I wasn’t familiar with this award though I do know about the Simon Wissenthal Museum from living in Los Angeles. My art teacher had a piece exhibited there and he said that it was the highlight of his career. I went through the past winner list and I haven’t read all the books, but the ones I have read (Though My Eyes, The Year of Miss Agnes, So Far from the Sea) are OUTSTANDING so it makes me want to read the entire list of winners, both past and present.
Tag: ya
Top 100: Best Books for Kids by Teachers (for ages 2-18)
In 1999, the National Education Association created this list of 100 books selected by teachers for children and teens. It’s a great list for summer reading!
The Navajo Code Talkers of WWII
In eerily similar circumstances, young Navajo Americans were forced to relocate to attend boarding school where great attempts were made by the school to purge them of their ethnic identity, particularly their language. Both children’s books that are featured talk about harsh punishments for speaking in their native tongue. This forced relocation is not unlike the Japanese Americans during WWII. Is this really America, the home of the free?! This is the ugly underbelly that doesn’t get much press coverage. Am I the only one who didn’t learn about the Navajo Code Breakers at school in U.S. History? I am glad for these books to teach a new generation, and our nation, that the differences that make us unique make our country more powerful. Imagine if that boarding school were successful in wiping out the Navajo language? It’s really not inconceivable if the timing of the war were different!
Award Winning Children’s Books 2011
What is great about these award winning books is that many are discounted at Amazon now. It was also fun to read posts by experts A Fuse #8 Production and Amanda Stuckmeyer, a former Newbery judge, predicting winners for many of these awards. And they were dead on. The Newbery winner was the biggest surprise for me as I’d never heard of the book or author nor did it pop up in any mock Newbery contests. I’m excited to chase down these books and read them. I love it when good books are screened for me, keeps the riff raff out of my house! What books have you read and what books from this list are on your list to read, either for yourself or your child?
National Book Awards 2010
The National Book Awards
Kathryn Erskine’s acceptance speech.
Reviews of books from Six Boxes of Books.
Interviews by National Book Foundation.
Best Young Adult (YA) Non Fiction
I guess I am a children’s book award junkie. I really love all short lists for awards even more so than the actual award recipient. There is just something so exciting about a short list; anyone can be the winner. This genre: non fiction for young adult is not where I am reading ahead of my eldest yet as she is just eleven, but I am excited to learn about this award and I’m pretty sure that it will fit the bill for one of my kids in the future.
Best Middle Grade Books for with Female Protagonists
I do love a good Top 10 List and this chapter book children’s book list for ages 10-14 (middle-school-girl-ish-give-or-take-a-year-or-two) from ChristinaReads is a really good one with her childhood favorites!