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    May 12, 2012: The Kids Have Voted

    Votes have been tallied for the 2012 Children’s Choice Book Awards. Winner in the 5th/6th grade category was Okay for Now, Gary Schmidt’s companion novel to his Newbery Honor-winning The Wednesday Wars. Illustrator of the year went to Brian Selznick for Wonderstruck, and author of the year went to Jeff Kinney for Cabin Fever, the latest installment in his Wimpy Kid series.

    For a complete list of the winners…

     

    May 10, 2012: Happy Children’s Book Week!

    In honor of National Children’s Book Week, award-winning author-illustrator Matt Phelan posted this delightful review of Polly Horvath’s new book on his blog… 

    For more about Children's Book Week…

     

    May 5, 2012: Oh Me, Oh May

    Check out all the new books releasing in May...

     

    May 5, 2012: Be a Fourth-Grade Somebody

    One lucky fourth-grade classroom will win a Skype visit from author Judy Blume this month. To participate, all you have to do is have your students write a sentence or two on why they like fourth grade. The contest, which ends May 15, is sponsored by School Library Journal.

    For details…

     

    May 5, 2012: Sturm und Drang for Kids

    Guardian columnist Julia Eccleshare tackles the question “Why are so many highly praised children's books gloomy?” in this April 30 article…

                            




    May 1, 2012: It’s No Mystery

    The Edgar Award for the best juvenile mystery of the year was presented this past weekend to Matthew Kirby for Icefall (Scholastic, 2011). Publishers Weekly said of Kirby's Viking suspense novel, “Readers may be drawn in by the promise of action, which Kirby certainly fulfills, but they’ll be left contemplating the power of the pen versus the sword—or rather the story versus the war hammer.” 

    For more on the award…

    To read a Mixed-up Files interview with Kirby... 

     

    May 1, 2012: Crystal Clear

    Winners of the 2012 Crystal Kite Awards, the only peer-given awards in children’s publishing, were announced this week. The awards are voted on by members of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Middle-grade winners include The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson and The Absolute Value of Mike by Kathryn Erskine.

    For a complete list of winners...

     

    April 30, 2012: Does a Pineapple Have Sleeves?

    What happens when a Daniel Pinkwater story is adapted for use in a statewide standardized test? The New York Times reports on the kerfuffle here...

     

    April 30, 2012: More than One Path to Publication

    The lines between traditional and self-publishing continue to blur as more and more traditionally published authors find ways to utilize the flexibility and freedom that self publishing offers. Author Kate Milford recently announced in Publishers Weekly that her new fantasy, The Broken Lands, which will be published by Clarion in September, will be accompanied by the release of a self-published novella, The Kairos Mechanism.

    Says Milford, "I want to experiment with self-publishing as a way to promote and enhance traditional releases by providing extra content to readers in the form of complete, related tales. I also want to use resources that support independent bookstores." As an added bonus Milford is planning a special digital edition of her self-published work that will include illustrations by 10 teen readers. 

    For more…

     

    April 14, 2012: It’s Raining, It’s Pouring!

    Check out all the new books releasing in April...

     

    April 12, 2012: The Greatest Girls 

    Jen Doll, columnist for The Atlantic Wire, talks about “The Greatest Girl Characters of Young Adult Literature” in this April 5 article, the first in a series called “Y.A. for Grownups.” Among the characters Doll mentions are a number of middle-grade favorites, including Meg Murray from A Wrinkle in Time and Claudia Kincaid of From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

    For more… 

     

    April 12, 2012: Moss Aims to Pick Up Where Tricycle Left Off

    Berkeley-based children’s author and illustrator Marissa Moss, best-known for her Amelia’s Notebook series, is starting a new West Coast publishing venture called Creston Books. Says Moss, “The idea’s been percolating for years. It came to a head after Random House bought Ten Speed and threw Tricycle away.” Moss got her start with the quirky, risk-taking Tricycle Press, which published Amelia’s Notebook at a time when traditional publishers were unsure what to do with the illustrated diary format.  “New York publishing is about: what’s the next Harry Potter, what’s the next Twilight?” says Moss. “When I’ve approached people, I’ve asked, ‘What is the book you’ve been dying to do, but New York won’t do?’ I want the books that they think won’t sell—because I think they will.”

    Creston’s first books are due to release Fall 2013. In the meantime, Moss is seeking kickstarter funds to help back the project. For more…

     

    April 10, 2012: After Chrestomanci

    An online celebration of the life of British author Diana Wynne Jones (1934-2011) will kick off April 12 with a two-week blog tour. In conjunction with the tour a special blog has been set up where fans can share their favorite books, quotes, stories, characters, covers, and memories of Diana with fellow fans around the world.

    Wynne Jones was the author of dozens of popular titles, including the Chrestomanci series and Howl’s Moving Castle, which was made into an animated film by Hayao Miyazaki in 2004.

    For details…

     

    April 6, 2012: Game Over!

    The Battle of the Books has ended. And the winner is…

    I’m not telling! You’ll just have to click on over to the School Library Journal site and read Jonathan Stroud’s incredible analysis of the three finalists—Life: An Exploded Diagram by Mal Peet; Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys; and Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt.


    March 31, 2012: Hiaasen Says There’s No Fooling Kids

    Newbery-honor winning author Carl Hiaasen talks about writing for kids versus writing for adults in this March 6 School Library Journal interview. Says Hiaasen, “The idea that you're fooling kids is crazy. That's the way I've been able to connect to and go between adult and young adult books. Kids love sarcasm and the idea of bursting a grown-up's bubble. It's a question of calibrating the story to the young adult market. Once I did that with Hoot and it worked, it opened up a new and rewarding way of writing for me.”

    Hiassen’s new middle-grade book, Chomp, was released this week.

     For more…

     

    March 29, 2012: What’s the Buzz in Middle-grade Fiction?

    A panel of editors will share their predictions for this fall’s breakout titles when BookExpo America convenes June 5-7 at the Javits Center in New York City.  You don’t have to wait until June to catch the buzz, though. According to the BookExpo on-line news, titles to watch are:

    Malcolm at Midnight by W. H. Beck (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

    The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann (HarperCollins)

    • Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin (Little Brown)

    Tales from Lovecraft Middle School #1: Professor Gargoyle by Charles Gilman (Quirk)

    With Love From Paris: Mira's Sketchbook by Marissa Moss (Sourcebooks)

    For more…


    March 26, 2012: Lindgren Winner Announced

    Dutch author Guus Kuijer has won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award given by the Swedish Arts Council to honor an author whose body of work is in the spirit of Pippi Longstocking author Astrid Lindgren. The winner receives 5 million Swedish crowns (more than $700K), making it the richest prize in the world for children’s literature. Past winners include Katherine Paterson, Sonya Hartnett, Maurice Sendak, and Shaun Tan.

    Kuijer was selected by an international jury of experts who praised his "razor-sharp realism,” “subtle humor,” and “visionary flights of fancy.” Kuijer is author of more than 30 titles, most of them for young teens. Sadly, only one of his books has appeared in English—The Book of Everything, a slim but haunting novel published by Arthur Levine Books in 2006.

     For more…

     

    March 20, 2012: No Grownups Allowed

    It’s time for kids to vote for their favorite books of the year in this year’s Children’s Choice Awards. Winners will be announced during Children’s Book Week, May 7-13, 2012. The awards are sponsored by the Children’s Book Council, which celebrates the transformative power of literacy. Kids can vote individually or librarians, teachers, and booksellers can log on to record their students’ votes.

    Finalists for the 3rd-4th grade Book of the Year are:

    Bad Kitty Meets the Baby by Nick Bruel

    A Funeral in the Bathroom and other School Bathroom Poems by Kalli Dakos

    The Monstrous Book of Monsters by Libby Hamilton

    Sidekicks by Dan Santat

    Squish #1: Super Amoeba by Jennifer and Matthew Holm

    Finalists for 5th-6th Grade Book of the Year are:

    Bad Island by Doug TenNapel

    How to Survive Anything by Rachel Buchholz

    Lost & Found by Shaun Tan

    Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt

    Racing in the Rain: My Life as a Dog by Garth Stein

    For more about Children’s Book Week…

    To vote …

     



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In recognition

Inspiration

Last week, on the Mixed Up Files blog, we celebrated this year’s literary award winners.  Today, I’d like to add my congratulations.  I was delighted to see some of my favorite books of the year honored.  If a sticker helps more readers find these books, then we are all better off.

Awards seasons are also fun.  I love it when a book that I loved wins.  I love it when a book that a friend wrote wins.  I smile when a book that I have professionally reviewed gets a sticker.

(That last one has happened four times.)

My mother would tell you that none of this is surprising.  I have always been sort of an awards season junkie.  When I was young, I would watch the Oscars, even though I hadn’t seen the movies.  My friends and I often pretended to be famous actresses, accepting our statuettes.  Now, the announcements make me tear up.  I have given up wearing mascara to banquets and ceremonies.  When I watched my dear friend, Tanya Lee Stone, accept the Silbert medal, a woman (who did not know me) patted me on the back, and comforted me with a “There, there…” I was crying THAT hard.  When I go to any play, I get very emotional during the applause.

My son, Elliot, who is 16,  hates the very idea of stickers.  He hates awards.  He thinks “subjective competition” is never fair.  He complains, “How do they know what book is the best?”  Maybe it’s because HIS favorite books do not have stickers.

It’s also a way of thinking.  Ever since he was a very tiny boy, he has refused to cite “a favorite” anything!  In his world: picking a favorite means denouncing all the other things (in that category) that he likes.  He worries that non winners will feel like losers.

He asks me: Why do we care about favorites?  Does everything have to be a competition?  Why can’t EVERY book get a great review?  Why does our society insist on naming winners?  Don’t the writers of the other books feel bad when they don’t get recognition?

Good questions.

Luckily, we have a great community.  In the world of children’s literature, we recognize our craft.  We support each other.  We recognize the hard work and dedication that goes into every book.  Many of us read hundreds of books every year.  We blog about them.  We discuss them.  We celebrate the authors.  We work hard to help our readers find our books.

So, in honor of all the books published in 2010,  I would like to offer a rally.  A rally of mutual appreciation, a cheer for every book published this past year.  Sometimes Elliot is right.  When we celebrate the winners,  we forget just how important every book is to someone.

And that’s not all.

Let’s honor the process, the steps it takes to turn blank pages into story. Writing books for kids is a privilege.  It is a huge responsibility to accept: to inspire and entertain and give hope to readers.  And although I am not suggesting that a sticker is anything less than life changing, the REAL reward will always be a letter from a reader—someone out there got what you were trying to say.

So while we’re at it, let’s honor our readers, too.  Let’s celebrate their preferences.

We need all kinds of books, because there are all kinds of readers.  Whatever we write, we need to understand and connect to the reader who is waiting for our books.

Are you inspired?

I hope so.

Today, let’s celebrate.

No…let’s REALLY celebrate.

Let’s celebrate our favorite books.

Let’s celebrate if we took steps toward writing a book.

Let’s celebrate if you took steps toward finding an editor or agent.

If you wrote a few words, or had an idea, or signed up for a conference, or sent your book into the world and someone, somewhere enjoyed it….

Celebrate!

It is so important not just to wait for the recognition that comes when the book is done: celebrate the steps.  Each page.  Each plot turn.  Each new character.  Our readers depend on us to be hopeful and ambitious.  They depend on us to create the most authentic characters and exciting plots possible.  YOUR reader, the one who loves what you write, is waiting.

Awards season is for all of us.  For ALL our work and ALL our favorites.  Let us work toward celebrating more milestones next year!

Tell me: did you have a favorite book that won…one that needs recognition?  Tell us about that book.  Let us know why you loved it!

19 Comments

10 Comments

  1. Bev  •  Jan 24, 2011 @8:23 am

    Speaking as an author with a book that made several “mock” newbery lists and was on the ballot for an ala notable, I do admit to feeling like a bit of a ‘loser’ when my book did not ‘win’ anything in the end. Can you believe it? Instead of being thrilled to have gotten that ‘far’ I was focused on not getting the sticker! Now, several weeks later, I have a better perspective and am back to writing for the reader, not the reviewer! Because all readers care about is a fabulous story – whether it has a shiny sticker on the cover or not:)
    So, yes. Celebrate it all!

    Sarah Aronson Reply:

    @Bev, I can believe it, but I am soooooo glad you are enjoying the thrill of being read. When my first book came out, I could not believe there would be even 100 people (who didn’t love me) who would find and read the book. It has been such a journey. The letters I have received have been the most amazing rewarding experience. What we do is important and wonderful! To have readers…it really is something to celebrate!

    xo

  2. Wendy S  •  Jan 24, 2011 @8:49 am

    Great post! I just learned about Ranganathan’s 5 laws of library science – and celebrating all reader preferences reminded me of rule #3: Every book has a reader.

    I’d like to recognize The Chicken Dance by Jacques Couvillon. This story about a boy on Horse Island who seeks something beyond his mean family life through chicken judging is beautifully written in a very unique setting.

    Sarah Aronson Reply:

    I love that! Yes, every book does have a reader. I haven’t read The Chicken Dance. Now I will!!! Thanks!

  3. Karen B. Schwartz  •  Jan 24, 2011 @9:06 am

    totally agree with celebrating each step along the way.

    Sarah Aronson Reply:

    Thanks! It is such an important part of the process….that…and chocolate!!

    :-)

  4. sheelachari  •  Jan 24, 2011 @9:58 am

    I love the spirit of this post. The writer and the reader are the most important parts of the story. :)

  5. Sarah Aronson  •  Jan 24, 2011 @10:35 am

    Thanks! Really, the published book changes hands. In draft form, it belongs to the writer. But once it is in readers’ hands, it belongs to them. They make the book even better. They give it power and strength. It really is the most amazing thing!!!

  6. Kimberley Griffiths Little  •  Jan 24, 2011 @10:46 am

    It’s been an up and down year for me and The Healing Spell, but the emails and letters from people who wrote to tell me the book impacted them in such a personal way, the wonderful bloggers who reviewed my book (found through Google Alerts – ha!) and said it made them cry – well, those letters made ME cry. It’s a surreal, but wonderful thing to know your book has changed people’s lives. What you said is so true, Sarah. Your book belongs to the readers once it’s released into the world. They give it power and strength. Oh, geeze, now I’m getting weepy just writing this comment . . . I had someone tell me last week that they were feeling down about life and their family and decided to read my book a second time because it gave them such hope and then they felt better and ready to tackle another week. Sorry to go on and on but this has never happened to me before! Books are POWERFUL. They were definitely powerful and life-changing to me as a kid and that never goes away.

    Sarah Aronson Reply:

    You are making ME cry!!!

  7. brian_ohio  •  Jan 24, 2011 @11:35 am

    Yes. We must remember to not only celebrate our own small steps in the publishing world, but the release of new books as well as the books that receive critical acclaim.

    Sarah Aronson Reply:

    Every step…that way, we don’t take it for granted!

  8. kellye crocker  •  Jan 24, 2011 @2:30 pm

    Great post, Sarah! I love how you always bring it back to the process, which is the only thing that we as writers can control. I appreciate your honesty, Bev, and I’m sure that even being on those lists helped bring your book to new readers, which is cool, too. That’s the thing I see that is so hard: Helping readers find their books.
    Celebrating every step,
    Kellye

    Sarah Aronson Reply:

    Thanks, Kellye! For once, I didn’t sound bossy!! Yes, getting books into our readers’ hands is the challenge!

    Every step!

  9. Tricia Springstubb  •  Jan 24, 2011 @2:38 pm

    I recently visited a school, and was telling the class about how many rejections I got before my first acceptance. I always hope this will inspire kids not to give up, but one little girl raised her hand and asked me, “Couldn’t they just accept it anyway? Just to be nice?” And another child said, “Whew! I’m glad we don’t reject each other’s work here in OUR writing workshops!” I’ll tell you, they almost made me wish I was ten years old again.

    Sarah Aronson Reply:

    Hi Tricia,

    What a sweet story! A while back, I did a job fair, and I swear, I convinced all my students to find a day job!!!

  10. Margaret Nevinski  •  Jan 24, 2011 @6:03 pm

    Sarah, great post. Let’s celebrate blogs! You’re right, it’s so important to celebrate each step in the writing process, from getting that first idea to sending the MS to an editor or agent. It’s easy to forget that writing the first sentence or finishing a chapter are accomplishments. So yeah, let’s celebrate.

    sarah aronson Reply:

    Hi Margaret!!! Thanks! When I quit my day job (and stopped getting a paycheck), I realized that I would have to provide my own recognition for work well done. So I created a list of incentives for myself. My favorite(!!): when I hit 100 pages (which is still a thrill for me), I make my family Thai Seafood soup. When the kids smell the lemongrass, they know it’s time for a “100 page party!”

    LG Reply:

    @sarah aronson, That’s great! Often we have to be our own cheerleaders and setting goals/incentives just like anything else is really a great idea! I think I’ll start thinking of some for myself too! Thanks for such a motivational post :)