We took a short break from blogging in the wake of last week’s big event in the children’s book world: the American Library Association’s annual announcement of their Youth Media Awards—or, as some like to call it, “The Oscars of Children’s Literature.” No outlandish outfits at these Oscars, but a few of our books do now have nice, shiny accessories on their covers:
Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty, winner of the Coretta Scott King Author Award Honor and an ALA Notable Children’s Book
Seeds of Change: Planting a Path to Peace, winner of the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent in Illustration
¡Olé! Flamenco, winner of the Pura Belpré Author Award Honor and an ALA Notable Children’s Book
And a bit more good news we received:
Yummy is on YALSA’s Top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers and the Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens lists for 2011!
Seeds of Change is on the Amelia Bloomer Project 2011 List from the American Library Association’s Feminist Task Force
and Sharing Our Homeland is a Sydney Taylor Notable Book from the Association of Jewish Libraries
We are THRILLED THRILLED THRILLED to have so many of our books honored this year! It’s really something for a small indie publisher like us to be able to make a showing in the big leagues like this.
On that note, Kyra over at Black Threads in Kid’s Lit has a fascinating breakdown of Coretta Scott King Award statistics, including some interesting numbers on winners broken down by gender, publisher, and repeat winners. It’s always refreshing to look at these awards through a different lens every once in a while.
That’s all for today – happy Friday, and stay warm, everyone!
