Congratulations to All the Winners!

The ALA announced its annual awards this morning, and the exciting news (for me personally) is the Newbery Honor designation to Kathi Appelt for The Underneath. Yeah Kathi!

Here's a clip from the press release:

DENVER, Jan. 26, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The American Library Association (ALA) today announced the top books, videos and audiobooks for children and young adults -- including the Caldecott, King, Newbery, Schneider Family and Printz awards -- at its Midwinter Meeting in Denver.

In addition, the ALA celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards and introduced a new award, the William C. Morris Award. It is also the first year that the Pura Belpre Award will be given annually.

The following is a list of all ALA Youth Media Awards for 2009:
John Newbery Medal for the most distinguished contribution to children's literature. Neil Gaiman, author of ``The Graveyard Book,'' illustrated by Dave McKean and published by HarperCollins Children's Books, is the 2009 Newbery Medal winner.

Four Newbery Honor Books were named: ``The Underneath,'' by Kathi Appelt, illustrated by David Small, and published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; ``The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom,'' by Margarita Engle and published by Henry Holt and Company LLC; ``Savvy,'' by Ingrid Law and published by Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group in partnership with Walden Media, LLC; ``After Tupac & D Foster,'' by Jacqueline Woodson and published by G. P. Putnam's Sons, a division of Penguin Books for Young Readers.

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children. Beth Krommes, illustrator of ``The House in the Night,'' written by Susan Marie Swanson and published by Houghton Mifflin Company, is the 2009 Caldecott Medal Winner.

Three Caldecott Honor Books were named: ``A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever,'' written and illustrated by Marla Frazee and published by Harcourt, Inc.; ``How I Learned Geography,'' written and illustrated by Uri Shulevitz and published by Farrar Straus Giroux; ``A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams,'' illustrated by Melissa Sweet, written by Jen Bryant and published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults. Melina Marchetta, author of ``Jellicoe Road,'' is the 2009 Printz Award winner. The book is published by HarperTeen, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Four Printz Honor Books also were named: ``The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II, The Kingdom on the Waves,'' by M.T. Anderson, published by Candlewick Press; ``The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks,'' by E. Lockhart, published by Hyperion Books for Children, an imprint of Disney Book Group; ``Nation,'' by Terry Pratchett, published by HarperCollins Children's Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers; and ``Tender Morsels,'' by Margo Lanagan, published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

Coretta Scott King Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults. ``We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball,'' written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson, is the King Author Book winner. The book is published by Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children, an imprint of Disney Book Group. ``The Blacker the Berry,'' illustrated by Floyd Cooper, written by Joyce Carol Thomas and published by Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, is the King Illustrator Book winner.

Three King Author Honor Books were selected: ``The Blacker the Berry,'' by Joyce Carol Thomas, illustrated by Floyd Cooper and published by Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers; ``Keeping the Night Watch,'' by Hope Anita Smith, illustrated by E.B. Lewis and published by Henry Holt and Company; and ``Becoming Billie Holiday,'' by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper and published by Wordsong, an imprint of Boyds Mills Press, Inc.

Three Illustrator Honor Books were selected: ``We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball,'' written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson, published by Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children, an imprint of Disney Book Group; ``Before John Was a Jazz Giant,'' by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Sean Qualls, published by Henry Holt and Company; and ``The Moon Over Star'' by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, published by Dial Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group.

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award. Shadra Strickland, illustrator of ``Bird,'' written by Zetta Elliott, is the Steptoe winner. The book is published by Lee & Low Books.

Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody the artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences. ``Piano Starts Here: The Young Art Tatum,'' written and illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker and published by Schwartz & Wade Books, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, won the award for young children. Leslie Connor is the winner of the middle-school award for ``Waiting for Normal,'' published by HarperCollins Children's Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers. The teen award winner is ``Jerk, California,'' written by Jonathan Friesen and published by Speak, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished book for beginning readers. ``Are You Ready to Play Outside?'' written and illustrated by Mo Willems and published by Hyperion Books for Children, an imprint of Disney Book Group, is the 2009 Geisel Award winner.

Four Geisel Honor Books were named: ``Chicken said, 'Cluck!''' by Judyann Ackerman Grant, illustrated by Sue Truesdell and published by HarperCollins Children's Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers; ``One Boy,'' written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, a Neal Porter Book published by Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership; ``Stinky,'' written and illustrated by Eleanor Davis and published by The Little Lit Library, a division of RAW Junior, LLC; and ``Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator'' by Sarah C. Campbell, with photographs by Sarah C. Campbell and Richard P. Campbell, published by Boyds Mills Press.

Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults. Laurie Halse Anderson is the recipient of the 2009 Margaret A. Edwards Award honoring her outstanding lifetime contribution to writing for teens for ``Catalyst,'' published by Viking Children's Books, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, ``Fever 1793,'' published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing and ``Speak,'' a 2000 Printz Honor Book, published by Puffin Books, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group.

Pura Belpre Awards honoring Latino authors and illustrators whose work best portrays, affirms and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in children's books. ``Just in Case,'' illustrated by Yuyi Morales, is the winner of the 2009 Belpre Illustrator Award. It is a Neal Porter Book published by Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership. ``The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom,'' by Margarita Engle, is the winner of the 2009 Belpre Author Award. The book is published by Henry Holt and Company, LLC.

Three Belpre Illustrator Honor Books for illustration were named: ``Papa and Me,'' illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez, written by Arthur Dorros, published by Rayo, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers; ``The Storyteller's Candle / La velita de los cuentos,'' illustrated by Lulu Delacre, written by Lucia Gonzalez, published by Children's Book Press; and ``What Can You Do with a Rebozo?'' illustrated by Amy Cordova, written by Carmen Tafolla, published by Tricycle Press, an imprint of Ten Speed Press.

Three Belpre Author Honor Books were named: to ``Just in Case,'' written by Yuyi Morales, a Neal Porter Book published by Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings Limited Partnership; ``Reaching Out,'' written by Francisco Jimenez, published by Houghton Mifflin Company; and ``The Storyteller's Candle / La velita de los cuentos,'' written by Lucia Gonzalez and published by Children's Book Press.

Robert F. Sibert Medal for most distinguished informational book for children. ``We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball,'' by author and illustrator Kadir Nelson, is the winner of the 2009 Sibert Medal. The book is published by Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children, an imprint of Disney Book Group.

Two Sibert Honor Books were named: ``Bodies from the Ice: Melting Glaciers and Rediscovery of The Past,'' written by James M. Deem and published by Houghton Mifflin Company; and ``What to Do About Alice?: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy!'' written by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham and published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic, Inc.

Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in children's video. Paul R. Gagne and Melissa Reilly of Weston Woods Studios, producers of ``March On! The Day My Brother Martin Changed the World,'' are the 2009 Carnegie Medal recipients.

Mildred L. Batchelder Award for the most outstanding children's book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English for publication in the United States. ``Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit,'' originally published in Japanese, written by Nahoko Uehashi and translated by Cathy Hirano, is the winner of the 2009 Mildred L. Batchelder Award. The book is published by Arthur A. Levine, an imprint of Scholastic.

Two Batchelder Honor Books were named: ``Garmann's Summer,'' originally published in Norwegian, written by Stian Hole, translated by Don Bartlett, and published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.; and ``Tiger Moon,'' originally published in German, written by Antonia Michaelis, translated by Anthea Bell, and published by Amulet, an imprint of Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production. Recorded Books, producer of the audiobook ``The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,'' written and narrated by Sherman Alexie and produced by Recorded Books, LLC., is the winner of the 2009 Odyssey Award.

Five Odyssey Honor Audiobooks were named: ``Curse of the Blue Tattoo: Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady,'' written by L.A. Meyer, narrated by Katherine Kellgren and produced by Listen & Live Audio, Inc.; ``Elijah of Buxton,'' written by Christopher Paul Curtis, narrated by Mirron Willis and produced by Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group; ``I'm Dirty!'' written by Kate & Jim McMullan, narrated by Steve Buscemi and produced by Weston Woods Studios, Inc./Scholastic; ``Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale,'' written and narrated by Carmen Agra Deedy and produced by Peachtree Publishers; ``Nation,'' written by Terry Pratchett, narrated by Stephen Briggs and produced by HarperChildren's Audio/HarperCollins Publishers.

Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences. The following winners for 2009 were named: ``City of Thieves,'' by David Benioff, published by Viking Penguin, A Member of Penguin Group; ``The Dragons of Babel,'' by Michael Swanwick, A Tor Book published by Tom Doherty Associates; ``Finding Nouf,'' by Zoe Ferraris published by Houghton Mifflin Company; ``The Good Thief,'' by Hannah Tinti, published by The Dial Press, A Division of Random House; ``Just After Sunset: Stories,'' by Stephen King, published by Scribner, A Division of Simon & Schuster; ``Mudbound,'' by Hillary Jordan, published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill; ``Over and Under,'' by Todd Tucker, published by Thomas Dunne Books, An Imprint of St. Martin's Press; ``The Oxford Project,'' by Stephen G. Bloom, photographed by Peter Feldstein, published by Welcome Books; ``Sharp Teeth,'' by Toby Barlow, published by Harper, An Imprint of HarperCollins; and ``Three Girls and Their Brother,'' by Theresa Rebeck, published by Shaye Areheart Books, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House.

May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture recognizing an individual who shall prepare a paper considered to be a significant contribution to the field of children's literature, and then present the lecture at a winning host site. The 2010 Arbuthnot Lecture will be delivered by Kathleen T. Horning, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC).

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, established in 1954, honors an author or illustrator whose books are published in the United States and have made a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children. Ashley Bryan has been named the 2009 Wilder Award winner. His numerous works include ``Dancing Granny,'' ``Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pum,'' and ``Beautiful Blackbird.''

William C. Morris Award. ``A Curse Dark as Gold,'' written by Elizabeth C. Bunce and published by Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic, Inc., is the winner of the first Morris Award.