Park County Library System

Last week the American Library Association announced the winners of its major literary awards, many of which are available (or will be soon!) through the Park County Library System.  The association gives out awards every year for the best books for children and young adults. You may well have heard of the John Newbery Medal, which goes to “the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature.” This year the honor went to Good Masters, Sweet Ladies: Voices from a Medieval Village. Set in an English village in 1255, the book consists of seventeen monologues (and a couple of dialogs) by children who reside in the village–everyone from the lord’s son to a homeless boy. The book was written for children to perform, but it works equally well as a book to read to yourself–entertaining enough to keep you going, informative enough to use for a school project.

The Randolph Caldecott Medal, which goes to “the most distinguished American picture book for children,” went to The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. We usually think of the Newbery as going to a novel and the Caldecott as going to a picture book. Selznick’s creation is a little of both–a novel about an ingenious Paris orphan told both through words and through pictures.

In addition to the Caldecott and Newbery, ALA gives out awards for young adult novels, easy readers, audiobooks, and more. To learn more about the winners and how they are picked, visit the Association for Library Service to Children and the Young Adult Library Services Association, the two ALA divisions responsible for the awards.