The ALA (American Library Association) announced the winners for three prestigious awards to childrens’ authors.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman – “Neil Gaiman’s eagerly awaited middle-grade take on Rudyard Kipling’s THE JUNGLE BOOK features Nobody, a boy raised by graveyard inhabitants instead of animals. Having escaped his family’s murderer and wandered into a graveyard, Bod finds himself in a family of sorts. Humorous, eerie, filled with strange, intriguing characters, Gaiman’s story is gripping, and enchanting. With stunning, graphic-novelesque B&W artwork.” — from Biblio.com
The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson and Beth Kommes (illustrator) – “Traveling from a tidy home all the way to the moon and back, this nighttime, sleepy time story is entrancing. Opening with the key to the house, shining yellow in a monochrome garden, with a happy dog looking on, and moving into the home, the story has a peaceful, cumulative rhythm and text perfect for going to bed. Accompanied by stunning B&W etchings with glowing touches of golden yellow. A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2008 and a Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Book of 2008.” — from Biblio.com
Coretta Scott King Award for Author
We are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson – “Cleverly organized in chapters mimicking baseball innings, Kadir Nelson’s stunningly illustrated history of Negro League baseball is not only thoughtful and historically fascinating, but full of lush artwork that brings the time period alive. Following players from the 1920s until Jackie Robinson joined the major leagues in the late 1940s, Nelson chronicles the immense challenges these brave men had to overcome in order to follow their passion. A New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book for 2008.” — from Biblio.com
Coretta Scott King Award for Illustrator
The Blacker the Berry by Floyd Cooper and Joyce Carol Thomas – “A collection of poems, including “Golden Goodness,” “Cranberry Red,” and “Biscuit Brown,” celebrating individuality and Afro-American identity.” — from Biblio.com