Home

Award Winning Reads of 2015

Friday, February 27, 2015

When the weather outside is frightful, what better time is there to curl up with a good book? It is during this typically snowy season that the American Library Association honors the best children’s books of the previous year at their annual midwinter conference. This year, it was held in Philadelphia over a stormy weekend, and as the winners were announced early on Monday, February 2, many children’s librarians eagerly listened for their favorites.

Dan Santat’s whimsical The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend was the surprise Caldecott winner, taking home the highest honor for children’s book illustration. The NYSL has acquired this title as well as these Caldecott Honor books: Nana in the City, written and illustrated by Lauren Castillo; The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky’s Abstract Art, written by Barb Rosenstock and illustrated by Mary GrandPré; Sam & Dave Dig a Hole, written by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen (a previous Caldecott winner for This is Not My Hat); and The Right Word: Roget and his Thesaurus, written by Jen Bryant and illustrated by Melissa Sweet. This last title also earned the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal.

The Newbery Medal, for most distinguished contribution to American literature for children, went to The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. I was thrilled to learn that this unexpected favorite scored so highly, as I had discovered it just a few weeks prior when attending a Mock Awards ceremony—equivalent to a fantasy football party for children’s librarians. In addition, The Crossover crossed over and scooped up a Coretta Scott King Honor; these awards go to books by African American authors and illustrators that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values. Jacqueline Woodson’s memoir-in-verse, Brown Girl Dreaming, took home the top prize in this category and swept across others, earning a Newbery Honor and a Sibert Honor. It had already won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature last fall.

Another wonderful surprise came with Cece Bell’s graphic memoir El Deafo, which placed as a Newbery Honor, the first time a graphic novel has ever received an award purely based on the writing, not the illustrations. Gerald & Piggie and their creator Mo Willems kept up their winning streak and took home another Geisel Honor, for Waiting is not Easy; this award, named for Dr. Seuss’s alter ego, goes to the best books for beginning readers. Ann M. Martin’s Rain Reign, about a girl with Asperger syndrome, took home the Schneider Family Award in the middle school division, which honors books that address life with a disability.

The Library also holds many titles in the Alex Award category. These are given to ten books marketed to adults but that have special appeal to young adults. We have seven of them on the shelves in the downstairs lobby:
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Confessions by Kanae Minato
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
Lock In by John Scalzi
The Martian by Andy Weir
Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta
Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle

We’ll add more notable titles to our shelves in the weeks and months to come, so check in with the Children’s Librarians for updates. We are always happy to recommend a good book to warm your heart on a cold day!

Disqus Comments