According to the American Library Association: “The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award will be presented annually to both the author(s) and illustrator(s) of an outstanding book for beginning readers published in the past calendar year. The winning author[s] and illustrator[s] must demonstrate great creativity to engage children in reading.” The first winner[s] will be announced in Jan. 2006.
Category: General
Musings on 04 ALA Winners
Harold Underdown’s site, The Purple Crayon, has a listing with links to amazon pages so you can go learn more about each of the ALA award winners.
First, congratulations to the winners!
Various thoughts
I was especially pleased to see Cynthia Kadohata had won. Note: whenever authors of color win,
Psychic Cyn & Laura Ruby Interview
Hm, actually since they aren’t predictions, it would be more “great minds thinking alike,” if you’re inclined to be generous to my mind. Someone wrote yesterday asking whether my picks had ever coincided with the ALA committees. So, for the record, in the past few years, I’ve picked A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park and Holes by Louis Sachar (before it won the National Book Award) for the Newbery (and they won) as well as A Step From Heaven by An Na for the Printz (which also won).
Cynsational Books of 2004
The ALA awards will be announced Monday, always exciting! In a world where I made the big decisions, these would be the winners (not predictions, my picks; and not inclusive of all of my 04 faves; see my site for more recommendations):
Quasicott*
Mystery At The Club Sandwich by Doug Cushman (Clarion,
The Good Rainbow Road
The Good Rainbow Road/Rawa ‘Kashtyaa’tsi Hiyaani by Simon J. Ortiz (Acoma Pueblo), illustrated by Michael Lacapa (Hopi-Tewa-White Mountain Apache)(The University of Arizona Press, 2004). This title features “a Native American Tales in Keres and English[,] followed by a translation into Spanish” by Victor Montejo (Mayan) and is published in cooperation with Oyate.
Movement at Simon & Schuster
Anne Schwartz is leaving Simon & Schuster for Random House, where she’ll have her own imprint. Suzanne Harper, S&S’s senior VP and hardcover publisher, also resigned. Harper joined S&S last July (she had been formerly with Disney Adventures Magazine). In addition, Emma Dryden has been promoted to S&S VP and the associate publisher of Atheneum Books.
Tech Notes: I’ve been mostly offline for the past couple of days because my computer was loaded down with spyware and adware.
Sammy & Juliana In Hollywood
Sammy & Juliana in Hollywood by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (Cinco Puntos Press, 2004). Set in a rough New Mexico barrio in the latter 1960s, this story embraces a first true love and its loss, racism, homophobia, war, street violence, family, community…in others words “life.” The prose is at times breathtaking in its poetry and at others jarring in its truths.
Author April Lurie; Walking The Choctaw Trail by Tim Tingle
I had the pleasure of lunching today with April Lurie, author of a wonderful debut ‘tweener novel, Dancing In The Streets of Brooklyn (Delacorte, 2002). (See a review from Story Circle). April lives in nearby Round Rock, Texas, which is a suburb of Austin. She’s terrific company, whip-smart, and has the most beautiful smile.
Speaking of the Austin area,
Continue Reading Author April Lurie; Walking The Choctaw Trail by Tim Tingle »
The Driver’s Seat
I bought a new purse at the Emerald’s New Year sale (best shoes in Austin), which prompted me to clean out my fraying day-to-day purse and switch my stuff over. In the process, I found a fortune from Suzi’s: “Your place in the path of life is in the driver’s seat.”
This is an important message for writers.
Secrets Of Success
Author Ellen Jackson debuts a new monthly online column, “Secrets of Success,” featuring interviews with children’s/YA writers who are “breaking new ground” and willing to tell the rest of us how it’s done.
This month’s interview is with author Tanya Lee Stone, whose works include more than 75 non-fiction books and whose recent sales include a middle grade biography to DK,