Earlier this morning the American Library Association (ALA) announced the 2012 youth media awards winners. A full list of the winners can be found here.

Highlights from the list include:

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature: Dead End in Norvelt, written by Jack Gantos.

Two Newbery Honor Books also were named: Inside Out and Back Again, written by Thanhha Lai; and Breaking Stalin’s Nose, written and illustrated by Eugene Yelchin.

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children: A Ball for Daisy, illustrated and written by Chris Raschka.

Three Caldecott Honor Books also were named: Blackout, illustrated and written by John Rocco; Grandpa Green, illustrated and written by Lane Smith; and Me … Jane, illustrated and written by Patrick McDonnell.

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults: Kadir Nelson, author and illustrator of  Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans.

Two King Author Honor Book recipients were selected: Eloise Greenfield, author of The Great Migration: Journey to the North,  illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist; and Patricia C. McKissack, author of Never Forgotten,  illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon.

Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award: Shane W. Evans, illustrator and author of Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom.

One King Illustrator Honor Book recipient was selected: Kadir Nelson, illustrator and author of Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans.

Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement: Ashley Bryan.

Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award honoring a Latino writer and illustrator whose children’s books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience: Diego Rivera: His World and Ours, written and  illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh.

Two Belpré Illustrator Honor Books were selected: The Cazuela that the Farm Maiden Stirred illustrated by Rafael López, written by Samantha R. Vamos; and Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match /Marisol McDonald no combina, illustrated by Sara Palacios, written by Monica Brown.

Pura Belpré (Author) Award: Under the Mesquite written by Guadalupe Garcia McCall.

Two Belpré Author Honor Books were named: Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck written by Margarita Engle; and Maximilian and the Mystery of the Guardian Angel: A Bilingual Lucha Libre Thriller, written by Xavier Garza.

 

One of the many program highlights at the annual American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting will be the 2010 ALA Youth Media Award announcements on 18 January. Recognized worldwide for the high quality they represent, the ALA Youth Media Awards, including but not limited to the prestigious Caldecott, Coretta Scott King Book Awards, Newbery, Pura Belpré and Printz awards, guide parents, educators, librarians and others in selecting the best materials for youth. Selected by committees composed of librarians and other literature and media experts, the awards also encourage original and creative work in the field of children’s and young adult literature and media.

The ALA will provide a free webcast of the Youth Media Award announcements here starting at 7:45am EST! The number of available connections to the Webcast is limited, though, and will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

A new award this year, Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults, will honor the best nonfiction book written for young adults between 1 November 2008 and 31 October 2009. The  five  finalists for this award are:

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream by Tanya Lee Stone

Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman

Claudette Colvin: Twice toward Justice by Phillip Hoose

The Great and Only Barnum: The Tremendous and Stupendous Life of the Showman P. T. Barnum by Candace Fleming

Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland by Sally M. Walker

Angela Carstensen, 2010 Nonfiction committee chair, comments on the short list saying:

The committee is so proud and excited to present a short list of nonfiction books that are full of life and of particular interest and appeal to young adults.  These authors represent the very best in nonfiction scholarship, presentation and writing, while satisfying a variety of interests including forensic archaeology, show business, civil rights history, space exploration, science and even a little romance. All of these books deserve a wide, enthusiastic readership, and we look forward to publishing the full list of nominated titles in January after the winning title is announced.

(Click on event name for more information)

Summer Reading Club: Read on the Wild Side~ ongoing until Jan 31, 2010, Australia

Golden Legacy: Original Art from 65 Years of Golden Books Featuring Artwork from Iconic Children’s Books~ ongoing until Feb 28,  Amherst, MA, USA

2009 Bologna Illustrators Exhibition of Children’s Books~ ongoing until Mar 1, Seoul, Korea

Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books Presents: Journey to Adventure~ ongoing until Mar 6, Toronto, ON, Canada

The Making of the Word Witch: The Poetic & Illustrative Magic of Margaret Mahy & David Elliot~ ongoing until  Mar 14, Ashburton, New Zealand

Mother Goose in an Air-Ship: McLoughlin Bros. 19th Century Children’s Books from the Liman Collection~ ongoing until Apr 18,  Amherst, MA, USA

Heart and Soul: Art from Coretta Scott King Award Books, 2006–2009~ ongoing until Apr 18, Chicago, IL, USA

From The Tiger Who Came to Tea to Mog and Pink Rabbit; A Judith Kerr Retrospective~ ongoing until May, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

2009 Cybils (the Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards) Finalists Announced~ Jan 1

Launch of the 5th Romeo Forbes Children’s Story Writing Competition~ Jan 4, Philippines

Announcement of the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature~ Jan 5, USA

Costa Book Awards Winners Announced (formerly the Whitbread Literary Awards)~ Jan 5, London, United Kingdom

Canadian Literature Centre Presents Brown Bag Lunch with Award Winning Poet, Author and Cultural Worker Afua Cooper~ Jan 13, Edmonton, AB, Canada

8th Annual Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities~ Jan 13 – 16, Honolulu, HI, USA

21st Annual Children’s Book Illustrators Exhibit~ Jan 13 – Apr 3, Hayward, CA, USA

American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting~ Jan 15 – 19, Boston, MA, USA

Storytelling by Winners of the First Time Writers & Illustrators Publishing Initiative 2009~ Jan 16, Singapore

The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art Presents: The Wonder of Words, The Power of Pictures~ Jan 17, Amherst, MA, USA

ALA’s Youth Media Awards Presentations~ Jan 18, Boston, MA, USA

Jaipur Literature Festival~ Jan 21 – 25, Jaipur, India

Book Reading and Signing with Uma Krishnaswami author of Chachaji’s Cup~ Jan 22, New York, NY, USA

ZORA! Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities~ Jan 23 – 31, Eatonville, FL, USA

No Name-Calling Week~ Jan 25 – 29, USA

“Tea with Chachaji” A Musical Production based on Chachaji’s Cup by Uma Krishnaswami~ Jan 25 – Feb 11, New York, NY, USA

Yabun 2010: Celebrating Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Cultures~ Jan 26, Sydney, Australia

Family Literacy Day~ Jan 27, Canada

CCBC Presents: ALA Award-Winning and Outstanding Books for K-5 (video can be watched on-line)~ Jan 27, Madison, WI, USA

Kolkata Book Fair~ Jan 27 – Feb 7, Kolkata, India

SCBWI Tokyo Presents: Cut to the Chase with Patrick Gannon: Discovering and Making Cut Paper Art and Illustration~ Jan 27, Tokyo, Japan

Galle Literary Festival~ Jan 28 – Feb 1, Galle, Sri Lanka

Hay Festival Cartagena de Indias~ Jan 28 – 31, Cartagena, Columbia

Children’s & Young Adults’ Book Fair~ Jan 29 – 31, Marousi, Greece

Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Winter Conference~ Jan 29 – 31, New York, NY, USA

Winter Words Festival 2010~ Jan 29 – Feb 7, Pitlochry, United Kingdom