Amberly Media Center

Kindergarten/First Grade

• Beck. Happy Birthday, Monster!
• Wing. Go to Bed, Monster!

Second Grade

• Pennypacker. Clementine.

 …..well, unusual.

…and many.

With the additions of an award for Young Adult literature, an award for early reading books, a brand new award for best audiobook, and other new awards, the traditional Caldecott Medal for best children’s illustrator and Newbery Medal for best children’s author can almost get lost in the excitement.

This year even a quick glance at the Newbery and Caldecott medal books could generate a buzz. In sharp contrast to previous years, the “skinny book” is the Newbery Medal winner, Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! by Laura Amy Schlitz,  and the “fat book” is the Caldecott Medal Winner, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Good Masters! is a beautifully illustrated series of (mostly verse) monologues that reveal the lives of young people in 14th century England.

Hugo Cabret is also historical fiction, using words and eerie drawings that often act as a “flip book” to tell the story of an orphaned French boy who discovers the intertwined secrets of his inventor father and an elderly toy seller.

Both books challenge young people to “read” in new ways. Good Masters! is designed to be read aloud and performed and Hugo Cabret is designed for interaction, play and study. Together, these two winners send a strong message that children’s literature is alive and well, and ready for the Internet generation.

For a complete list of 2008 award winners, click here.