I hope to get as much done as possible this morning so that I can watch the Colts this afternoon and NO tonight. Yes, those teams are my picks. Brees was at Purdue while my son was there, so he’s a bit of a favorite.

I was rushing to get things done when I posted award winners and I missed quite a few. Some more noteworthy winners:

Newbery Honor:
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose, published by Melanie Kroupa Books, Farrar, Straus and Giroux. (Also a Robert F. Sibert Informational Honor book)

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin, published by Little, Brown and Company Books for Young Readers.

American Indian Youth Literature Award:

Meet Christopher: An Osage Indian Boy from Oklahoma by Genevieve Simermeyer (MG)

Between the Deep Blue Sea and Me by Lurline Wailana McGregor (YA)

Pura Belpre:

Return to Sender, written by Julia Alvarez, published by Alfred A. Knopf.

Odyssey:

Peace, Locomotion, written by Jacqueline Woodson, narrated by Dion Graham, produced by Brilliance Audio.

We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, written by Kadir Nelson, narrated by Dion Graham, produced by Brilliance Audio.

ALA Notable Books of particular interest to POC:

Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal. By Vaunda Micheaux Nelson.  Illus. by R. Gregory

Christie Diego: Bigger Than Life.  By Carmen T. Bernier-Grand. Illus. by David Diaz.

Federico García Lorca. By Georgina Lázaro. Illus. by Enrique S. Moreiro. Lectorum

The Grand Mosque of Paris: A Story of How Muslims Rescued Jews during the Holocaust.  By Karen Gray Ruelle and Deborah Durland DeSaiz.

Marching For Freedom: walk together, children, and don’t you grow weary. By Elizabeth Partridge.

Moribito II: Guardian of the Darkness. By Nahoko Uehashi. Illus. by Yuko Shimizu. Trans. by Cathy Hirano.

The Rock and the River.  By Kekla Magoon.

tofu quilt. By ching yeung russell.

My People.  By Langston Hughes.  Photographs by Charles R. Smith Jr.

Shades of People. By Shelley Rotner and Sheila M. Kelly. Photographs by Shelley Rotner.

Awards are important to authors and publishers as they expose books to readers who may not otherwise see them. All the above awards come to us through the ALA but there are others, and they are certainly worth noting. Cynthia Leitich Smith gathers book awards for children and YAs by states.  David Brown has a comprehensive list of awards from around the world.

CSKs remain a controversial award. Should the author’s race matter in this category? (YES!) Is this becoming a closed group of winners? Check out Kyra Hick’s recent post to look at the data. 41st Annual Image Awards will be announced in February. Teen literature winners will be chosen from the following

“Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice” – Phillip Hoose

“Just Another Hero” – Sharon Draper

“Mare’s War” – Tanita S. Davis (Random House Children’s Books)

“Michelle Obama: Meet the First Lady” – David Bergen Brophy

“Rock and the River” – Kekla Magoon

28 Days Later has released their list for 2010. Be sure to visit the blog daily for author interviews and other updates. There’s no excuse for not finding books for children of color.  Also, please let me know if  you’d like me to continue maintaining pages which list YA POC titles. Do you use this feature?

On the topic of lists… the YALSA listserv has been listing numerous examples of covers that misrepresent characters. Liar,Magic Under Glass and Mysterious Benedict Society are the most recent.  Several others instances were mentioned where the artist has misrepresent skin color, weight and other facts in the book itself, always dealing with marginalized groups. The author’s sales may be affected, but consider the message this institutionalized racism gives to teens of color.  The illustrator who never reads the book gets his/her pay and the publisher profits. Well, unless we remain diligent. Some see the boycott as over. Me, I can’t see reason to add MUG to my collection as this just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Susan’s work continues.  This link should take you to the RAWW group, Readers Against WhiteWashing.

I have to close with a very, very special thanks to Doret for the wonderful box of books she recently sent me. Her kindness weaves through her blogging, but this is just over the top. Thanks so much!