January 28 was a big day in the world of children’s literature. Just as Broadway has the Tonys, and movies are honored with the Oscars, two books were given the highest awards in American children’s literature. Awarded annually by the American Library Association, the Newbery Medal goes to the author of the most distinguished story, and the Caldecott Medal to the illustrator of a picture book where the pictures (rather than the text) are the heart of the book.
The Newbery Medal
This year’s Newbery Medal went to The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate. Ivan is a silverback gorilla living in a small glass room at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. He spends his days watching TV, “drawing” with the crayons and paper he is given, and looking at the people who are looking at him. He rarely thinks about his former life in the jungle -- until a baby elephant, taken away from her family, arrives at the mall. Written in the first-person from a gorilla point-of-view, Ivan shares his thoughts on friendship, hope, and humanity.
Click here to watch Amazon's Book Trailer video for The One and Only Ivan!
Applegate, who is also the author of the Animorphs series, got the idea for this book after reading about a real gorilla named Ivan, who lived for 27 years in a tiny cage at a shopping mall before a public outcry got him moved to a zoo in Atlanta. There he became famous for his paintings, which he “signed” with a thumb-print.
Newbery Honor Books (runner-up titles):
- Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz
- Bomb: the Race to Build, and Steal the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin
- Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage
The Caldecott Medal
The Caldecott went to Jon Klassen, who is both the author and illustrator of This Is Not My Hat. In the book, the tiny fish steals a hat from the big fish. The tiny fish knows this is wrong, but the hat just fits him so perfectly, and the big fish is sleeping -- and, anyway, the big fish will never know who took it. Or will he?
Click here to watch an animated Amazon video about This Is Not My Hat!
With just slight changes to the pictures, the illustrations tell the reader (or observer) things that the tiny fish does not know.
Jon Klassen is a name heard often in the world of children’s literature these days. He is also the illustrator of Extra Yarn, one of this year’s Caldecott honor books -- and another book he illustrated, House Held Up By Trees, had been mentioned as a contender for the prize.
Caldecott Honor Books (runner-up titles):
- Creepy Carrots written by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Peter Brown
- Extra Yarn written by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen
- One Cool Friend written by Toni Buzzeo, illustrated by David Small
- Sleep Like a Tiger written by Mary Logue, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski
- Green written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Click here to read Green online
The Children’s Room has display copies of all of this year's winners, all Newbery-winning titles since 1922, and all Caldecott titles since 1938 (as well as circulating copies!).
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