A day of glee! (in memory)
Today is the biggest day in children's literature--the announcement of the ALA awards! Here are the results:
Newbery:
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! by Laura Amy Schlitz
Honors:
Eliza of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt
Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson
Caledcott:
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Bryan Selznick
Honors:
Knuffle Bunny Two by Mo Willems
The Wall by Peter Sis
First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Kadir Nelson-- HENRY'S FREEDOM BOX
Printz
The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean
Honors:
Dreamwake by Elizabeth Knox
One Whole Perfect Day
Repossessed
Your Own Sylivia by Stephanie Hemphill
Good Master! Sweet Ladies! is a collection of wonderful monologues, each character a denizen of a medieval village. This is going to be a fabulous book in the classroom. Teachers are going to love using it to incorporate drama, literature, history, and social studies. (and I'm feeling a bit smug, having predicted this one as the winner last night to my husband.) The Invention of Hugo Cabret was definitely one of my favorite books of last year--it's really a novel with some scenes told in illustrations (like a silent movie) rather than words. It's one of the most innovative novels I've ever seen and kids will love it. I wonder if this choice will cause some controversy, since the Caldecott usually goes to picture books. And my son is a big fan of the Knuffle Bunny books, so we're always happy to see Mo Willems grace the lists. I haven't read the rest of the winners.
It's fun for me to think about all those authors and illustrators getting their early morning phone call. The magic of that call still lingers for me, two years later. It's perhaps the best gift I've ever received--the newness doesn't fade, the wonder of it keeps going. I feel like I went wandering in a forest and the lady of the wood bent down to kiss my forehead, and I've carried that charmed mark ever since. It was a gift better than I deserved, and I should be content for the rest of my life just to have received it.
And yet, I was guilty of hoping (rather passionately and anxiously at times) that I might get a second call this morning. I'm embarrassed to admit that. I wish I was beyond such petty mortal concerns, like those Star Trek aliens who have evolved to an intangible state and no longer are burdened with human emotions. But I have my feet firmly in the muck of the world, it seems. And this morning (after a bad night's rest) I've been wandering the house and officially in Wallow Mode. I ate chocolate chip cookies for breakfast. I'm having chips for lunch. And it feels good, darn it! And I'm questioning myself, why did I care? Am I so greedy that I want another award? Am I tempted by that rush of elation that getting the award brings and I must have more, like some yellow-eyed opium addict? Am I so desperate for the approval of others? In my wallow, I've tried on many reasons, but I don't think any of those reasons are right. What I keep coming back to is the award has never felt about me--it was about princess academy. And any disappointment I feel now is because book of a thousand days is such a precious book to me, and I was hoping to see Dashti earn a little shine (or a big one). What an award does is bring more readers to your book, and I wanted that for Dashti. And that reason, though it feels less selfish to me, also seems more certifiably crazy. I mean, sad for the character's sake? Don't tell anyone--I already have one arm in a straight jacket as it is.
But it's noon now, and I don't feel sad anymore. I still feel that tickle of excitement that it's an awards morning, and that there are authors out there who got a phone call that changed their lives. It's all about books and people and stories and kids, I remind myself--the best things of life. And I have a new list of books on my to-read list, which will never run out. And I get to spend all day with the cutest kids in the world. Life is very, very good.