Yesterday, the American Library Association presented its top awards. The one I am always most interested in is the Caldecott Award and this year it went to illustrator Erin E. Stead for A Sick Day for Amos McGee which is written by her husband Philip C. Stead. Often I have to go and buy the book because it hasn't been released widely in Australia, but this year I won't need to, as we have this book in the library. It is a very gentle story about a zookeeper who gets a cold and therefore does not go to the zoo, so his worried animals come to visit him. The illustrations are delicate woodblock prints and as you know if you have been reading this blog, linoprints are my very favourite pieces of art, so yes I do like this book!
Another book with stunning linoprint illustrations by Rick Allen, won its author, the poet Joyce Sidman a Newbery Honor Medal. It is Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night. This lovely book of twelve poems appeals to all age groups because of its illustrations and sensual language. I was hoping her other book, Ubiquitous would be honoured in the Caldecott awards, but I can live with this alternative. On Joyce's website there is a trailer for Dark Emperor. The soundtrack is haunting and inviting at the same time and it makes you wish that some books did come with accompanying sound effects.
And thirdly, of interest for my clientele, Bink and Gollie by Kate DiCamillo, Alison McGhee and Tony Fucile won the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for a book for beginning readers. It is already popular in my library.
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