No, not the Oscars, Emmys, Super Bowl, Nobel – I’m talking about really important awards given early each year by the American Library Association for distinguished books in children’s literature for the previous year and for lifetime achievement awards. Starting with the Newbery and Caldecott Medals, the ALA has added a number of other awards specific to people groups. In his day, Ezra Jack Keats did not know what he had won when he received the phone call that The Snowy Day had received the Caldecott. I doubt that could happen today since most school children have already learned to look for a shiny medal on a book cover that promises a good book.
For many years, I waited in anticipation until the awards were announced in papers and magazines. Several years ago, ALA put the awards online for those who could not attend the ceremony to watch from the comfort of their homes. At first, the number was limited. You can bet I put in my bid early to get a space. With advanced technology, the link now is out there for everybody to join in. All I had to do this year was check my calendar and set my alarm clock!
A couple of books that I have read and reviewed this year made the awards list. Kin: Rooted in Hope by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Jeffrey Boston Weatherford received a Coretta Scott King Honor Book Award. My most recent blog prediction on January 10 about The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity closed with, “I am predicting awards from the American Library Association.” It won the Sibert Informational Book Award. I do love it when I’m right!
The Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award went to Christopher Paul Curtis, whose books I have loved and shared with my students. His body of work made him deserving of the honor. Having sat next to him and had conversation at a Kaigler Book Festival dinner, I was also thrilled that it went to such a genuinely nice person. Speaking of nice people, Pam Munoz Ryan, whom I also met at a Kaigler Book Festival, won the Children’s Literature Legacy Award. My book review blog about her Esperanza Rising regularly gets the most repeat hits of any that I have posted. Her other books are equally good.
Watching the show left me with joy as I recognized many names of writers and illustrators whose work I have enjoyed. It also gave me anticipation as I made a list of books that I needed to see in my local library.