ALA Honors Top Books for Children and Young Adults

On Monday, at its Mid-Winter Meeting in Philadelphia, the American Library Association presented its 2014 awards recognizing the best in books, video, and audiobooks for children and young adults.

Among the winners and honorees are:

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature

• Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures, written by Kate DiCamillo (Candlewick Press)

Newbery Honor Books

• Doll Bones, written by Holly Black (Margaret K. McElderry Books/Simon& Schuster Children’s)
• The Year of Billy Miller, written by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins)
• One Came Home, written by Amy Timberlake (Alfred A. Knopf/Random House Children’s Books)
• Paperboy, written by Vince Vawter (Delacorte Press/Random House Children’s Books)

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children

• Locomotive, illustrated and written by Brian Floca (Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster Children’s)

 Caldecott Honor Books

• Journey, written and illustrated by Aaron Becker (Candlewick Press) 
• Flora and the Flamingo, written and illustrated by Molly Idle (Chronicle Books)
• Mr. Wuffles! written and illustrated by David Wiesner (Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) 

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults

• P.S. Be Eleven, written by Rita Williams-Garcia (Amistad/HarperCollins)

King (Author) Honor Books

• March: Book One, written by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, illustrated by Nate Powell (Top Shelf Productions)
• Darius & Twig, written by Walter Dean Myers (Amistad/HarperCollins)
• Words With Wings, written by Nikki Grimes (WordSong/Highlights)

Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award

• Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me, illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Daniel Beaty (Little, Brown/Hachette Book Group)

King (Illustrator) Honor Book

• Nelson Mandela, illustrated and written by Kadir Nelson (Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins) 

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award

• When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop, illustrated by Theodore Taylor III (Roaring Brook Press/Holtzbrinck) 

Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement:

• Author Patricia McKissack and Researcher Fredrick McKissack

Mildred L. Batchelder Award for an outstanding children’s book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the U.S., and subsequently translated into English for publication in the U.S.

• Mister Orange, published by Enchanted Lion Books, written by Truus Matti, and translated from the Dutch by Laura Watkinson

 Batchelder Honor Books

• The Bathing Costume or the Worst Vacation of My Life, published by Enchanted Lion Books, written by Charlotte Moundlic, illustrated by Olivier Tallec, and translated by Claudia Zoe Bedrick
• My Father’s Arms Are a Boat, published by Enchanted Lion Books, written by Stein Erik Lunde, illustrated by Øyvind Torseter, and translated by Kari Dickson
• The War Within These Walls, published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, written by Aline Sax, illustrated by Caryl Strzelecki, and translated by Laura Watkinson

Pura Belpre (Author) Award honoring a Latino writer and illustrator whose children’s books best portray, affirm, and celebrate the Latino cultural experience

• Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, written by Meg Medina (Candlewick Press) 

Belpre (Author) Honor Books

• The Lightning Dreamer: Cuba’s Greatest Abolitionist, written by Margarita Engle (Harcourt/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
• The Living, written by Matt de la Peña (Delacorte Press/Random House Children’s Books)
• Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant’s Tale, written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh (Abrams Books for Young Readers/ABRAMS)

 Belpre (Illustrator) Award

• Niño Wrestles the World, illustrated and written by Yuyi Morales (Roaring Brook Press) 

Belpre (Illustrator) Honor Books

• Maria Had a Little Llama/María Tenía una Llamita, illustrated and written by Angela Dominguez (Henry Holt)
• Tito Puente: Mambo King /Rey del Mambo, illustrated by Rafael López, written by Monica Brown (Rayo/HarperCollins) 
• Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant’s Tale, illustrated and written by Duncan Tonatiuh (Abrams Books for Young Readers/ABRAMS)

Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in children’s video

• Paul R. Gagne and Melissa Reilly Ellard of Weston Woods Studios, Inc., producers of Bink & Gollie: Two for One

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished book for beginning readers

• The Watermelon Seed, written and illustrated by Greg Pizzoli (Disney Hyperion Books/Disney Book Group) 

Geisel Honor Books

• Ball, written and illustrated by Mary Sullivan (Houghton Mifflin Books for Children/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) 
• A Big Guy Took My Ball! written and illustrated by Mo Willems (Hyperion Books for Children/Disney Book Group)
• Penny and Her Marble, written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins) 

Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the U.S.

• Scowler, written by Daniel Kraus and narrated by Kirby Heyborne (Listening Library/Random House Audio Publishing) 

Odyssey Honor Audiobooks

• Better Nate Than Ever, written and narrated by Tim Federle (Simon & Schuster Audio)
• Creepy Carrots! written by Aaron Reynolds (Weston Woods Studios) 
• Eleanor & Park, written by Rainbow Rowell, and narrated by Rebecca Lowman and Sunil Malhotra (Listening Library/the Random House Audio Publishing) 
• Matilda, written by Roald Dahl, and narrated by Kate Winslet (Penguin Audio/Penguin Group USA)

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award for most distinguished informational book for children

• Parrots Over Puerto Rico, written by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore, illustrated by Susan L. Roth (Lee & Low Books)

 Sibert Honor Books

• A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin, written by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet (Alfred A. Knopf/Random House Children’s Books) 
• Look Up! Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard, written and illustrated by Annette LeBlanc Cate (Candlewick Press)
• Locomotive, written and illustrated by Brian Floca (Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing) 
• The Mad Potter: George E. Ohr, Eccentric Genius, written by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan (Roaring Brook Press/Holtzbrinck Publishing)

For the complete list of top books, video, and audio books for children and young adults announced at the ALA Mid-Winter Meeting, visit the ALA website.