical fiction with pretty dresses. (GO GO HENRY VIII!)

I saw book bloggers behaving badly and giving us the bad name that most of my book blogger peeps rail against time and time again.

I ate really good Mexican food and had some awesome margaritas.

I screamed with joy and muttered things under my breath at the Youth Media Award announcements.

I had flight delays getting there and cancelled flights getting home.

Even though I was sans baby, I still woke up at 4 every morning for a few minutes.

My committee work started and I'm excited.

We could see the Book Depository from our committee meeting room window.

Because of the awards announced and the conversations I had this weekend I just put a million books on hold. But I also have 2 boxes of books and 2 more on their way.

There will be more coming, especially about proper exhibit hall behavior and books to expect, but I'm in a good mood and don't want to complain and I want all my books here to remind me of everything I want to talk about.

VOTE SARAH!

Every year, ALA gives the Printz Award to a "book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature."

But it's not the whole of ALA that does this-- it's a committee of librarians, some elected and some appointed that read through mountains and mountains of books and work together to find the best ones.

If you are an ALA and YALSA member, you get to vote for committee members.

I think one of the people you should vote for Sarah Bean Thompson. Many of you may know her as the very cool and awesome force behind GreenBeanTeenQueen.

I asked Sarah a few questions about the Printz and books to help you get a better feel as to why she should be on the committee.

What makes a book truly Printz worthy?

I think for a book to be truly Printz worthy it has to be a book that will engage readers and get them talking. It has to be a book that librarians can pick up and be proud of (although there will always be disagreements!). But I think it has to be a book that librarians can read and say "this is why I do what I do-why I serve teens, why I read YA, and why I advocate for teens and YA lit." I also think it should be a book that best represents YA lit-that shows non-YA readers the value of YA literature. And I do think there should be some reader appeal too, although that's not the focus of the award or even mentioned in the criteria. But you want teens to read Printz books and hopefully they love them. But even if they don't, at least they can have a great discussion about it.

What's your favorite Printz winner or honor?

I have so many that I really love, but I think my favorite would have to be A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly. It's historical, it's mystery, it's coming of age, and all woven together so well that you don't even realize the author is mixing everything in.

What books got overlooked by the Printz committee?

Funny books get overlooked by all award committees-not just the Printz! I think sometimes we forget that funny books can teach us just as much as a literary drama. I also think it's harder to pull that off in a funny book, so maybe that's why they so often get overlooked. But I love the fact that Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging is a Printz honor-I'd love to see more books like that make the list!

What excites you the most about the possibility of serving on the Printz committee?

I'm most excited about getting to talk about YA with other librarians for a year! We get to analyze, discuss, fight, argue, and praise books-how awesome is that??



It's super awesome! Remember to vote and remember Sarah when choosing people for the Printz!

YALSA Candidate Info

I get excited about things like source notes and good design. I love a book that engages and teaches at the same time; I love one that shines a light on who we are, who we’ve been, and who we may one day be. I love a good read.  It is because of these things that I’m running for the selection committee of the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction. I am extremely honored to be nominated for a selection committee position this early in my career, and I feel that my passion for quality nonfiction, commitment to teen literature and librarianship, and experience as a reviewer and awards committee member will make me a valuable asset to this committee. 


In my five-and-a-half years as a public services librarian, I have taken as many opportunities as possible to learn more about the field and to contribute to it. I served three years as a member of the CYBILS awards in the Middle Grade/Young Adult nonfiction category. I have also served on the Maryland Blue Crab committee and have judged other writing competitions for teens and adults, including the Aspen Gold Romance Competition in the YA category of the PASIC Book of Your Heart competition. I review books here on my blog and for School Library Journal. I’m a member of the DCKidlit book club. I studied YA literature in grad school and taken online classes through ALA. I have attended several trainings and conferences on YA lit. I’ve even organized and presented at a few. (Including MLA this May-- if you’re going to be there, please stop by!)


I am lucky enough to have been able to travel to several countries and around the US. I spent a semester studying in Nanjing, China and spent a year living and working in Manchester, England. I grew up in the Midwest and now live on the East Coast. If I had so much money that I’d never have to work again, I’d spend my days sitting in the various cafes of the world, reading and talking about books. My experience with other cultures and places gives me a broader perspective on the world that makes me a more thoughtful reader and a better evaluator, and is extremely beneficial when working with a wide variety of people. 


This is an exciting time to be a fan of nonfiction for young adults. In the last few years we’ve seen an explosion of titles coming out-- both original work and young reader editions of adult titles. As with any publishing boom, there exists considerable variation in the quality of titles coming out. I am excited about the opportunity to serve YALSA and help honor the best titles for teens in this field. Long time readers of this blog know that I am a voracious reader, not only in terms of quantity but also genre and age-range. I love reading broadly in a field to help pick out the best titles. I love discussing and debating titles with other people just as passionate about this as I am. I feel my professional, educational, and life experience will make me a valuable asset to this committee.


I hope you’ll consider voting for me. If you have ANY questions for me, please leave them in the comments or email me (kidsilkhaze at yahoo dot com) and I’ll answer them here. 


Nitty Gritty details:


Education:

Grinnell College, BA, 2002 Major in History and Chinese Studies
CIEE Nanjing University, 2000 (study abroad program) Chinese language and Culture
University of Maryland, iSchool, MLIS, 2008


Relevant Work:


Library Associate II, Youth Services, Prince George’s County Memorial Library System 2005-present


Other interesting jobs I’ve had:


Sales person and teacher at Knit A Round Yarn Shop (Ann Arbor, MI)
Cataloger for the MathSciNet database (Ann Arbor, MI)
Cashier Manager at the People’s Food Co-op (Ann Arbor, MI)
Marketing Department Assistant, The Bridgewater Hall (Manchester, England)
Costumer Shop Stitcher for the Grinnell College Theater Department (Grinnell, IA)


Awards I’ve Been Involved With:


The Maryland Library Association Blue Crab Young Reader Award, which honors the best in beginning and transition fiction and non-fiction for children, 2008-2010.
The Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards (CYBILS), judging committee for Middle Grade and Young Adult nonfiction, 2007, 2008; nominating committee for Middle Grade and Young Adult nonfiction, 2009.
Selection Committee for the National Endowment of the Humanities/ALA We the People Bookshelf, 2008.
PASIC Book of Your Heart Competition, Young Adult Field Judge, 2008.
Aspen Gold Romance Competition, Final Round Judge, 2007.


Presentations and Trainings:


The Prince George's County Memorial Library System Notable Teen Books Committee, 2007, 2008. This is an in-system training and discussion on notable teen books that librarians should be aware of. In 2009, this stopped being organized by committee. This spring, I am co-organizing the discussion.


Panel discussion "It's All About the Blog: Approaches for Book Reviewers" at the 2009 Kidlitosphere Conference in Arlington, VA.


Invited to present at the Maryland Library Association Annual Conference in 2009 on the topic, "What's New in Young Adult Literature." (see page 7 for an article about the presentation.) The first half was part of the YALSA roadtrip; the second half looked at popular trends in teen literature. The hour-long presentation introduced the audience to 175 current teen titles. This presentation was very well received by the standing-room only crowd. Based on the positive feedback, I was asked to give the presentation again for in-system training.


Developed and moderated a panel discussion at the Maryland Library Association Annual Conference in 2010, "The Millennials Turn 30." (see page 13 for an article about the discussion)


This year, I was invited again to give a presentation on a Teen Literature topic at the Maryland Library Association Annual Conference. This May, I will be presenting “Windows and Mirrors: Multicultural and International Literature for Teens.”

What's the Buzz? (Tell me what's a-happenin')

So, I should be reviewing something today, but, frankly, my brain hurts.

But, here's my blog's reading level (link via Bookshelves of Doom)

So, if you go to the YALSA site, you can see how the long lists currently stand for their various lists. I've gone through and see which titles appear on multiple lists, so we can figure out what we're supposed to reading! (Pictures come from books I'm already read or am about to read, like in the top 5 of my "to read" pile)

So, overlap from the Best Books for Young Adults and Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers is:

Twisted Laurie Halse Anderson
Shark Girl Kelly Bingham
Almost Home Jessica Blank
The Nature of Jade Deb Caletti
Beige Cecil Castellucci
Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Deadline Chris Crutcher
This Is What I Did: Ann Dee Ellis
Blood Brothers S. A. Harazin

Split Screen: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies / Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies by Brett Hartinger
Glass Ellen Hopkins
Chasing Tail Lights Patrick Jones
Strays Ron Koertge
Guyaholic Carolyn Mackler
What They Found: Love on 145th Street Walter Dean Myers
The Penalty Mal Peet

Harmless Dana Reinhardt
What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know Sonya Sones
Freak Show James St. James
7 Days at the Hot Corner Terry Trueman
Such a Pretty Girl Laura Wiess
Story of a Girl Sara Zarr

Overlap between Best Books for Young Adults and Great Graphic Novels:

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain Peter Sis
Houdini: The Handcuff King Jason Lutes and Nick Bertozzi
Malcolm X: A Graphic Biography Andrew Helfer and Randy DuBurke
Re-Gifters Mike Carey, Sonny Liew, and Marc Hempel
Notes for a War Story Gipi
Mouse Guard Volume 1: Fall 1152 David Peterson
Manga Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare, Richard Appignanesi, and Sonia Leong
Arrival Shaun Tan

Overlap with Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers and Great Graphic Novels:
Inside Out: Portrait of an Eating Disorder Natalie Shivack
Avalon High: CoronationMeg Cabot and Jinky Coronado
Vampire Knight Matsuri Hino
Dead High Yearbook Ivan Velez

Have you read any of these? Tell me what you think!

School Media Specialists...

Any school librarians out there?

School librarianship has never appealed to me. The certification process is so insane you end up only getting to take, like, 1 elective during library school. You have to deal with all the funding and NCLB bullshit like teachers, and, if listening to sections of my teacher-friends is any measure, you get no respect from the teachers. And we all know how much respect educators get from the world at large, especially in the elementary range. I couldn't do it.

The first letter in the June 2007 issue of School Library Journal broke my heart. Not only does the author bemoan complete lack of ALA support, she wonders:

So when I get phone calls from public librarians offering to do booktalks for me or teach my students how to use electronic databases, I have to wonder, when will the rest of the profession get a clue as to what school librarians do?

Ouch. I would like to stand up and say, as a public librarian who makes those calls, I know what you do. I also know how many hours are in the day. I'm just trying to offer a little support. Unfortunately, the only support I can offer is in the "fun" stuff. I can't write up your monthly reports. Also, sometimes the message gets across better when it's a special, guest speaker. AND! There aren't a lot of places for me to booktalk that isn't in the schools.

Plus, as a public librarian, I need to promote my collection as much as possible and you can give me a room full of captive people.

As for the lack of ALA support, is this true? I have very little interest in ever dealing with this headache, and there is way to much in ALA to entertain me, so I haven't paid attention. Does anyone else out there have thoughts?

And, on this topic, let me here give a big shout out to Jeff Carpenter, school media specialist at Edison Elementary, back in the day. You obviously warped my mind, because look at me now.

ALA fun

Holy Cow, what a weekend!

A quick madcap recap of the overwhelmingness of it all--

I have to say, when I got off the metro, I was struck by Chinatown being overrun by librarians.

I lost myself in the exhibits, happily getting ARCS for Kiki Strike: The Empress's Tomb by Kirsten Miller and Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale, as well as a slew of others that look really good. The people at Bloomsbury especially were really nice.

I spent a really long time talking to the awesome people at :01 First Second. Did you know there's a sequel to Kampung Boy called Town Boy? There totally is and I have it. They hooked me up with great books and things to look out for. The Lost Colony is moving way up my to read list. Also, :01 ARCs? Awesome. French flaps and no note that they're an ARC. I didn't think they were, until I saw on Amazon that the titles I picked up aren't available yet... I also got a t-shirt. :01 are the good people who brought us American Born Chinese and their other books are awesome and you should check them out. I think it's a great publisher to turn to for people who turn their noses at graphic novels as literature.

Then I headed over to DC Public Library for the book launch and bhangra party with Mitali Perkins. She has some, um, "awesome" pictures of me shaking my white booty, Bollywood style. (I'm rocking out in the brown shirt and flower skirt).

While I was there I got to meet Genevieve and Sara of commenting-fame, Zee Says, Sheila Ruth, MotherReader, Betsy, Julie, Liz B and Kristin and I'm sure a few others.

I was so excited listening to Sara talk about her new book that I forgot to ask what her book that she already had out was, so I looked it up today. EEP! Letters from Rapunzel has been on my "To Read" list for awhile!

Then we headed over to the always fabulous Capital City Brewing Company for dinner. That poor waiter. We were joined by lots of people there and I'm not a good networker, so I didn't get to talk to most of them, but I did get to hang out with Trisha (who provided tasty tasty macadamia nuts) and Kristen. Plus, the Raspberry Hefeweizen? Tasty tasty.

Then, me and my heavy bags took our weary selves home. I got in the car to find a message from Dan saying that our friends were at Etete and I should join them there. So I drove back to town (I live, like a mile across the river so it's not as far as it sounds) and they finished up dinner and we had some chill drinks at DC 9.

The next morning I woke up quite early to run out to a meeting for a group project I'm working on for school. As much as I hate group projects, this is actually pretty good (and I'm not just saying that because my group members might be reading this.) It's a small group and we have super on-topic meetings and our project is about banned children's books.

Then I headed back downtown. I went to the ALA store and picked up the new Banned Books Resource Guide (why isn't ALA selling that online by itself?) and such exciting things as the Intellectual Freedom Manual. And an Orlando Bloom key chain.

Then I headed down to Graphic Novel land and talked to some really, really great people. Graphic novel people are the best. The really best part was unexpectedly seeing my college buddy Kasia manning the TokyoPop! booth. To show how useful specific college knowledge can be, we were in modern Chinese history together.

I talked to the people at Papercutz, which was exciting, because I'm a big fan of the Nancy Drew graphic novels. We had a nice talk about the movie, which the publisher had seen, but I haven't (yet)-- I think I might go this weekend.

Then, holy cow, the people at DC Comics? So awesome. DC also published Vertigo and Minx. I picked up an ARC of Good as Lily and a copy of The Plain Janes, which I really want to read. I also saw a copy of my long-awaited Fables Vol. 9: Sons of Empire. I asked them to sell it to me, but they didn't have any sale copies. I bemoaned how Amazon keeps pushing publication back. The nice lady at Vertigo was very confused because she said that it was out already. I was all AMAZON! WTF?! But, when I checked Amazon today? It's totally on my front porch, waiting for me to come home from class. Yippee! But we had a great talk about Fables, and, once again, I was told I need to read Y: The Last Man Vol. 1: Unmanned.

Then I wandered over academic land, and spent a lot of time looking at the Chinese language publishers. I fell in love with Companion. So pretty.

Then, I ran into my friend Ann.

Then, I went to hear Judy Blume read. I cannot believe she is almost 70! Also, be warned, Judy is a crier. I'm kinda PMS-y. I cried through the whole thing. She's writing more books, which makes me so happy. Her signing line was loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong. In line, I got to talk to the people around me and a really nice librarian GAVE ME her Deathly Hallows bag that I missed at Scholastic. GAVE ME! Librarians really are the nicest people in the world. Also, I got bonus points with Ms. Blume because I had her sign my copy of Forever, which is super-duper old skool.

The line was so long, and snaked around so much, I actually got 2 other books signed while in the Judy line! It was a pleasant surprise to go by the signing for The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears. I've heard such great things about it and am really looking forward to reading it. Plus, how can you pass up a book called It Hurts When I Poop!: A Story for Children Who Are Scared to Use the Potty. And, while I was in line, I ran into my friend Gillian, whom I grew up with.

THEN! I found out the Gene Luen Yang was signing, so I went over there. While in line, I found out from the good people at TOR, that there will be no more Yolen/Stemple Rock 'N Roll Fairy Tales. Very sad. (It just wasn't making enough money. Boo hoo hoo. They were really good.)

Then I ran into my boss. And I saw some pages from the new edition of Pippi Longstocking which is illustrated by Lauren Child! AND! THEN! I snagged an ARC of Seeing Redd, the sequel to The Looking Glass Wars.

This was all followed up by the delightful Book Cart Drill Team World Championships. I need to get involved in this. Fuse has some great video and pictures. Emcee and commentary was provided by Mo Willems and Jon Scieszka. Awesome.

Then I went home and collapsed.

My only regret? I didn't get to see Roger. He wasn't at the Horn Book booth by the time I got there. Ah well.

I woke up this morning very sore from lugging around all those books. But when I got to work, I got an email from Gail Gauthier, telling me I won her contest! Sweet!

Then, in class, we were shown Text Arc. Do you guys know about this? Check out Alice!

Next Weekend

Next weekend, the circus is coming to town! By which, of course, I mean the ALA annual conference.

I'll be hanging out at the YALSA booth from 12-1, so stop by and say hi!

But! Even more exciting! Later that afternoon, I'm going to head over the DC library for a book launch and bhangra party with Mitali Perkins. Let her know if you want to come, too. I'm going to go and then meet up for drinks at Capital City Brewing with other kidlit bloggers! MotherReader is organizing this jaunt, so check out her blog for details!

I hope to see some of you guys there!

Also, there is big excitement this afternoon. Stay tuned tonight for more details...