American Library Association Announces 2012 Youth Book Award Winners!!

1. American Library Association Announces 2012 Youth Book Award Winners!!

2. John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature: “School was finally out and I was standing on a picnic table on our backyard getting ready for a great summer vacation when my mother walked up to me and ruined it.” Thus begins Dead End in Norveltand Jack’s summer. Filled with surprise twists and laugh-out-loud humor, you don’t want to miss this book.

3. Newbery Honor Books: Ten-year-old Sasha Zaichik loves Stalin and the Communist party. He's especially proud of his father, a member of the secret police. Sasha's opinions change after his father is arrested. This entire story takes place in the span of just two days. Ten-year-old Ha and her family flee Saigon and struggle to make a new life in Alabama. Ha misses her homeland and faces bullies, unfriendly people, and perfectly horrid American food. A tender tale, told with humor and hope.

4. Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children: This wordless book explores in pictures the joy and sadness that having a special toy can bring.

5. Caldecott Honor Books: Neighbors gather on the roof after the power goes out on a hot night in the city and start having so much fun not everyone is happy when the lights go back on. This picture-book biography of Jane Goodall’s early years shows that young Jane, with her stuffed toy chimp, studied nature wherever and however she could. A boy tells the story of his great-grandfather's life as he gives readers a grand tour of the man's glorious topiary garden.

6. Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African American author of an outstanding book for children and young adults: This inspiring book demonstrates that in gaining their freedom and equal rights, African Americans helped our country achieve its promise of liberty and justice--the true heart and soul of our nation.

7. Coretta Scott King Honor Books: Set in West Africa, this is the story of a young black boy who is kidnapped and sold into slavery. Set around the time of World War I, this story describes the journey of African Americans from their homes in the South to make better lives for themselves in the northern states.

8. Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Awardrecognizing an African American illustrator of an outstanding book for children and young adults: A family silently crawls along the ground. They run barefoot through unlit woods, sleep beneath bushes, take shelter in a kind stranger's home. Where are they heading? They are heading for freedom by way of the Underground Railroad.

9. Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience: Read the stories of twelve-year-old Ben, who loses his mother and his hearing in a short time frame and decides to leave his Minnesota home to seek the father he has never known in New York City; and Rose, who lives with her father but feels compelled to search for what is missing in her life. Ben's story is told in words; Rose's in pictures. The residents of Culpepper, despite their big dreams, have made little progress toward achieving their goals. Then unexpected events and surprises really put the citizens of Culpepper to the test.

10. Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults: Susan Cooper, for books including The Dark is Rising Sequence:

11. Pura Belpre Award honoring a Latino illustrator whose children’s books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience: This book gives an overview of the life of Diego Rivera, discusses his work, and asks us to imagine what he would paint in contemporary times.

12. Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children: Who invented the first balloons for Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade? Meet Tony Sarg, puppeteer extraordinaire!

13. American scientist Caitlin O'Connell could not believe what she was seeing from the African elephants: as the mighty matriarch scanned the horizon, the other elephants followed suit, stopped midstride, and stood as still as statues. This observation would guide O’Connell to a groundbreaking discovery about elephant communication: elephants actually listen with their limbs. Sibert Honor Books: This stunning graphic novel shows Allen Say’s journey as an artist during WWII, when he apprenticed under NoroShinpei, Japan's premier cartoonist.

14. YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults: Most people know that Benedict Arnold was America's first, most notorious traitor. Few know that he was also one of its greatest war heroes. This biography introduces you to the real Arnold: reckless, heroic, and driven. Packed with first-person accounts, astonishing battle scenes, and surprising twists, this is a gripping and true adventure tale.

15. Finalists for the Award: Take a lively look at women's history from aboard a bicycle, which granted females the freedom of mobility and helped empower women's liberation. Chronicles the human pursuit of sugar to satisfy our collective sweet tooth.

16. Award-Winning Books Check one out today!!