Winter 2009

Click on the links below to read reviews of The Children's Bookstore staff's favorite books published in 2008.

2008 Picks: Picture Books

2008 Picks: Novels and Non-fiction Books

2009 Children's Book Award Winners

The Caldecott Metal
(Illustration)

The House in the Night
written by Susan Marie Swanson, illustrated by Beth Krommes (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Caldecott Honor Books:

A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever
written and illustrated by Marla Frazee (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

How I Learned Geography written and illustrated by Uri Shulevitz (Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux)

River of Words written by Jen Bryant illustrated by Melissa Sweet (Eerdmans Publishing Company)

The Newbery Award

The Graveyard Book
written by Neil Gaiman with illustrations by Dave McKean (HarperCollins)

Newbery Honor Books

The Underneath written by Kathi Appelt with illustrations by David Small (Simon & Schuster)

Savvy written by Ingrid Law (Penguin Group USA)

The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom
written by Margarita Engle (Henry Holt and Company)

After Tupac and D Foster
written by Jacqueline Woodson (Penguin Group USA)

Coretta Scott King Author Award

We Are The Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson (Henry Holt and Company)

Coretta Scott King Author Award Honor Books

Keeping the Night Watch
written by Hope Anita Smith, illustrated by E.B. Lewis (Henry Holt and Company)

The Blacker the Berry
written by Joyce Carol Thomas, illustrated by Floyd Cooper (HarperCollins)

Becoming Billie Holiday
written by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper (Boyds Mill Press)

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award

The Blacker the Berry
written by Joyce Carol Thomas, illustrated by Floyd Cooper (HarperCollins)

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Honor Books

We Are The Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson (Henry Holt and Company)

Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane
written by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Sean Qualls (Henry Holt and Company)

The Moon Over Star
written by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney (Penguin Group USA)

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Author Talent Award

Bird written by Zetta Elliott (Lee and Low Books)

Michael L. Printz Award
(Young Adult)

Jellicoe Road written by Melina Marchetta (HarperCollins)

Michael L. Printz Award Honor Books

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the Nation
written by M.T. Anderson (Candlewick Press)

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
written by E. Lockhart (Disney Press)

Nation written by Terry Pratchett (HarperCollins)

Tender Morsels written by Margo Lanagan (Random House Children's Books)

Robert F. Sibert Medal
(Informational Books)

We Are The Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson (Henry Holt and Company)

Robert F. Sibert Honor Books

Bodies From the Ice: Melting Glaciers and the Recovery of the Past
written by James M. Deem (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

What To Do About Alice?: How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy! written by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Edward Fotheringham (Scholastic)

Theodore Seuss Geisel Award
(American book for beginning readers)

Elephant and Piggie: Are You Ready to Play Outside?
written and illustrated by Mo Willems (Hyperion)

Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor Books

Chicken Said, "Cluck!" written by Judyann Ackerman Grant,
illustrated by Sue Truesdell (HarperCollins)

One Boy written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger (Henry Holt and Company)

Stinky written and illustrated by Eleanor Davis (Raw Junior, LLC)

Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator written by Sarah C. Campbell,
illustrated by Richard Posey Campbell (Boyds Mill Press)

Schneider Family Book Award
(Honors an author or illustrator for the artistic expression of the disability experience for children and teens)

Children's

Piano Starts Here: The Young Art Tatum
written and illustrated by Robert A. Parker (Random House)

Middle School

Waiting for Normal written by Leslie Connor (HarperCollins)

Teen

Jerk, California written by Jonathan Friesen (Penguin Group USA)

Mildred L. Batchelder Award
(Outstanding translated book for children)

Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit
written by Nahoko Uehashi (Scholastic)

Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Books

Tiger Moon written by Antonia Michaelis (Harry N Abrams Inc)

Garmann's Summer written by Stian Hole, translated by Don Bartlett (Eerdman's Pub Co)

Odyssey Award
(Best audiobook)

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
written by Sherman Alexie, read by the author

Odyssey Honors

Curse of the Blue Tattoo (Bloody Jack Adventures)
written by L.A. Meyer, narrated by Katherine Kellgren (Listen and Live Audio)

Nation written by Terry Pratchett, read by Stephen Briggs (HarperAudio)

Elijah of Buxton written by Christopher Paul Curtis, read by Mirron Willis (Listening Library)

I'm Dirty written and illustrated by Kate and Jim McMullan, read by Steve Buscemi

Martina the Beautiful Cockroach written by Carmen Agra Deedy, illustrated by Michael Austin, performed by the author (Peachtree)

Pura Belpre Author Award
(Latin American Author)

The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom
written by Margarita Engle (Henry Holt and Company)

Pura Belpre Illustrator Award
(Latin American Illustrator)

Just In Case: A Trickster Tale and Spanish Alphabet Book
written and illustrated by Yuyi Morales (Henry Holt and Company)

William C. Morris YA Debut Award First Time Author

A Curse Dark as Gold
written by Elizabeth C. Bunce (Scholastic)

Margaret A. Edwards Lifetime Achievement Award Winner
(Laurie Halse Anderson)

Laura Ingalls Wilder Award
(Ashley Bryan)