Do you ever question the quality of the books your children are reading? A sea of children’s titles floods the shelves of bookstores and libraries, overwhelming parents with choices for their children. In an effort to make your job a little easier, we have compiled a list of award-winning reads so your children can finish their summer with the very best of books. For more award winners from previous years, check out the Association for Library Service to Children website at: www.ala.org/ala/alsc. Only one book earns each award, but runners-up are honored and listed here as well.
Newbery Medal
The Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the ALSC, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.
2006 Winner
Criss Cross
by Lynne Rae Perkins
Criss Cross follows the lives of four 14-yearolds in a small town, each at their own crossroads. This ensemble cast explores new thoughts and feelings in their quest to find the meaning of life and love.2006 Honor Books
Whittington
by Alan Armstrong
In Whittington, Armstrong creates a glorious barnyard fantasy that seamlessly weaves together three tales: Whittington the cat’s arrival on Bernie’s farm, his retelling of the traditional legend of his 14th-century namesake, and one boy’s struggle to learn to read. These three tales unite the disparate citizens of the barn community in a celebration of oral and written language, the support of friends, the healing power of humor and the triumph of life.Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow
by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
How could the Holocaust have happened? Bartoletti delivers a chilling answer by exploring Hitler’s rise to power through the first-hand experiences of young followers whose adolescent zeal he so successfully exploited and the more extraordinary few who risked certain death in resisting. The grace and clarity of the writing make Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow a powerful addition to Holocaust literature for children.Princess Academy
by Shannon Hale
Miri and the other young women of her rocky highland village are forced to leave their close-knit community when the prince must choose a bride in the Princess Academy. Like the miri flower, which sprouts from the cracks in the linder rock, Miri soon becomes the strong, resilient and courageous leader of the academy. The book is a fresh approach to the traditional princess story with unexpected plot twists and great emotional resonance.Show Way
by Jacqueline Woodson
Jacqueline Woodson’s magnificent poem Show Way tells the story of slavery, emancipation and triumph for each generation of her maternal ancestors. She pays tribute to the creative women who guided their “tall and straight-boned” daughters to courage, self-sufficiency and freedom.
Caldecott Medal
The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the ALSC to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
2006 Winner
The Hello, Goodbye Window
by Norton Juster
In this sunny portrait of familial love, a little girl tells us about her everyday experiences visiting her grandparents’ house. Raschka’s illustration style resembles the spontaneous drawings of children, perfectly mirroring the guileless young narrator’s exuberant voice.2006 Honor Books
Rosa
by Nikki Giovanni
From the arresting cover through the endpapers, Rosa, with Giovanni’s spare, elegant prose and Collier’s iconic illustrations, celebrates the quiet courage of Rosa Parks. Collier’s radiant watercolors of faces and hands highlighted against the edges of his richly colored collages create another distinguished work of art from this award-winning illustrator.Zen Shorts
by Jon J. Muth
Zen Shorts, Muth’s story of inquisitive siblings befriending a wise panda, is told through luminous watercolors interwoven with three lessons, set apart by starkly contrasting Asian-inspired brush paintings. The interplay of artistic styles elegantly conveys the gentle, timeless messages of self-knowledge and acceptance.Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride
by Marjorie Priceman
Energetic lines and rich watercolors animate Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride, an aerial adventure over 18th-century France. Priceman, who received a 1996 Caldecott Honor for Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin, combines spare text, dynamic design and masterful perspective to illuminate the humor and high jinks of three animals swept up in the winds of history.Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems
by Joyce Sidman
Eleven joyful songs of everyday pond life throughout the seasons are celebrated through Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems, an elegant and satisfying combination of visual drama, poetry and scientific facts. The organic lines of Prange’s exceptionally executed, hand-colored woodblock illustrations enlarge upon Sidman’s expressive nature-themed poems.
Batchelder Award
The Mildred L. Batchelder Award, established in her honor in 1966, is a citation awarded to an American publisher for a children’s book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originally published in a foreign language in a foreign country, and subsequently translated into English and published in the United States.
2006 Winner
An Innocent Soldier
by Josef Holub,
translated by Michael Hofmann
Originally published in 2002 as Der Russländer, the book tells the story of a young farmhand’s experience as a soldier in Napoleon’s invasion of Russia beginning in the winter of 1811. Betrayed by his farmer, he is conscripted into the Grande Armée and joins an ill-fated march to conquer Moscow. He becomes the personal servant of a young aristocrat, a life-transforming experience for both of them.2006 Honor Books
Nicholas
by René Goscinny,
translated by Anthea Bell
Nicholas was originally published as Le petit Nicolas. A favorite among French schoolchildren for nearly half a century, the Nicholas stories introduce American readers to the hilarious escapades of a schoolboy and his classmates in an all-boys school.When I Was a Soldier
by Valérie Zenatti,
translated by Adriana Hunter
Originally published as Quand J’étais Soldate, Zenatti’s memoir tackles the unusual topic of compulsory military service in Israel, revealing the complex fabric of Israeli society. Her account of her first year as a soldier describes an experience totally foreign to American teens.
(Book descriptions from ALA/ALSC)
