Newbery & Printz Awards (Historical Fiction.... again)

The ALA announced the 2011 Newbery Awards this morning. I've only read one of these books, One Crazy Summer (Garcia). I had a feeling it would win, but, as usual, I was wrong. I'd say there are some surprises here, considering I haven't heard of the winner or three of the four honor books. I'll read them, like I always do. The people who participate in Newbery voting are avid readers and literature experts, so it's hard to discredit their opinions. Teaching sixth grade, I feel a little out of the Newbery loop. Many middle schoolers feel like they've outgrown the Newbery books. Cyberspace helps keep me informed (except for this year), so do the terrific librarians at my school (they were surprised too).  Historical Fiction reigns supreme again. Here's the list:   

Newbery Medal Winner:

• Moon Over Manifest, by Clare Vanderpool

Newbery Honor books:

• Turtle in Paradise, by Jennifer L. Holm
• Heart of a Samurai, by Margi Preus
• Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night, written by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Rick Allen
• One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia

The Printz Award for Young Adult Literature goes to:

• Ship Breaker, by Paolo Bacigalupi  

I've heard a lot about Ship Breaker.  As you can see (to the right), I'm reading it now. I started it earlier in the year, but didn't get very far because of other reading priorities, so now I'm starting over.

Printz Honor Books (taken from ala.org)

Stolen, by Lucy Christopher, published by Chicken House, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz, by A.S. King, published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

Revolver, written by Marcus Sedgwick, published by Roaring Book Press, an imprint of the Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.

Nothing, written by Janne Teller, published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division.

Happy Reading.