Newbery, Caldecott and Printz Award

Every January, librarians hold their breath to see if they own the books that receive the famous Newbery, Caldecott and Printz Awards. It is not always a sure thing. It's very similar to watching the Oscars and saying, "who ever saw that movie?" This year we breathed a sigh of relief as the Newbery Medal Winner-"The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman; "The House in the Night" by Susan Marie Swanson, illustrated b y Beth Krommes (Caldecott) and "Jellicoe Road" by Melina Marchetta (Michael L. Printz- Young Adult Fiction) were all on our shelf.

Were they patron favorites? Our copies of "The Graveyard Book" went out 10 times from in a year; "The House in the Night" circulated 3 times "Jellicoe Road" went out 2 times. I know that the awards aren't popularity contests, but I sure wish they represented what kids were reading, or would be interested in reading. As a former Teen Librarian, I would have chosen "13 Reasons Why" by Jay Asher for the Printz...I'll leave the Children's selections up to our Youth Services Staff. If you are interested in the rest of the winners and honorable mentions-go to the Children's Services Page of ALA . Want to read them...well now that they have been determined "winners" you'll have to reserve a copy-Monday morning they were all alone waiting for someone to check them out...